Dooley’s Dozen: 12 things to know about Florida State Seminoles football
It doesn’t matter if this isn’t what you wanted. This is what you have.
The Battle of the Back-ups in the Swamp.
In this corner, at 6-foot-4 inches, 200 pounds, wearing garnet and gold, thrower of 31 passes this season… Tate Rodemaker.
In this corner, at 6-foot-2 inches, 220 pounds, wearing orange and blue, thrower of 20 passes this season… Max Brown.
Gentlemen, go into your corners and please, tell your teammates, no fighting.
It could get chippy Saturday night in Gainesville as two teams with very different seasons get ready to rumble.
The Dooley’s Dozen gives you 12 things you need to know about the Florida State Seminoles.
The injuries sure changed things
Jordan Travis probably wasn’t going to win the Heisman, but he was certainly going to get a lot of votes, especially if he lit up the Gators (who hasn’t?) and Louisville in the ACC title game next week.
You can’t define what he has meant to the program. FSU will go out and try to win it for their fallen quarterback instead of letting it get them down.
You saw the back-up last week
Rodemaker came in after Travis went down and did a good job, albeit against North Alabama. He has had spot duty as a backup all season and started one game in his career. The redshirt junior has five touchdown passes this season. He did throw five interceptions in his first three seasons.
He was the first to commit...
… to Mike Norvell when the coach had only been on the job at FSU for three days. Rodemaker was a USF commit before Norvell came to Tallahassee and lured him away. Rodemaker patiently waited his turn knowing this was Travis’ last season.
Both of Rodemaker’s backups are freshmen, by the way.
To be honest, it’s about more than that
Look, we all know that FSU has a chance to be in the College Football Playoffs. Florida just wants to get into a bowl game even if the player’s gift suite looks like a thrift shop.
FSU needs to win and probably needs to win by a lot. The CFP committee will be all over this game. That’s just the way it is.
There is that scheduling issue
If the CFP committee has to split hairs, FSU’s schedule won’t do them any favors. The Semis have only played one team that is currently ranked in the Coaches’ poll, LSU in the first game of the season.
Conversely, Florida has played five games against teams currently ranked in the top 25.
The ACC has had a bit of an off-year with only three teams ranked.
Just simmer down people
Can’t we all just get along? This is a fierce rivalry that didn’t start until 1958 when the state legislature demanded it. Florida has a 37-27-2 lead in the series that had been dominated by streaks.
There was a run from 1990-2000 when both teams were ranked in the top 10, but this is the sixth straight game where one team isn’t ranked.
FSU can run it without Travis
Rodemaker is not known for his running ability the way Travis was, but FSU still has talented running backs. Trey Benson leads the team in rushing with 743 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lawrence Toafili has 322 yards and both have been very effective in catching passes out of the backfield.
But the strength is at wide receiver
This is where the portal has really paid off for Norvell. Keon Coleman, a transfer from Michigan State, is a problem no matter who is throwing the ball. He has 45 catches for 615 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Johnny Wilson, who has struggled with nagging injuries this year, is a transfer from Arizona State with 33 catches for 532 yards. And South Carolina transfer Jaheim Bell is a tight end who can line up anywhere and has 36 catches for 465 yards.
It’s a typical FSU defense (from the 1990s)
They will smack you around. Two different players have 4.5 sacks – Jared Verse and Joshua Farmer. Kalen DeLoach is a heat-seeking missile at linebacker who leads the team in tackles and sacks with seven. Jarrion Jones leads the team with three picks.
Norvell is the perfect example...
… of being patient with a coach. Now, FSU was so strapped financially that
they had little choice but to give him time. He was 1-8 in his first nine road games and started his career 8-13.
But the former wide receiver has his team rolling in the right direction and is 21-3 over the last two seasons. He is 42 years old from Irving, Texas.
This is what he has built
The stats don’t tell an optimistic story for the Gators. Keep in mind that FSU hasn’t faced a lot of great offenses since the opener against LSU, but the Semis are 12th in the country in sacks and 24th in total defense.
They are also 17th in total offense and seventh in turnover margin at plus-10. And, of course, they are 11-0.
Florida does have the home field
Where the Gators have a 26-15-1 advantage. As if the past means anything. But if it does, here’s some bad mojo for you – FSU has three national titles and every year they have won it all, they used a win over Florida in Gainesville as a springboard.
Florida State is a 6.5-point favorite (and a six-point favorite to beat Louisville next week).
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