For top-ranked Florida State, Saturday’s 56-41 come-from-behind victory over N.C. State was another contest in which the Seminoles showed tremendous character, overcame obstacles and found a way to persevere to earn a 20th straight victory.
While there is no void of mental toughness and championship character on the Florida State sideline, one thing that the Seminoles are missing this season has become painfully clear over the first month of the 2014 season — a championship defense.
For years during Florida State’s heyday, the Seminoles were defined by Mickey Andrews’ defenses. Stars like Derrick Brooks, Deion Sanders, Marvin Jones, Andre Wadsworth, Corey Simon and many others made just sniffing the end zone an accomplishment for opposing teams.
Last year’s team led by defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt carried quite a resemblance to those great defenses of the 1990s. The Seminoles yielded less than 13 points-per-game which was tops in the country.
Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and cornerback Lamarcus Joyner were each All-Americans in 2013 while Christian Jones and Telvin Smith made for one of the better linebacker tandems in the ACC. The team was immersed with leadership as seven seniors saw significant playing time. This year’s defense simply doesn’t have those traits.
That however, doesn’t mean that Florida State can’t be potentially great in 2014. That doesn’t even mean that the Seminoles can’t contend for a second straight national championship. It simply means that Florida State must find other ways to win.
Fortunately for FSU on Saturday, the Seminoles were able to outscore the Wolfpack 49-17 over the final three quarters to walk away with their first win in Raleigh since 2008. The 41 points for N.C. State however, were the most given up by Florida State in a victory since 2009 when the ‘Noles coincidentally beat the Wolfpack 45-42 in Tallahassee on a late touchdown by Bert Reed.
While N.C. State’s 520-yard day was not something to be expected on Saturday, sub-par defensive performances have been par for the course thus far for the Seminoles.
In the season-opener, Florida State gave up 31 points to an Oklahoma State team losing its starting quarterback and top two leading receivers.
Against Clemson, the Tigers scored just 17 points against Florida State, but failed to score at all on four of its seven trips to the red zone.
Though teams are putting up yards and in some cases, points on the Seminoles, the Florida State defense is finding a way to make plays when it matters. Instead of playing dominant defense in 2014, FSU must play timely defense.
Against Oklahoma State to open the year, Florida State led by just six in the final quarter when the Seminoles forced Cowboys’ quarterback J.W. Walsh to fumble. FSU recovered and answered with a touchdown pass from Jameis Winston to Rashad Greene to essentially put the game away.
Against Clemson, the Seminoles forced a red zone turnover with the game tied and under two minutes to play before stuffing the Tigers on 4th-and-short in overtime to set up Karlos Williams’ game-winning touchdown.
Again on Saturday, the Florida State defense showed up when it mattered.
Trailing 38-35 late in the third quarter, Florida State forced its first turnover of the day as N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked before fumbling inside his own 10-yard-line. Two plays later, Winston found Greene to put the Seminoles ahead for good.
In the fourth quarter, Florida State forced a second Brissett fumble — this time in the red zone. FSU later held the Wolfpack to a field goal when they had the ball inside the FSU 10.
For Florida State’s early struggles on defense, there are a number of reasons. A lack of a pass rush and buster coverages have certainly hurt, but perhaps nothing has been more damning for the Seminoles than injuries.
With Nile Lawrence-Stample done for the season with a torn pectoral muscle and Mario Edwards Jr. fighting a concussion, Florida State has been extremely thin along the front seven. Young linebackers like Kain Daub, Matthew Thomas and Ukeme Eligwe have also missed time, leaving the FSU front seven with less than a full two-deep.
If there’s good news for Florida State, it’s that other players are beginning to emerge.
Defensive tackle Eddie Goldman has finally started to live up to the 5-star hype that followed him from high school to Tallahassee while fellow junior Reggie Northrup has solidified a starting linebacker spot alongside redshirt junior Terrance Smith.
In the Florida State secondary on Saturday, safety Jalen Ramsey overcame a slow start to finish with 10 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles.
Though Florida State likely won’t blossom into a dominant defense at any point this season, it doesn’t mean it can’t improve as the season goes on.
In fact, Saturday’s defensive debacle in Raleigh couldn’t have come at a better time. The Seminoles’ next two contests, against Wake Forest and Syracuse, will come against the two lowest scoring teams in the ACC and just before a highly-anticipated showdown with Notre Dame.
With two seemingly winnable games upcoming to take Florida State to the midway point of the season, FSU looks to have a golden opportunity to peak on defense and help alleviate the Seminole offense of some of the pressure that comes with having to win shootouts week in and week out.
As the old adage goes, “defense wins championships”. That remains true, but for the Seminoles in 2014, the key may not be how many stops they make, but when they make them.
