The Florida State football team began a pivotal stretch of ACC games following a 2-2 start with some major questions. Could the defense resolve a leaky run defense? Could the Seminoles pressure the passer?
On what began as a soggy and wet day in Tallahassee, FSU delivered a few answers to the affirmative.
After the rain cleared, FSU settled into the game after two failed drives and moved the ball with some efficiency. That momentum and execution would carry on as the Seminoles dominated the Cavaliers by a score of 38-7.
The Seminoles (3-2, 1-1) notched their first ACC win of the year and, although the offense had a stellar day with 183 yards passing and 281 yards rushing, the defense had one of their best games in the victory over Virginia.
“We knew this was going to be a physical game,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “That’s a good football team we played. But, as I told the guys, we’ll take care of us, and I believe this can be a really good and dominant football team.”
Through the first four games, Florida State’s defense had only mustered seven sacks. On Saturday against Virginia was a different story as the Seminoles made life difficult for senior quarterback Beau Pribula and accounted for 10 sacks — its most in a game since a school-record 11 vs. Wake Forest in 1997.
Senior Rylan Kennedy led the team with two sacks, while senior linebacker Mikai Gbayor, senior defensive lineman Deante McCray, sophomore defensive lineman Kevin Wynn, sophomore defensive lineman Mandrell Desir, senior defensive lineman Deamontae Diggs and junior defensive lineman Jalen Anderson had a sack a piece.
Junior Chris Jones was a menace on the field all day long as the talented linebacker had 1.5 sacks, four solo tackles, two quarterback hurries, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pivotal fourth-down crushing tackle to turn the Cavaliers over on downs with eleven minutes and 45 seconds left in third quarter.
“The coaches came up with the game plan, but it’s on us as a defense to come together, because we’re going to be out on the field communicating,” Jones said. “I feel like we did a great job this week and we’ve got to be more consistent with that to just keep being consistent on the field.”
When the game started, Virginia marched down the field to score the game's first touchdown and the Cavaliers did so by giving the Seminoles a heavy dose of the running game, much like they did last year when FSU lost to the Hoos in overtime. It looked to be the same by the way the game started as Virginia went on a seven-play, 63-yard scoring drive that ate up 3 minutes and 17 seconds and was capped by a touchdown pass from Pribula to sophomore receiver Da'Shawn Martin to give the Wahoos the early 7-0 lead.
That would be the only points the Seminoles would give up on the day. From that moment on, it was domination by the defense. FSU held Virginia to 37 rushing yards on 40 carries.
“I thought our defense came out today with an attitude and mentality,” Norvell said. “Tony (White) and his staff did a great job putting guys in position. They continued to work and you felt the edge they played with and there was incredible effort, incredible application of technique and fundamentals. Seeing guys where they needed to be was something that I was proud of.”
The defense only let Virginia convert three third downs on the day, while the other 15 conversion attempts were unsuccessful. The Cavaliers went for it on fourth down four times and failed each time as well.
These types of wins can propel a team to gain more confidence, especially when the defense is this disruptive. Virginia has a veteran, experience offensive line yet they struggled. The Seminoles flew around on defense all day and had a dominant mindset.
Can this team keep up with the consistency of getting pressure on the quarterback every game? Time will tell, but 10 sacks in a conference game after only registering seven sacks for the first four games is worth noting. Wynn, Desir and Kennedy played up to their billing and all three have could be future NFL players, but once the consistency comes with effort and tenacity from game to game, the defense line could truly be a strength.
If the Seminoles prepare well, they can compete with anyone. If the defense has this type of effort up front, this will free up Jones and safety Ashylnd Barker to roam free and make more plays.
“I feel like in the D-line, it's always important for us because we want the game to be put on us,” defensive linemen Deante McCray said. “We want to win the game at the defensive line, we don’t want Ashton or Chris to worry about anything. This week we had a lot of great preparation and we did things a little differently. We did some more walkthroughs, spent less time on our phones during pregame, little stuff like that I felt definitely helped us in turning the right direction and getting all those sacks.”
FSU hits the road next on a short week, traveling to Louisville on Friday (7 p.m. on ESPN).
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