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How Florida State football graded out on Pro Football Focus in Week 3 vs. BC | Nole Rewind

ehsan kassim, tallahassee democrat
·8 min read

Florida State football began the season with two dominant wins over LSU and Southern Miss.

The Seminoles were put to their first test Saturday away from Doak Campbell Stadium with the first true road game of the season at Boston College.

While FSU improved to 3-0, 1-0 ACC and are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 in the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches pools, respectively, there is cause for concern. The victory against the Eagles (1-2, 0-1) was a lot tighter than it should have been.

Here's a look at snap counts for all FSU players against BC, along with notes about their grades from Pro Football Focus.

FSU (3-0) returns to practice Tuesday to begin prep for its biggest test to date at noon Saturday against Clemson in Clemson, South Carolina. (Broadcast: ABC).

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QUARTERBACK

Travis played 59 of the 60 offensive snaps for the Seminoles, missing just one snap when he exited with an injury near the end of the first half. Rodemaker took that snap and kneeled on the ball to get the team to halftime.

While not an eye-popping game that will garner Heisman Trophy hype, Travis showed off his toughness by returning from what looked to be a serious injury to play a solid game. He did not make any big-time throws but also did not have any turnover-worthy balls.

He finished with a PFF grade of 74.4 overall offense and 73.7 passing. Travis' average distance of throw (ADOT) was 11.7, showing the gusty winds had minimal impact on his throws.

RUNNING BACK

The run game was a struggle for FSU against Boston College, as the Eagles attempted to take away the run game and did a solid job of it, allowing just four yards per carry.

Benson, once again, did not look like the elusive runner he was last season and forced just one missed tackle on his 12 attempts. Eighteen of his 38 yards came after contact.

Toafili had the worst game of all the RBs, posting a PFF offensive grade of 47.9, brought down by his 21.9 fumble grade. His fumble led to a scoop-and-score for BC to bring the game tighter in the fourth.

Hill led the way with his 42 yards rushing, with 18 of them coming on one run. He is someone who may have earned more playing time moving forward with his performance and the struggles of the run game to start the season.

Lundy, who broke the rock after the game, scored the third rushing TD of his career. He set up the scoring drive with an interception a couple of plays before.

WIDE RECEIVER

The demise of Wilson was greatly over-exaggerated. After struggling with drops the first two weeks, Wilson posted his second 100-yard performance of the season with four catches for 107 yards. He posted a 74.9 drop grade, improving from a 37.6 grade in Week 1.

Destyn Hill was the lone receiver to play significant snaps outside of Coleman and Wilson, earning the start at slot for the third straight week. He was not targeted.

Interestingly, the Seminoles have opted for Bell (11 snaps) and Wilson (nine snaps) in the slot to get more two tight end looks.

TIGHT END

Bell had the best-receiving output of his career with FSU, going for five catches (on five targets) for 76 yards and a touchdown. His 81.7 offensive grade led all pass catchers.

It was actually Preston Daniel, who caught Travis' other TD pass, who led the team with his 88.7 receiving grade.

Morlock did not receive a target despite playing the second-most snaps at the position. Douglas continues to trail the newcomers in snaps and playing time.

OFFENSIVE LINE

With Maurice Smith (center) and Robert Scott Jr. (right guard) out with lower body injuries for the second straight game, Washington and Harris started in their places, respectively.

Harris has probably opened up a strong possibility to keep the job even when Scott is healthy, as he posted OL best grades offensively (74.9) and in run blocking (71.8). His pass-blocking grade was also solid at 75.3.

Washington again excelled playing center for the second straight week, posting a grade of 82.9 in pass blocking, trailing only Roddick (85.5).

Emmanuel posted an 80.7 pass-blocking grade but struggled in run-blocking with a grade of 50.3, a team-low. Keiondre Jones took over for Emmanuel in the second quarter and posted a 79.5 run-blocking grade but struggled in pass protection with a 52.2 grade.

DEFENSIVE END

FSU prefers to use the defensive ends but that was not the case against BC. Verse played on a total of 73 of the total 79 snaps for the defense.

Verse struggled with his tackling grade (33.9) and overall posted just a 63.7 defensive grade. While he had more tackles this week (3) than last week (0), he also missed two tackles, a cause for concern with Clemson coming up.

Payton and Gilbert split snaps on the opposite side. Payton also struggled with his tackling with a grade of 28.7, the lowest on the team. But he also struggled on overall defense (48.3, last), rush defense (46.1) and pass rush (52.6).

Gilbert posted grades of 59.6 overall, 62.5 in rush defense and 52.6 in pass rush.

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DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Lovett played on a season-high 39 snaps in this one after playing 31 combined snaps in the first two games. He graded out as the second-best defensive player overall (74.6) and rush defender (75.1), while also posting a solid tackling grade of 72.2.

Fiske struggled against the Eagles, posting well-below-average grades across the board overall (49.2), rush defense (48.3), tackling (46.8) and coverage (55.7). He did lead the team in tackles but also missed one.

Farmer led this group with his 73.6 tackling grade and second-best overall grade at 64.4.

LINEBACKER

Graham may have played himself into an increased role with a strong performance. His 80.0 overall grade led the team, as did his 82.2 rush defensive grade. He was also fourth on the team with his 77.0 tackling grade. Granted this was in limited snaps, but it was encouraging.

Bethune had a solid overall game, posting a 67.9 overall grade, the fifth-best on the team. However, his tackling was a concern with a 48.7 grade. He had two missed tackles.

DeLoach actually led the team with his 78.8 pass-rushing grade, but he missed one tackle and posted a 51.2 tackling grade.

Interestingly, Lundy who recorded the lone turnover for FSU on an interception, posted a 50.6 coverage grade but posted a 73.9 grade in pass rush.

DEFENSIVE BACK

Knowles earned the start with Akeem Dent out at free safety with an injury. Knowles led the secondary in snaps with 67. He actually led the team with his three missed tackles, missing tackles on 37% of his attempts. His 33.9 tackling grade was the worst on the team.

Brown posted a solid 70.9 rush defense grade but his tackling (56.1) and coverage (58.5) grades were also concerning.

Green played a solid game across the board with a 72.4 overall grade to go along with strong grades in rush defense (70.7), tackling (78.0), pass rush (70.1) and coverage (67.3). Thomas played some snaps behind him with the defense on the field too much.

Jarrian Jones and Vance split time at slot corner with Jones clearly outplaying Vance in every category, including overall grade (71.8 to 62.6).

GAME INFORMATION

Who: AP No. 4 FSU (3-0, 1-0 ACC) at Clemson (2-1, 0-1)

When/where: Saturday, Sept. 23, noon.; Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @JackGWilliams on Twitter; @JimHenryTALLY on Twitter

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: How Seminoles graded out against Boston College Week 3