Stop The Run
Again, the competition faced hasn’t been great, so I’m curious to see how they stack up against a defensive coordinator like Tony White, who hangs his hat on stopping the run.
UVA uses the run game to set up explosive vertical plays in the passing game, much like Gus Malzahn. They have a trio of senior receivers and a senior tight end who can make plays. If FSU can contain the run game, that’ll limit UVA’s options.
There are doubts that Chandler Morris can consistently stand in the pocket and make throw after throw, especially since their offensive line may have some injury issues. FSU has solid depth on its defensive front, and the expectation is that the physicality will start to wear on that unit as the game progresses.
However, this goes back to the ability to tackle well, since UVA may turn to the short passing game if they find they can’t consistently run the ball, or they could start to run Morris more. If they decide to do the latter, FSU must punish him with physical hits every chance it gets.