FSU football: Time for DTs Joshua Farmer and Darrell Jackson Jr. to emerge in 2024

Florida State football currently has a 0-2 record with losses over Georgia Tech and Boston College. This is certainly not where this squad wanted to be after being projected to win the conference and make the College Football Playoff in the preseason.

The Seminoles have been hearing what they have been doing wrong throughout the bye week as they get ready to take on Memphis in the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium.

The truth of the matter is that Florida State has struggled to run the football offensively as well as stop the opposing team from their rushing attack. The Seminoles have not been able to win the line of scrimmage up front.

Florida State ranks 122nd in the FBS in rush defense where they have allowed 226.5 rushing yards per game. I realize that the Seminoles' defense ranked 70th last season in the category but the successful gains came from chunk plays. It seems like this year running backs are averaging three yards per carry before they are even touched.

Linebacker DJ Lundy met with the media after the Seminoles' loss to Boston College. He blamed a ton of the weakness on the defensive line and linebackers where he stated that they had to play better and handle their responsibilities.

The good news for Florida State is that Memphis ranks 90th in the FBS in rush offense where they average 135 rushing yards per game.

The Seminoles aren't out of the clear yet as defensive tackles Joshua Farmer, Darrell Jackson Jr., and Daniel Lyons have to be willing to dominate the line of scrimmage and allow linebackers such as DJ Lundy, Cam Riley, Justin Cryer, and Blake Nichelson to come up in run support.

I believe this is going to have to be a performance that Farmer and Jackson Jr. have to showcase that they were properly regarded in the preseason.