Florida State Football: Hapless Seminoles welcome Northern Illinois in rematch

A rematch of the 2013 Orange Bowl takes place this weekend, as Florida State football welcomes Northern Illinois.

The two teams are much, much different since that meeting five years ago, and to be quite honest, the Huskies might be better – and in a better place – than the Seminoles at the moment.

Following a three-point effort in the season opener and a 10-point win at home vs. Samford, the Seminoles were destroyed by Syracuse on the road last week, 30-7. Now, first-year head coach Willie Taggart and company return home with 80,000 fans expecting better results.

Despite his struggles, Deondre Francois has maintained hold of the starting quarterback job. Francois is 71-for-117 with 731 yards passing and three touchdowns, but has been picked off four times.

Cam Akers, part of several running backs who came to FSU with lofty status, has 210 yards, and Nyqwan Murray leads the team with 14 receptions and 146 yards.

The Huskies, who lost that Orange Bowl matchup, 31-10, to end their unbeaten season, got in the win column for the first time in five games dating back to last season with a 24-16 victory over Central Michigan.

Northern Illinois enters averaging just 12 points per game, a stark contrast from the days of Jordan Lynch. Tre Harbison leads the Huskies with 228 yards on the ground, as quarterback Marcus Childers has 325 yards and four touchdowns.

Here’s how you can watch Northern Illinois at Florida State:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 22
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium
TV: ESPNU
Live Stream: WatchESPN | Fubo TV

Keys to Victory

The talent on the field will be drastically in favor of Florida State. But do the Seminoles feel that way? The confidence has been shaken by everyone involved with the current edition of FSU football, and you can bet Northern Illinois would like nothing more than to knock them off.

The Huskies will need to be better throwing the ball than they have been through the early going of the season, as they average under 110 yards per game through the air.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark

Point Spread: Florida State -10

Over/Under: 44.5

Prediction

This is a do-or-die game for Florida State and Taggart. Despite the incredible buyout, the pressure just might be too intense for the university to not pull the trigger if the Seminoles fall at home to Northern Illinois.

Final Score: Florida State 24, Northern Illinois 13