FSU football: Converting third downs could be the deciding factor in FSU-Duke

Florida State football has had a disappointing 2024 campaign where they have losses to Georgia Tech, Boston College, Memphis, SMU, and Clemson. The only positive side of developments have been the victory over California and the fact that the Seminoles are starting the youth movement.

Nonetheless, this has been a whirlwind for the Seminoles' fan base after they thought the team would be competing for a spot in the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

Nothing has seem to go right for Florida State as they are treading water where they are trying to stay afloat after being a laughing stock by various members of the media. Head football coach Mike Norvell does a solid job in ensuring that the squad stays relatively focused through moments of adversity.

However, these are 18-23 years old, things can get hectic at times with their friends, families, hobbies, school work, etc. Florida State has to find a way to stay motivated and focus on their Friday night matchup versus Duke.

The Seminoles have had two weeks to prepare for this contest. With that being said, they also two weeks to plan for Memphis and they lost by a score of 20-12 so that isn't always a good thing. However, it is worth mentioning that Florida State has redshirt freshman quarterback Brock Glenn under center now so maybe it will be better.

Florida State's defense has had troubles with finding ways to get off the field on third down. Through six games, the unit has allowed opposing teams to convert on third down 46% of the time, which ranks 117th in the FBS.

The good news is that Duke doesn't make you pay in that category (I beg you Blue Devils... please don't start now) as they rank 128th in the FBS in third down offensive conversion rate (28.8%). For reference, as bad as Florida State's offense has been, the Seminoles rank 127th in the FBS for the same category (28.9%).

This game could come down to who converts the most third downs on offense. Hopefully, this allows head football coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins time to scheme up plays where the offense can be successful and continue to move the chains.