The Citadel vs. Florida State: Game Grades, Analysis for the Seminoles

No. 1 Florida State did exactly what it was supposed to do Saturday night by easily handling The Citadel in a 37-12 triumph at Doak Campbell Stadium.

FSU's starters only had to play two full quarters and a few series in the second half, but it was enough to show some definitive improvement from a week ago, when the Seminoles (2-0) squeaked past Oklahoma State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Position Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	A+	A
Run Offense	A-	B
Pass Defense	A	B+
Run Defense	B-	C
Special Teams	B+	B
Coaching	A-	A-

Florida State Seminoles Game Analysis

Passing Offense

Unlike the first game against Oklahoma State, Jameis Winston didn't feel the need to force passes against The Citadel, and he certainly wasn't trying too hard.

The statistics may be a bit skewed because so many backup players earned late-game snaps in this one, but there's no denying that Winston had a strong performance Saturday night. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner finished the night early in the third quarter after completing 22 of 27 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in FSU's school-record 18th consecutive victory.

Winston was masterful in the pocket, standing tall and delivering strikes to a variety of receivers as he spread the ball around to each of his weapons. His numbers would have been even better had Christian Green not dropped a touchdown in the back of the end zone and had his needle-threading toss to Nick O'Leary just across the goal line not been broken up.

Rashad Greene was impressive, nabbing four passes for 80 yards as he marches toward several FSU career receiving records.

Running Game

Karlos Williams carried the ball a career-best 23 times for just 66 yards against Oklahoma State but had half that total and his first score as FSU's starting tailback on the Seminoles' first drive of the night Saturday.

Williams finished the night with nine carries for 66 yards and a score while true freshman Dalvin Cook reeled off 60 yards on 12 carries. Mario Pender also added 38 yards on seven carries as FSU's top three tailbacks averaged no less than five yards per carry. FSU finished with 203 yards on the ground with a 6.0 yards-per--carry average--a drastic improvement over the 3.4-yards-per-carry average generated against the Cowboys one week earlier.

Pass Defense

FSU's starters get an A-plus in this category, but overall that lofty accolade dips a bit because FSU's backups let The Citadel experience some success through the air in the second half.

The Bulldogs were held to just 12 yards passing in the first half when FSU utilized its starters, but when the backups and youngsters took over in the final two quarters, The Citadel were able to toss two touchdowns.

Still, FSU was strong overall defending the pass against an opponent more focused on stopping the run. Star cornerback P.J. Williams didn't play in this game but the first-team defense didn't miss a beat in the secondary with the like of Jalen Ramsey, Tyler Hunter, Nate Andrews and Ronald Darby doing their thing.

FSU defensive coordinator Charles Kelly would have preferred to see more turnovers forced than the goose egg the 'Noles ended up with in that category at game's end.

Run Defense

FSU has some issues stopping the run—an alarming issue that is now two games and counting. After Oklahoma State ran for 188 yards, The Citadel accumulated 250 yards on the ground—115 of which came against the first-team defense in the first half.

This may be a continued issue for the Seminoles after defensive tackles Eddie Goldman, Justin Shanks and Nile Lawrence-Stample all went down with injuries in the game. Without three of the top defensive tackles on the roster, stopping the run becomes even more difficult.

Special Teams

FSU's special teams were much better than a week ago.

Roberto Aguayo was of course automatic, connecting on all three of his field goals. Last year's Lou Groza Award-winner also put each of his kick returns into the end zone, and the Bulldogs never brought one into play, so field position was not an issue like it was against the Cowboys.

Cason Beatty continues to struggle, as had one punt for 30 yards that got a generous roll of 10 yards before being downed.

Bobo Wilson returned one punt but fumbled at the end of his run before it was recovered by teammate Nick Waisome.

Coaching

Jimbo Fisher likely accomplished what he wanted to do Saturday night by getting some first-half's worth of snaps for his starters and then playing a host of youngsters.

Fisher did a good job mixing in older and younger players while making sure that his most important players were safely on the sidelines when the game was out of hand. 

Brandon Mellor is a Florida State writer for Bleacher Report. Statistics courtesy of NCAA.com. Follow @BrandonMellor on Twitter.