FSU football: 5 defensive players who shined against California Bears

Parting Thoughts

Shyheim Brown had a nice return after missing last week. He led all players with 11 tackles. KJ Kirkland continues his strong play for a younger player, finishing with seven tackles. Blake Nichelson had eight tackles and .5 tackles for a loss. I thought DJ Lundy played with some fire and got downhill against the run a couple of times. Sione Lolohea continues to give solid reps from the defensive end position.

All in all, FSU has a solid defense. They are stout against the run when they face teams without a dual-threat QB. The secondary is solid and the linebackers seem to be getting better.

They have to clean up setting the edge and allowin teams to convert on third and long. Some of that is FSU needs to get more pressure on quarterbacks, but other times, it's guys just getting beat in one-on-one situations.

I have to give credit to California receivers, because they made a couple of real tough catches on Saturday night too. I hope we get to see more and more young guys getting more reps. I wrote it on Twitter/X, but I think it's amazing the defensive players haven't given up on this team based on how pitiful the defense has been. They easily could have folded up shop on Saturday night, or played hero ball too much, but they kept it together and was the main reason FSU pulled off the victory.