The 2015 college football season is finally upon us as No. 10 Florida State puts its streak of 24 straight regular season victories on the line against Texas State on Saturday.
The Seminoles come in as a healthy favorite and few are picking the Bobcats to pull the upset, but to start the year, Texas State could serve as an important early challenge for FSU and particularly, its young defense.
Texas State has a talented backfield duo in junior quarterback Tyler Jones and senior running back Robert Lowe. Lowe scored 12 touchdowns on the ground last year while rushing for nearly 1,100 yards and averaging almost six yards-per-game. Jones accounted for 28 touchdowns a season ago while completing more than 65 percent of his passes and totaling 3,199 yards.
The FSU defense last season underwhelmed for the most part after allowing the fewest points-per-game in the country in 2013. Florida State allowed more than 30 points on five occasions in 2014 including 41 to N.C. State and 59 in a Rose Bowl loss to Oregon.
This year’s defense is expected to have a nice mix of workmanlike veterans and extremely talented underclassmen. The Seminoles lost four defensive players early to the NFL Draft and Jalen Ramsey and Terrance Smith are the only two starters remaining from the 2013 national championship team.
Texas State is coming off a 7-5 campaign in which it averaged just under 34 points-per-game. The Bobcats’ balanced attack will force the Seminoles to stay honest defensively and communicate, which was a sore spot for the team last season.
Another area where FSU struggled in 2014 was generating a pass-rush. The Seminoles managed just 17 sacks a season ago, which ranked 108th in the country. The Seminoles lose their top two sack-men from a year ago in Mario Edwards Jr. and Eddie Goldman and will face one of the best pass-protectors in the Sun Belt on Saturday in senior Adrian Bellard.
Though deep and talented, the defensive front for Florida State is largely unproven. DeMarcus Walker and Rick Leonard are coming off outstanding springs while junior Chris Casher is looking to have a breakout season. Sophomores Lorenzo Featherston and Jacob Pugh as well as freshman Josh Sweat could also be key contributors when it comes to getting to the quarterback.
Many are looking at Saturday’s season-opener at Doak Campbell Stadium as a glorified scrimmage which may be fair considering that FSU is more than a 4-touchdown favorite. Texas State however, did a number of things well offensively last year and should serve as a nice first test for a Florida State defense that underachieved a season ago and is breaking in a number of new faces.
