FSU football: 3 HUGE reasons FSU defense has struggled in 2024
By Kelvin Hunt
Zero Pass Rush
What do you notice in these few defensive plays? pic.twitter.com/YSADLPxdpM
— Kelvin Hunt (@khchopchat) October 7, 2024
Look at these handful of plays, and specifically at the defensive ends. They offer no type of valid pass rush. Patrick Payton doesn't come close to winning a rep here and has repeatedly stopped his rush because he knew he wouldn't get to the QB. It's one of the main reasons he was the leader in batted balls last year. I tweeted this in December when Payton was threatening to enter the transfer portal.
There's a reason it's more batted balls instead or sacks or hurries while getting 1 on 1's...smart decision to let him ride if true.
— Kelvin Hunt (@khchopchat) December 6, 2023
Marvin Jones Jr. plays soft most of the time and we already knew Sione Lolohea was great against the run and not much of a pass rush guy before transferring to FSU. Joshua Farmer is the only guy on the defensive line who consistently wins his matchups. Amazingly, the FSU defense has done a great job of getting teams where they want, which is 3rd and 7+ yards to go for a first down. The FSU defense has faced 87 third downs, and 46 (52.8 percent) meet that criteria. That's where you want to be defensively, a predictable passing situation.
The only problem is that FSU doesn't have a great pass rush, and teams have converted those 3rd and 7+ situations 33 percent of the time. It forces the defensive backs and linebacker to cover longer, and the longer they have to cover, the higher percentage of a conversion happening. That is atrocious and a prime reason the FSU defense has been on the field so much. The other part is the FSU offense is among the worst nationally.