Florida State Football: Previewing the Charleston Southern Game

Coming off a shutout and a 34-0 victory, Seminole nation should be excited for the upcoming season.

Florida State bottled up the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks offense, limiting them to 92 yards passing and just 191 total yards. 

However, there needs to be some improvement made on the offensive side of the ball before they host the top ranked Sooners.

Passing Offense and Expecations in Week 2

EJ Manuel did a tremendous job overall in his first season-opening start. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 252 yards and 2 TDs with only 1 INT. Even backup Clint Trickett (son of OL Coach Rick) got snaps and completed his only pass for his first collegiate touchdown to freshman Rashad Greene from 28 yards out.

Still, EJ has to continue to develop as a passer and learn to trust his receivers to make the big catches when facing pressure. He also decided to run a few times when he could have thrown the ball away.

The passing game was solid due to the deep threat production from Bert Reed, Greg Dent and Rodney Smith. It should be noted that Willie Haulstead did not play due to a slight concussion. Having him back in time for Oklahoma is the plan as he might not see much action against Charleston Southern either.

Stepping in for Haulstead, besides Dent, was Jarred (Scooter) Haggins who was quite impressive with his yards after the catch ability. This unit is extremely deep with talent and hopefully Manuel will continue to build a rapport with this unit.

I may seem a bit harsh since the expectations are extremely high for Florida State, but they still must improve a bit in the passing game before they claim to be a so called "great" time. 

Run and Run It Some More Against Charleston Southern

Central Florida opened their season against the Buccaneers and it was not pretty. The following number is a not typo as UCF ran for 316 yards and 8 rushing TDs!

If Florida State is half as good as we think are they should be able to run for over 200 yards in this game, which will boost their confidence up in time for the Sooners.

It all starts up front though. Andrew Datko, Zebire Sanders and David Spurlock are the senior leaders on this team who need to open a few more holes up front. They struggled for most of the game against Louisiana-Monroe. Say what you want about running a vanilla offense for Oklahoma, but it would have been nice if they could of ran the ball with a lot more aggression.

Things should change this week and I want to see more from new starting center Jacob Fahrenkurg. The center exchange with EJ Manuel went well in Week 1 and the pass protection was amazing, but they still need to find ways to run the ball with more ease.

Expect freshman Devonta Freeman to get a few more carries as Ty Jones and Chris Thompson should not be playing past the third quarter in this game. 

Rush Defense Looks Ferocious

This defense was extremely impressive in their season opener and we usually see them struggle in openers against FCS teams. Though Louisiana Monroe is a FBS team, it is easier said than done to shutout any team in college football.

The 'Noles defense was sensational up front, picking up three sacks. Their depth is as good as anybody out there. The pressure up front will be relentless and I look for more of what was seen in the opener against the Warhawks. 

However, the depth at the linebacker unit is something that has not been talked about enough. Christian Jones showed his athleticism in the opener and I look for more youngsters such as Telvin Smith, Jeff Luc and Vince Williams to step up.

There were a few quarterback draws that caught FSU off guard so I am sure Mark Stoops is shoring any holes they had in the season opener. That trio is critical for the Florida State this season, especially with the Boomer Sooners on the horizon in two weeks.

No Fly Zone

The pass defense comes into the game currently ranked seventh best in the nation after allowing only 92 yards.

Greg Reid is flying all over the field and it is not just on special teams. Michael Harris made a start over Xavier Rhodes, which should only motivate him in time for the Sooners. In reality, the Seminoles may need Rhodes athleticism and rangy frame in the middle in the field as opposed to towards the sidelines.

LaMarcus Joyner looked fairly good in his debut at safety in plucking an overthrown ball which has helped fill the Seminoles void at safety. Karlos Williams and Nick Moody provide solid depth at safety which was a glaring weakness in seasons past.

This may the best secondary in the country and they will be on a collision course with the top ranked Sooners high-octane offense in two weeks. Charleston South only threw for 70 yards against UCF as they only had 119 yards of total offense.

Note: Greg Reid and Telvin Smith violated team rules and will be suspended for just this weekend  

Special Teams

Dustin Hopkins was solid, connecting on his two field goal attempts and Shaun Powell was very serviceable on his three punts.

Greg Reid dazzled us with a few nice returns and the coverage team was sensational. Karlos Williams laid the lumber down in kick coverage.  There was nothing that went wrong in this particular unit.

Drama's Forecast

The Seminoles come into this game ranked fifth and if they want to have a ton of momentum going into the game against Oklahoma they must jump on the Bucs right away and let their youngsters play in the majority of the second half. Leaving your starters in too late is not necessary, but you should keep them in until they get at handful of series' and touchdowns.

I am looking for more push up front in the rushing attack and I am looking for a ton of receivers to be open down the field. If this game is not a beatdown I would worry, but not panic. If UCF can win 62-0 then the Seminoles should at least come close to matching that even with their backups playing the majority of the second half. 

Florida State's coaching staff will take this game extremely serious with the big test against Oklahoma on the way, but do not expect the offensive numbers for the starters to be that much better from a week ago other than perhaps the rushing department.

The depth and overall speed will be the major difference in this game. The Bucs could not do much offensively against UCF so Seminole nation should feel extremely confident in this game against an FCS opponent.  

Florida State 66, Charleston Southern 0