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Florida State’s 2016 season hinges heavily on opener vs Ole Miss

By Collin Wieder

Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries the ball against the Houston Cougars in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries the ball against the Houston Cougars in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida State football had a down year by their standards in 2015 but the 2016 opener would get them off on the right foot if they down a top-tier team like Ole Miss.

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Jimbo Fisher would like to forget the last scene of the 2015-2016 season. His mighty Florida State Seminoles were embarrassed on national TV by Tom Herman’s Houston Cougars in the Peach Bowl. The best way to forget last season’s bitter end is to win Week One. That will be no easy task for the Florida State program. The ‘Noles are going to face off against one of the SEC’s best teams in Ole Miss.

The Ole Miss Rebels are coming off one of their best seasons in school history. The Rebels dominated Oklahoma State to win the Sugar Bowl. Both squads went 10-3 last year, but they seemed to be trending in different directions.

The storylines could write themselves in the opener. Two Heisman candidates, Chad Kelly and Dalvin Cook, will meet. Florida State’s Sean Maguire looks for redemption after a four-interception performance in the Peach Bowl. And how are the Rebels going to look after a rough offseason involving NCAA sanctions? This should be one of the best matchups of the season and it is only Week One.

For the Seminoles to trend upward again it will have to be on the ground. Florida State will look to pound the rock with one of the nation’s top running backs in Cook. The Heisman candidate is a force on the ground churning out 1,691 yards and 19 touchdowns last year. If that isn’t impressive enough, he averaged 7.4 yards per carry.

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However, Florida State will have to pass successfully to beat Ole Miss. Senior quarterback Maguire is finally the man in 2016. Maguire saw action over the last two years. But, he failed to wrestle the job away Everett Golson until midway through last season. He had a solid 2015 regular season throwing for 1,128 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Unfortunately, fans most recent memory of Maguire was his abysmal Peach Bowl performance. He completed just 50 percent of his passes for 392 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. His 2016 needs to get off on the right foot to instill faith back in the Seminole faithful.

On defense, end Demarcus Walker leads the way for Florida State. Walker had a breakout season in 2015. He recorded 56 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He will need to contain Kelly who can kill defenses through the air and on the ground.

Ole Miss is putting their national title hopes on their star quarterback after throwing for 4,042 yards, 31 touchdowns while adding 509 yards and another 10 touchdowns on the ground last year. He should be a Heisman Trophy candidate for the upcoming season.

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The Rebels offense lost a lot of weapons in the offseason with receivers Laquon Treadwell and Cody Core gone along with running back Jaylen Walton. Further, three-time All-SEC left tackle Laremy Tunsil is no longer protecting Kelly’s blind side.

The defense also lost multiple players especially on the defensive line. Three of the four starters on the line are gone, highlighted by Robert Nkemdiche who was the third of three Rebels taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. They do however return their leader in sacks, Marquis Haynes, and three out of four starters in the secondary, including Tony Conner who returns from injury.

The most important thing for the Rebels is that they bring back Kelly. He gave them the extra boost that his predecessor, Bo Wallace couldn’t.

2016 will be filled with a lot of solid games but none that feature this kind of star power. The top returning quarterback in the SEC and the top returning running back in the nation should make for an interesting first game. Throw out all the roster shuffling because these two stars are going to make plays regardless.

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