Three keys for Florida State football to take care of business vs. Jacksonville State

Five FCS teams - Montana, Holy Cross, South Dakota State, Eastern Washington and East Tennessee State – scored victories over FBS teams last week on the road.

The last thing Florida State needs is to become the latest such upset victim less than a week after pushing No. 7 Notre Dame to the brink before losing 41-38 in overtime.

Based on Florida State’s level of effort and resilience against the Fighting Irish – not seen often over the past couple of years – you would assume the Seminoles would come out Saturday night with the proper level of focus needed to take care of business against visiting Jacksonville State and pick up their first victory of the season.

FSU could use this game as a valuable opportunity to play the majority of its roster and secure some momentum before it begins its ACC schedule next week.

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Here’s a look at three keys for the Seminoles to come out on top against the Gamecocks, who enter the game ranked 16th in the latest Stats Perform FCS top 25 poll.

1-Contain Jacksonville State quarterback Zerrick Cooper

Florida State fans are familiar with Cooper, who ran for a touchdown and complete 22 of 30 pass attempts for 232 yards last season to help JSU build an early 21-7 lead in last year’s meeting at Doak. Luckily for the Seminoles, Jordan Travis countered with two touchdowns of his own (one passing, one rushing) to rally FSU for a 41-24 victory which avoided an 0-3 start to last season.

Cooper is back from an ankle injury which ended his fall season last year and nearly his shot at being the Gamecocks’ starter. But after an injury to Zion Webb in the spring, Cooper reclaimed the QB1 role and is again the focal point of Jacksonville State’s offense.

FSU’s defensive front gave a glimpse of its noticeable improvement last week totaling four sacks and holding Notre Dame’s vaunted rushing attack to only 65 yards. And the Seminoles aren’t facing the kind caliber of offensive line as that one on Saturday night, which should allow them to be disruptive again early and often.

If their linebackers, who also performed well against the Irish, maintain discipline and keep Cooper from creating explosive plays, it should open an opportunity to take control of the game quickly.

2-FSU’s offense needs to start better and avoid mistakes on first downs

Florida State offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham chalked up a lot of the offense’s and starting quarterback Jordan Travis’ struggles early against Notre Dame to mistakes which put them in long yardage situations on second and third downs.

“Horrible,” Dillingham said when asked about the team’s first down execution last week. “We didn’t have a good opening drive and we didn’t have a good opening script. We didn’t put our players in a good position to succeed on that first drive. We had two false starts on the first drive and two missed assignments on the first play of a drive. That was kind of the tale of the first half. We had four or five drives where that first play was catastrophic.”

The Seminoles hope having a full game and the past five days to correct those errors will translate to a more crisp start for their offense against the Gamecocks. FSU typically executed their opening scripted plays well throughout last season. Their ability to adjust as the game went on last week was a noticeable improvement over last season when often games got out of hand quickly leading to lopsided defeats after some early success.

FSU’s passing game needs to find some rhythm early and its offensive line establish dominance for its running game to flourish as it did a week ago.

3-Build an early lead and let the kids and backups play

This game will likely be one of the few opportunities this season for head coach Mike Norvell to reach deep into his roster and let multiple reserves and true freshmen, who may even eventually redshirt, have a chance to get on the field.

Last week’s game saw some positive debuts from such freshmen like wide receiver Malik McClain and cornerback Kevin Knowles II. There are others who have flashed throughout camp such as defensive back Shyheim Brown and defensive lineman Patrick Payton, who have yet to make their debuts.

Backup quarterbacks Chubba Purdy and Tate Rodemaker would benefit from seeing some snaps in this game if the Seminoles can build a comfortable cushion by halftime as well.

FSU would also have a chance to keep key players fresh and limit the wear and tear which will undoubtedly add up quickly as it proceeds into its conference schedule beginning next Saturday at Wake Forest.

Reach Andre Fernandez at afernandez@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @FernandezAndreC.

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