Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Florida State

1. The Irish defense records 10 sacks

The Seminoles were never expected to have such a rough year in 2018. While there were bound to be some growing pains under incoming head coach Willie Taggart, the common consensus was that Florida State’s talent would be able to carry them through any worst case scenarios. Well, the worst case scenario has come and the talent isn’t doing much to help.

Of course, offensive talent can be severely hindered by a porous offensive line such as Florida State’s. We all know what kind of upside quarterback Deondre Francois has after watching him in 2016, but he now finds himself in a quarterback controversy alongside teammate James Blackman.

While Francois’ recent play may be a result of both an inept offensive line and last year’s patella tendon injury, Florida State’s struggles in the trenches still remain. The line is getting little push, resulting in a talented running back corps ranking 129th of 130 FBS teams in rushing yards per attempt.

What has been equally as disastrous for the Seminoles is their offensive line’s failure to pass-protect. To this point in the 2018 season, Florida State is allowing 3.11 sacks per game, one of the worst rates in the nation. Considering the amount of pressure generated by the Irish defensive front so far, look for this to be one of the more lopsided sack results this season.