Physicality made a return
One thing we noted is how differently FSU played after the Kent State game, especially on defense. We’ve put our tinfoil hat on to try and figure out what happened, and the only thing we could come up with was that the players stopped trusting Tony White because he admitted to talking on the phone about the UCLA job that had just opened.
The offense has largely been fine regarding physicality; it has been turnovers and poor decision-making costing them in the losses.
However, the defense looked lethargic, uninterested at times, and downright bad, playing with a low IQ in the four losses. It wasn’t the exact same level of physicality we saw against Alabama in the season opener, but what we saw against Wake Forest was a great step in the right direction.
Wake Forest struggled to establish its running game, and FSU banked on its quarterbacks not being able to make throws, and they couldn’t for the most part. FSU had four sacks and seven tackles for a loss, and could have had several more if they hadn’t missed tackles in the backfield.
The performance put to rest the notion that the players had quit on the coaches. They played with confidence as the lead grew, and looked like they were having fun for a change as they celebrated their success.
We still have reservations about this team because they’ve been so inconsistent. However, they look as healthy as they’ve been in a while, coming off the bye week. Maybe that’ll carry over for the Clemson game? Your guess is as good as mine, but the good news is we’ll get to see in a few days.