Florida State Knows Key to Beating Notre Dame Is Containing Everett Golson

Florida State defensive players have seen plenty of Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson on film. They've seen what he can do with his arm and his legs. But to the Seminoles, the key to beating the Fighting Irish is containing Golson, not allowing him to find running lanes and turning him into a pocket quarterback.

FSU frequently sees mobile quarterbacks. The Seminoles faced Auburn's Nick Marshall in the national title game in January and have already seen Oklahoma State's J.W. Walsh, Clemson's Deshaun Watson and North Carolina State's Jacoby Brissett in 2014.

"I think the only guy I can compare him to is Nick Marshall," FSU defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. said. "He can run, he is fast and he can throw. We definitely need to be assignment sound and stay in our gaps. Don’t give him lanes to run out of."

Golson has thrown for 1,683 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions along with 209 rushing yards and four rushing TDs for the No. 5 Fighting Irish (6-0). His completion percentage is 62.5—nearly four points higher than his breakout 2012 season—going into Saturday night's game against No. 2 FSU (6-0).

The challenge with Golson is to try and keep him contained to the pocket. Stanford's defense, one of the nation's best, was able to do that on Oct. 4 as Golson was held to seven carries for 34 yards (but Golson did break free for a 33-yard run). The Cardinal also held Golson to just 20-of-43 passing (46.5 percent) for 241 yards.

But last Saturday, Golson shredded North Carolina, one of the nation's worst defenses, for 300 passing yards, three passing TDs and 71 rushing yards on 12 carries.

"It is always tough when you have a quarterback that can run and pass because you never know, even if everyone is locked down in the backfield, he can still pull the ball down and run," linebacker Terrance Smith said.

One knock on Golson is that he has been turnover-prone. After not throwing an interception in 96 pass attempts against Rice, Michigan and Purdue, Golson has tossed four interceptions the last three games.

Golson had three turnovers in the win over UNC, including two fumbles and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Those three turnovers led to three touchdowns, but Notre Dame escaped with a 50-43 win.

"I definitely have to do a better job with that," Golson told 247Sports' Lou Somogyi. "… It's a point where you get to—just kind of fed up. I think that's where I am, and I'm definitely not going to turn it over."

It will be key for Florida State to force a turnover or two. The Seminoles have just 11 forced turnovers through their first six games, but that average increased with three interceptions against Syracuse this past weekend.

The interceptions in part can be attributed to Golson's ability to read downfield while running, something FSU cornerback P.J. Williams says is rare with college quarterbacks.

"It takes a real good quarterback to be able to, after you're running the ball, still look downfield," Williams said. "That's really what stands out to me because I've seen that in Jameis [Winston] and I haven't really seen that in many other quarterbacks."

The Seminoles have fared well at times against those quarterbacks, but each was able to use his feet to extend or make plays, too.

Name (Team)	Carries-Yards-TDs	Comp-Att-Yards	Passing TDs-INTs
J.W. Walsh (Okla. State)	11-51-2	15-27-203	1-1
Deshaun Watson (Clemson)	12-30-1	19-28-266	0-0
Jacoby Brissett (N.C. State)	13-38-0	32-48-359	3-0

Walsh was limited to mostly short runs, but he did have two touchdowns, including a 24-yard run on 3rd-and-8 in the fourth quarter. Watson had 12 carries for 30 yards, including a pair of eight-yard runs and a two-yard touchdown. Brissett had just 38 yards on 13 carries, but he showed his escapability and delivered a first-quarter touchdown pass after breaking a few sack attempts.

"Running quarterbacks are always a problem," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said.

The trouble with mobile quarterbacks is that a defense can bottle them up for a few plays, but they tend to find a hole in the defense and break loose. For FSU's defensive players, they realize they must focus on their individual assignments and trust their teammates to do the same. There's no need to go off the script and freelance—or Golson will make the Seminoles pay.

"If you have him contained, contain," Edwards Jr. said. "No matter what, just do our job is basically what we have been coached [to do] this week. Don't try to do too much. Don't try to jump inside and do this and that. Just do your job and I think we will be successful."

Bob Ferrante is the Florida State Lead Writer for Bleacher Report; all quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bob on Twitter. All stats are courtesy of Seminoles.com and UND.com.