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

No. 2 Florida State University (9-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is still looking for a dominant performance despite another win, which came against the University of Virginia (4-6, 2-4) Saturday night.

FSU struggled on offense in both the passing and running games, and its secondary was uncharacteristically porous against the Cavaliers. But the run defense was masterful in the win at Doak Campbell Stadium, and that made all the difference.

Let’s take a look at the Seminoles’ grades for Saturday’s 34-20 triumph over UVA.

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

Pass Offense

Jameis Winston can’t do everything. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner put up pedestrian numbers against Virginia. He went 22-of-35 for 261 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. But his lackluster performance is more on the offensive line than anything else.

From whistle to whistle, Winston was under pressure and frequently knocked on his back. He never had much time to throw the football. The offensive line—which is still suffering from issues associated with the loss of Austin Barron at center, and the fact that his replacement, Ryan Hoefeld, is not very good right now—was a huge liability Saturday night. The Seminoles are lucky that Winston emerged from this game in one piece—and with yet another victory.

After some early drops, Jesus "Bobo" Wilson stepped up and grabbed a handful of catches in the third quarter to help accompany Rashad Greene’s career-high 13 catches. Nick O’Leary was held without a catch, and only four players actually hauled in passes.

This was a down night for one of the best passing attacks in the country, which gets a “C” grade. This group is so much better than how it played against the Cavaliers.

Run Offense

Nine days after a very strong game on the ground against the University of Louisville, FSU struggled to establish anything in the run game against Virginia. The Seminoles finished with 115 yards on 39 carries for a paltry 2.9 yards-per-carry average.

Karlos Williams had some nice carries and racked up 70 yards, but it took him 21 carries to do so. Williams added two touchdown runs, though. Dalvin Cook ran 11 times for 36 yards and left the game in the second half with a leg injury.

FSU looked more like the struggling running team from earlier in the season in this one. The Seminoles just could not consistently move the football between the tackles. For that, the ‘Noles get a similar grade to what they received at that time: a “C” for run offense.

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Pass Defense

Florida State’s pass rush was terrific against the Cavs; its defense against the pass in the secondary was not.

Virginia had allowed eight sacks all season. But against FSU, the Cavs allowed four sacks alone. Eddie Goldman was a beast, and Mario Edwards Jr. was an absolute monster in this one. The Cavs were held to 220 yards passing, but Greyson Lambert tossed three touchdown passes, and his one interception was on a terrible decision that Terrance Smith easily plucked out of the air for the Seminoles.

If the grade was just for the pass rush, an “A” would be in order. But because the secondary struggled (Ronald Darby will have nightmares about the should-be pick-six he dropped late in the fourth quarter), the pass defense gets a “B” for the night.

Run Defense

The difference on Saturday was FSU’s ability to stuff the run and force a mediocre quarterback into leading the offense through the air. 

The Seminoles get an “A+” for run defense because they were simply dominant. The Cavaliers were held to 37 yards on 32 carries for a crazy-low average of 1.2 yards per carry. Virginia could not run the ball on Goldman, Edwards and Derrick Mitchell Jr.

This was one of the best performances—if not the best—of the year for FSU’s run defense.

Special Teams

Roberto Aguayo nailed two important field goals, and Cason Beatty, who has been much more consistent this season, had a stellar game for the special teams unit.

Beatty reeled off a career-long 68-yard punt in this game, and he finished with a per-punt average of 48.5.

Together, that’s an “A” in my book.

Coaching

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Jimbo Fisher and his staff get a “B” for this one. This was an average game all-around for the defending national champions.

There is a lot to work on and improve before the Seminoles travel to an upstart University of Miami team that looks a lot more threatening now than it did earlier in the season. But Fisher and Co. are still undefeated and riding a 25-game winning streak. You can’t grade them too low.

Brandon Mellor is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of Seminoles.com. All recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @BrandonMellor on Twitter.