FSU football: 3 major areas defense needs to improve in 2024

Explosive Plays Allowed

For all of the things the FSU defense did well last year, they allowed too many explosive plays for a highly-ranked defense. FSU allowed 5.02 yards per play, good for No. 24 nationally. However, the Noles ranked No. 83 nationally, with 175 plays of 10+ yards allowed. That's 19 percent of their total defense plays. They had 11 percent of their total plays result in a tackle for a loss. They had 59 plays of 20+ yards allowed, 27 plays of 30+ yards allowed, 17 plays of 40+ yards allowed, and eight plays of 50+ yards allowed. Some of these plays likely occurred in garbage time. Others probably happened when FSU had their second or third units in because they rotated a lot on the defensive line throughout games.

However, for comparison's sake, Ohio State only allowed 120 plays of 10+ yards, Clemson only allowed 125 plays of 10+ yards, and Michigan only allowed 136 plays of 10+ yards. FSU excellent at getting off of the field on third down, were among the top teams in sacks, but there were too many instances of teams getting random chunk plays. This is part of why FSU allowed nearly 18 first downs per game, despite only allowing 28.7 percent third down conversions. If FSU can eliminate some explosive plays, it'll result in more offensive possessions for the Noles. It'll also eliminate more red zone trips for opposing offenses.