College Football Preview: #5 North Carolina vs. Florida State
The Tar Heels and Seminoles meet in the Sunshine State in an important game for both sides.
There is definitely a new buzz around campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Currently, the North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0, 3-0 in the ACC) are ranked fifth in the country, which is their highest ranking in college football since November 1997. Ironically, the head coach at that time was Mack Brown. Fast forward 23 years later and Brown is in his second stint with the program and has them eyeing a possible berth in the ACC Championship Game.
The other sideline does not quite have a lot to be elated about. Football at Florida State University has hit a stagnant state of affairs. Head coach Mike Norvell is in his first season and a 1-3 start along with a few in-season transfers has the Seminoles backpedaling as a program. This will be their third game against a ranked opponent while there is still a meeting against #1 Clemson on the slate. Before that contest, FSU (1-3, 0-3) has to deal with a talented Tar Heel bunch.
Network: ABC
Time: Saturday, October 17th, 7:30 PM EST
North Carolina Analysis
Everything on offense for the Tar Heels starts and ends with sophomore quarterback Sam Howell. The North Carolina offense is seventh overall in all of FBS and a major reason why is the impressive development of Howell (777 passing yards, six TDs, three INTs). Howell is blessed to have a pair of rushers and receivers that provide a number of top-notch weaponry. The combination of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams make up a rushing offense that ranks eighth in the country. Combined, they ran for 383 of the team’s 399 rushing yards last week in a 56-45 win over Virginia Tech. Between Dyami Brown (13 catches, 240 yards, two TDs) and Dazz Newsome (10/100/1), Carolina may very well have the best 1-2 punch at receiver in the ACC.
Technically, the Tar Heels are a top-20 overall defense but they struggled mightily last week against Virginia Tech, more notably in the second half. Defensive end Tomon Fox (25 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five sacks) is arguably the best player overall but the transformation of Chazz Surratt (21 tackles, three sacks) deserves a considerable amount of attention. Linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel has also quietly put together a solid season so far (19 tackles, 1 sack, 3 pass breakups)
Florida State Analysis
To say it has been a rough season for Florida State is saying it in a modest fashion. Aside from the anguish that was mentioned above, Norvell also was quarantined for a bit after testing positive for COVID-19, they have already made a quarterback change that appears to be permanent, and the defense has been incredibly dreadful to watch at times.
One piece of optimism for the Seminoles is a promising run game that rotates a trio of Jashaun Corbin, Lawrence Toafili, and La’Damian Webb. Surprisingly, the offensive line for the Seminoles has been better than expected. They are a young group of blockers but behind sophomore guard Dontae Lucas and redshirt freshman left tackle Darius Washington, the Seminoles have a couple of building blocks in place for the future.
The defense has not played up to their potential this season and part of it is due to injuries but also, the talent level may not be up to par to Florida State standards. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr however has easily been the best defender and is second in the ACC in interceptions with three. As a whole, the Seminoles defense is dead last in the ACC in sacks with just three.
Prediction
This is not an ideal opponent for a Florida State team that is trying to find the straight and narrow in an unprecedented season. Quarterback Jordan Travis (427 passing yards, two TDs, two INTs) has the starting role now for Florida State and while he connected often with his top receiver Tamorrion Terry last week against Notre Dame, he will be without Terry this week, who is sidelined due to a meniscus injury.
Scoring will be at a premium for Florida State and they face off against a Tar Heels offense that is 20th in the country in scoring at 37.7 points per game. If North Carolina is able to avoid unnecessary turnovers, this one should not be much of a challenge for the Tar Heels. It is going to take both sides of the ball for Florida State to play their best game of the season in order to even make this a contest. Which is an aspect that Florida State may not be capable of doing at this point in time.