| Florida State | ADVANTAGES | South Florida |
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FSU Passing vs South Florida Pass Defense USF will certainly be a step up from what the Noles faced last week in Texas State. A much larger and formidable defense line should test pass protection a bit more and the Bulls have an experienced secondary.Everett Golson and the Seminole passing attack looked good last weekend and they still have the advantage in this one. |
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FSU Rushing vs South Florida Run Defense There won’t be many teams that have the advantage over FSU in the run game if last week was any indication. Dalvin Cook and Mario Pender are arguably one of the top one-two combinations in the country and the left side of the FSU offensive line looked really dominant last Saturday. They’ll have bigger, more talented guys to face this week, however, and we’ll find out a bit more about what the Noles have this weekend.
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South Florida Passing vs FSU Pass Defense South Florida will start a young and athletic, but raw, passer in Quentin Flowers and he’ll lead an uptempo spread offense that doesn’t feature a whole lot of experience or flash at the WR position. The Noles looked good against a more formidable offense last week and they should have a sizable advantage in the secondary led by Jalen Ramsey.
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South Florida Rushing vs FSU Run Defense This is probably the closest match up on the field Saturday. Marlon Mack is an excellent running back and he got his season started off on the right foot last weekend with a 131 yard performance. Flowers added 63 yards rushing as well as the Bulls ran all over an overmatched FAMU team. The Noles looked really impressive last weekend and have a deep and talented front 4 that should perform well against USF. |
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Special Team Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo is the best kicker in the nation and the Noles looked excellent in the kick return game last week with both Jalen Ramsey and Kermit Whitfield flashing. In the punt game, however, USF looks to have an advantage as the Noles dropped two punts and Cason Beatty continued his struggles. Matti Ciabatti had an nice day punting for USF last week averaging 47.4 yards on 5 punts. The Noles ability in the return game and having Aguayo give them the overall edge, though. |
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| 41 | Prediction South Florida will have a better defense than the Noles faced last week in Texas State, but aren’t as good offensively as the Bobcats. It will be a different test this week and is a nice complementary game to last week’s season opener. The Bulls boast some solid players on the interior of their defense and this will be a good early test for the young offensive line for Florida State. |
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