Florida State's problems are in plain sight on game days and magnified when the coaches watch the film.
The biggest issue? That could be an argument. But after allowing 397 rushing yards in a loss at Louisville, well, that's a massive problem.
Was it a lack of effort? Was it the scheme? Was it the personnel? What could be changed? The Osceola asked Mike Norvell those questions as part of Monday's press conference, one where he reflected on the 44-20 loss and ahead to the game at No. 3 Miami.
FSU is tied for 102nd in the FBS (among 138 schools) in rush defense, allowing 165.5 yards per game. While there was a positive day in holding Virginia to 27 yards, there have been negatives: SMU racked up 155 rushing yards, Alabama had 247 yards and Louisville hit 397.
To the question of effort, Norvell said the film confirmed to him that wasn't an issue.
"The first thing I go and I look at is the effort. Is this something where guys are pulling back? Is this something, through the course of the game, you still feel guys, they're throwing their bodies around,” Norvell said. “Now where they're throwing their bodies not always is not consistent enough to the scheme. We want to be a defense that sets the edge. We want to have an edge to our defense. We're not doing that good enough."
To the question of the scheme, Norvell indicated the Seminoles (3-3, 1-2 ACC) need to take a look at options. FSU has tried three-, four- and five-man defensive fronts, at times varying the looks for a specific opponent. It didn't seem to matter which front FSU had on the field on Friday, though.
"There's some things that are scheme-related, need to be better," Norvell said. "That has been challenged. I'll say that, it's a challenge to coaches, it's a challenge to players. You have roles, you have responsibilities. Do your job."
To the question of personnel, FSU is light up front and is down a few linebackers to injury. Neither are excuses, and with apologies to Blake Nichelson, would it be considerably better? The Seminoles had 19 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, although the numbers aren’t broken down to run plays vs. pass plays. But with 397 rushing yards and 140 passing yards, it’s fair to deduce the majority of FSU’s missed tackles came vs. the run.
"We all have to be better when it comes to that because run defense, it's 11 guys playing as one," Norvell said. "You can have all the right intentions and thinking that, well, I'm gonna go here to make this play."
FSU has made some of those plays early in games, notably at Alabama and at Louisville, only to not make plays later. The missed plays keep adding up for a defense that doesn't have enough big bodies up front, likely misses defensive tackle Darrell Jackson and at the midpoint is searching for answers. FSU was 51st against the run last year.
Defensive coordinator Tony White didn't go into specifics but reflected on the self-analysis ahead of Miami, which has the No. 20 rush offense in the FBS (220.4 yards).
"You just start from square one," White said. "You look at personnel, you look at production, you look at schematics, you look at calls, you look at every single thing you can. And you're trying to tweak the formula to get the guys to where you can face some adversity because in football you're going to face some adversity. But the main thing is that you recover and respond the right way from the adversity."
That's been a hot-button word at FSU because Norvell preaches the "response to adversity," and the Seminoles haven't shown much in that regard the last few years. There are hot starts and cold finishes. There are big wins at home that follow duds on the road.
Later in the interview, White spoke about a conversation he had with Norvell.
"Coach made it plain and simple. 'You better figure it out.' That's what we're here to do," White said.
Norvell said in his view there were times against Louisville that FSU's defense made the right play against a first-quarter run and then, given very similar circumstances in the third quarter, "a little deviation and it causes a massive ripple effect to an explosive play."
But those deviations added up. It was a run defense question postgame at Louisville that prompted Norvell to cuss and pound the table before he quickly apologized.
The Seminoles allowed the second-highest rushing total in a game in program history, which was set by Georgia Tech in 2009. With the Seminoles seeking consistency and answers at the midpoint, Norvell thinks players have the right mindset to learn and improve.
"It's midway through the season," Norvell said. "And my expectation is to see extreme growth and extreme improvement, and that's where we're all being challenged. What I appreciate is I appreciate the mentality of the guys I have on the defensive side of the ball, the guys that I have on the offensive side and the the guys that are in special teams, right? The ownership of it is great.
"Now we got to fix it. You could say it all, all the right things, but it needs to be done. Players, coaches, everybody involved and that has to show up."
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