Florida State’s defense was a liability two weeks ago. Now the Seminoles are winning football games in large part because of how the defense is playing, especially in second halves.

The Seminoles’ defense allowed just a field goal on Pittsburgh’s seven second-half drives, forcing a trio of fourth-down stops, en route to a 16-10 victory on Friday night.

A major part of the success came on third and fourth down. Pittsburgh was 5 of 15 on third downs, and a few of those conversions came late in the game on penalties. But the Panthers had six opportunities to convert on third-and-short (1-4 yards) and did so just twice.

The Seminoles (5-5, 3-4 ACC) shut the door on fourth downs, holding Pitt to just 1 of 4. Pitt had been relatively good on fourth downs going into Friday’s game, converting 8 of 19 chances. 

“Got critical, critical stops on defense,” FSU interim head coach Rick Stockstill said. “Some critical fourth-down stops.”

FSU made a few of those stops in the game’s final 10 minutes, which came after standout linebacker Chris Jones was flagged for targeting and had to watch from the sideline. Jones has often been FSU’s most consistent player, and he is the team’s leading tackler with 71. To finish off a tight game without Jones shows how far the players, and perhaps their confidence, has come.

The Seminoles had allowed 34.5 points against their six Power 4 opponents, which included 44 at Louisville, 43 at Miami in double overtime and 36 to Clemson. Those struggles kept adding up, leading to the dismissals of coach Mike Norvell and defensive coordinator Tony White. 

But in the last two weeks, interim defensive coordinator Ernie Sims Jr. and the assistants have made some tweaks to the game plan as well as in-game adjustments. The Seminoles gave up just one touchdown in the second half in the win at Boston College. On Friday, FSU’s defense gave up just a first-half touchdown (on five drives) and a second-half field goal (on seven drives).

“We’ve gone to more of a four-man front as opposed to what we were,” Stockstill said. “When you run a three-man front there are so many different things that the secondary has to be responsible for in the run game as well as the pass game. I felt, we felt, that we were putting too much pressure on them, just that they couldn’t play. You look at our corners now, they challenged a lot of balls. … we’re playing better and more consistent in the secondary. 

“I think we’ve simplified things and it’s made everybody, not just the front seven, but the guys in the back end more confident.”

Seminole Sidelines: Kez McCorvey and Jerry Kutz on FSU vs. Pitt

Aside from an early October home victory over Virginia, where the Seminoles allowed just seven points, FSU hadn’t been very disruptive. At Pittsburgh, FSU produced two sacks, seven tackles for loss and six pass breakups at Pittsburgh. 

Defensive lineman Deamontae Diggs, who grew up 12 miles away in McKeesport, Pa., had two tackles for loss and the pass breakup that led to Rylan Kennedy’s interception. The takeaway and short field set up FSU’s only touchdown, Amari Thomas’ 1-yard run.

“It was a blessing for me,” Diggs said. “A dream come true for my last, final home game. Something you can’t even dream of.”

Defensive end Jalen Anderson was credited with three quarterback hurries. Cornerback Charles Lester also had two pass breakups, while linebacker Omar Graham Jr. had a hurry and a pass breakup (both in the third quarter).

Jordan Sanders, a Texas State transfer who was injured in the preseason and had just three tackles coming in to Friday’s game, delivered a big tackle for no gain on Pitt’s fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter.

For a good chunk of the season, it felt like FSU’s offense would have to win shootouts. Now, potentially, the reverse is true. Injuries are piling up on offense, notably as FSU finished the night with No. 5 tailback Zay Parks.

But the defense was also shorthanded, down cornerback Quindarrius Jones, linebacker Blake Nichelson and defensive linemen Kevin Wynn and Deante McCray. The Seminoles have won two ACC road games, led by the defense, the last two weeks when they hadn’t been able to do so for more than 1,000 days.

“These last two weeks, we’ve done something that probably nobody thought we could do,” Stockstill said. “… We find a way to win. This was a sod game. We get to bury, we get to put a tombstone there in that (sod) cemetery. I got a couple of them when I played but now I got one as a coach. I’m just proud of this team.”

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