Florida State football faces must-win game vs. Wake Forest
Florida State football returns home after a close loss to in-state rival Miami Hurricanes to take on Wake Forest as it pursues a bowl bid.
It’s been 35 consecutive seasons. The longest active bowl streak in college football is 35 seasons and the odds of that streak continuing are looking bleaker and bleaker as the weeks pass on.
Last season was saved by a rescheduled game against Louisiana-Monroe but this year it seems to be a struggle to even reach five wins. The game against Wake this weekend will be huge for the 3-3 Noles because this is the easiest game they have moving forward and even then it’s not that simple.
After Wake Forest, Florida State will have to take on No. 3 Clemson, travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on No. 16 NC State, head to South Bend to take on No. 4 Notre Dame, return home to face Boston College and finish the year off at home against No. 11 Florida. This game becomes a must-win spot for the Noles as well as the Boston College game and one of these other games they will have to secure an upset.
The Noles looked the best they have all season long against Miami and if it hadn’t been for a questionable illegal forward pass call they might have pulled it off.
The defense held strong for most of the game and even held the Hurricanes to 5-for-18 on third down. The illegal forward pass shifted all momentum over to the Hurricanes and led to N’Kosi Perry tossing three touchdown passes in the second half. Florida State’s offense didn’t play particularly great but Deondre Francois managed to throw two touchdown passes while DJ Matthews went 74 yards for a score on a punt return.
Wake Forest had a rough outing last time we saw the deacons as well. Clemson came to Winston-Salem two weeks ago to take on the Demon Deacons and their potent offense.
The defense has been notoriously porous all season long and it was expected that Clemson could do whatever they wanted to going into this game. The lack of offense from the Deacons is what is really concerning. Freshman Sam Hartman threw for a measly 74 yards with a pick while going 7-for-20 and the run game averaged 3.4 yards per carry behind Kendall Hinton’s athleticism.
Hartman will likely start again this week and this matchup should be ugly but entertaining nonetheless. Who comes out on top? Let’s find out.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 20
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Tallahasse, Fla.
Venue: Doak Campbell Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
Florida State has to take full advantage of the lack of defense that Wake Forest plays. Florida State hasn’t played the greatest offense this season and that is most in part due to this horrid offensive line they’ve had for most of the season. Wake Forest doesn’t have much of a pass rush so Deondre Francois should have the time to make some plays through the air and Cam Akers should have more success getting past the line of scrimmage against a run defense that ranks 121 overall.
Defensively, the Noles need to rattle Hartman and force him to make some freshman mistakes. They aren’t going to lock him down but they can at least rattle him a bit.
Wake Forest has to get after the quarterback and pass. Florida State’s offense isn’t exactly an elite unit and the offensive line is certainly nothing to brag about. Keep the running backs at bay and hit Francois hard and often. The Noles are mistake prone and have trouble producing on offense and if Wake can keep the trend going they will be just fine.
Offensively, the Florida State secondary is giving up over 270 yards through the air on average and luckily the Demon Deacons are usually pretty good at throwing the ball. Stretch the field and let Greg Dortch get going early on.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of OddsShark
Points Spread: Florida State -10
Over/Under: 59
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Prediction
This won’t be the prettiest game in any sorts, but it should be competitive. The Florida State secondary isn’t the best, but their defensive front has shown flashes here and there to keep them in games. Wake Forest will keep it close, but their defense couldn’t stop a flag football team from scoring. Florida State wins close.
Final Score: Florida State 31, Wake Forest 27