FSU football: 3 things to look for in the Orange Bowl

FSU's Energy To Start The Game

FSU football has had several games this season where they seem to get out of the gates slowly, and that was with all of the expected starters. I'm talking about players who exude leadership: Jordan Travis, Jared Verse, Fabien Lovett, Trey Benson, and others. FSU will be without those players and will depend on other guys like Kalen DeLoach, Darius Washington, Maurice Smith, and Ja'Khi Douglas to set the tone. These are guys who have been through it all at FSU, including the lean early years under Mike Norvell. What will the energy be like knowing they're missing a ton of production and experience?

This game is one in which no one expects FSU to win or be competitive, and the first quarter of this game will likely dictate how things go, especially the latter. If FSU can come out with good energy and have some success defensively, keeping Georgia out of the end zone or kicking field goals, they could have a shot to keep things close. However, if the FSU offense goes three-and-out every possession early, I worry about the defense getting frustrated, and guys start playing hero ball because they'll lack experience in some key spots. If they can find some success early, who knows what can happen because Georgia's going to have some guys missing as well.