Florida State Rush Offense vs Bethune-Cookman Rush Defense
After coming out throwing against Pittsburgh in week one, Florida State got the run game going last week against Nevada. The Noles should have no problem naming their rushing yardage this week. Already featuring two solid backs in Devonta Freeman (161 yards, 8.9 YPC) and James Wilder Jr (104 yards, 6.4 YPC), the Noles moved Karlos Williams to running back in the off week and got great results (110 yards, 13.8 YPC). True freshman Ryan Green (86 yards, 8.6 YPC) got into the action last week, too. The offensive line has played well opening those holes and will be going up against an undersized opponent in Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats starting front four weigh 250, 250, 265, and 255. They have performed well this season, but haven’t faced anything even close to what they will go up against this weekend in Tallahassee.
Advantage : FSU
Florida State Pass Offense vs Bethune-Cookman Pass Defense
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has been nothing short of sensational thus far in this young season. Of 45 pass attempts by Winston he has thrown only 5 incompletions and, amazingly, only 2 of those passes have hit the ground (1 was intercepted and 2 have been caught out of bounds). Not only does that mean that Winston is hitting open recievers, it also means that receivers are catching every ball thrown there way. In fact, there hasn’t been a single dropped pass by any of the 11 players that have caught a pass for the Noles. Bethune-Cookman hasn’t given up more than 156 yards passing in any of their 3 games this season, but again they haven’t faced anything like they will on Saturday. They have decent size in the secondary, but much like in the run game Florida State should be able to name their passing yards.
Advantage: FSU
Florida State Rush Defense vs Bethune-Cookman Rush Offense
The Wildcats have a very solid rushing attack averaging 244 yards per game, which is most in the FCS. Bethune-Cookman features a good size offensive line with all 5 starters at 305+. They are not a ground and pound style rushing team, though. Running the spread option, they feature four players with 100+ yards rushing on the season including 3 quarterbacks that have combined for 216 yards rushing. From a physical standpoint, Florida State is the superior team, but the Noles will have to show good discipline and play assignment football against the option attack. Though the stats (3.4 YPC) don’t really show it, the Noles have been susceptible to the run on occasion early this season. Look for the Noles to load up on the run and try to make the Bethune-Cookman offense one dimensional.
Advantage: FSU
Florida State Pass Defense vs Bethune-Cookman Pass Offense
Bethune-Cookman doesn’t throw it all that often. They average just 106 yards passing a game on only 17 attempts. They spread the responsibility around though as their 3 headed quarterback of Jackie Wilson, Quentin Williams, and Brodrick Waters have 19, 16, and 16 pass attempts respectively. They do feature good size on the outside as their starting WRs Eddie Poole and Isaac Virgin both go 6’4″. Florida State has been excellent on pass defense this season, though, and should have little problem shutting down a pass defense that isn’t a strong point of the Wildcat offense in the first place.
Advantage: FSU
Score Prediction: FSU 59-3