Florida State football will be taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon in the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium at 3:30 PM EST. The Seminoles are currently on a four-game losing streak.
The program is trying to find anything to cling to as there have been so many negatives associated with the squad. They were projected to win the conference and make the College Football Playoff this offseason.
Florida State has already made history in the wrong ways this year, as they currently have the worst record since the 1970s. To make matters worse, they lost to the Duke Blue Devils for the first time in program history. The Seminoles will try to keep their names out of the record books once again as North Carolina head football coach Mack Brown has never defeated Florida State as a coach.
North Carolina has had their own set of struggles this season, where they possess a 4-4 record. Most notably, they were defeated by James Madison by a score of 70-50. Their defense is gettable, but it could be far-fetched to believe that the Seminoles' offense (one of the worst in the country) can take advantage of it.
Even with the offensive struggles, the defensive unit (led by defensive coordinator Adam Fuller) has been a bright spot at times this year. However, North Carolina is ranked 30th in the FBS with 33.9 points per game.
Florida State's secondary has done a solid job this season when it comes to limiting explosive plays. The downside to the Seminoles' defense is that they primarily play man-to-man coverage and allow opposing offenses to have opportunities in front of them. They don't disguise coverages often.
Senior quarterback Jacolby Criswell will look to exploit the Seminoles' defense, as he has 1,660 passing yards through six games (276.7 passing yards average). He does not have a great completion percentage. The fan base was nervous about Miami's Cameron Ward having an exceptional game versus the Seminoles. However, he looked human in the matchup.