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FSU has to put the hammer down with the running game in the second half

No more cute tricks, it's time to bully Virginia off the field
ByCorey Long|
Florida State v Virginia
Florida State v Virginia | Ryan M. Kelly/GettyImages

FSU rallied with three rushing touchdowns in the second quarter and the Seminoles are tied 21-21 with Virginia at the half. 

It's been an inconsistent effort from FSU through one half. The Seminoles have turned the ball over twice, had a couple of bad penalties and made a head-scratching decision in the red zone. But the FSU defense forced two turnovers as well, leading to 14 points. 

Initial thoughts: Clean up the mistakes

​FSU would probably be up 28-7 or 28-14 with a clean game. As I said in a previous post, they are the bigger team and the faster team. And as long as the Seminoles don't give Virginia extra opportunities, they should be able to pull away in the second half.

The first turnover, a Gavin Sawchuk fumble, was bad, and it gave Virginia the ball at the FSU 38.  But it was the 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that turned a third down into a red-zone opportunity that the Cavaliers cashed in.

We've already talked about the Castellanos interception, no need to re-hash that one.

And on the Cavaliers third touchdown, Jerry Wilson gets a little aggressive and almost secures a pick six, but he doesn't, and it turns into a chunk play for Virginia. I appreciate the aggression by Wilson and the FSU secondary had two picks on Chandler Morris already, so they were smelling it. But that should have only been a 9-yard gain if the defense made a tackle.

Extra thoughts: Offense good, defense...needs work

The offense has 262 yards (156 rushing, 106 passing) and it feels like the running game has a lot of juice left. Sawchuk has 12 carries for 63 yards and I could see him getting to the 130-140 yard range if he gets another 10 carries in the second half.

Duce Robinson already has five catches for 100 yards. He could be the first FSU receiver to hit the 1,200-yard mark since Rashad Greene had 1,395 in 2014. Robinson is a true No. 1 receiver and the best big-play threat at the position since Tamorrian Terry. 

Defensively, our concerns about the pass rush are valid. And despite having a favorable matchup, I haven't heard Darrell Jackson's name called all night. The defense is more aggressive than they are good. The unit has to take a lot of chances with blitzes and jumping routes in the second. It's a feast or famine situation.