What Could Make or Break Florida State Against Virginia

With a must-win game ahead, Florida State needs to come up big against Virginia and show that what Mike Norvell and his staff have been preaching is finally translating to game day.

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Florida State heads into the Virginia game at 2-2 and 14th in the ACC, giving this game a must-win feel, especially for a coach who is auditioning for his job every week.

“It’s been a good week of preparation,” Norvell said. “The best days of practice that we’ve had in a long time. It was outstanding in all aspects.”

Florida State needs that same level of outstanding to show up Saturday.

At times this season, the Seminoles have shown signs of what they’re capable of but have struggled to sustain it.  Against Virginia, Florida State will have another opportunity to prove that what they’ve done from Sunday to Friday can carry over to Saturday once the lights come on.

And that means If they’re going to pull off the upset, Florida State has to get Ashton Daniels’ best game while Tony White’s defense needs to find a way to slow down Virginia’s passing game.

Daniels Must Protect Football

Daniels threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns a week ago, completing 66.6 percent of his passes and an interception. Daniels is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark this season with 928 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also added 125 yards on the ground, averaging 3.7 yards per carry with one touchdown.

If Florida State is going to beat the Cavaliers, Daniels can’t turn the ball over. Sounds obvious, but with a 6-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio, it’s a problem that seems to show its ugly face each game.

Daniels has to play like a confident fifth-year senior, protect the football and be the leader on the field. He hasn’t shown it consistently yet, but according to running back Osumane Kromah, he did in practice this week. Now, can he make it translate to game day?

“Ashton is having way more confidence to do what he wants on the field. Being more of a leader,” Kromah said.

The problem for Daniels: Virginia ranks 14th in the country in interceptions, averaging 1.5 per game, and allows just 130.3 passing yards per game. Virginia’s secondary has been outstanding all season, and with the Cavaliers’ offense averaging 40.5 points per game, which ranks 21st nationally, Florida State can’t afford to give them extra opportunities to score.

Secondary Must Slow Pribula

Beau Pribula is heading into the game with just 793 passing yards, a low number, but his 11 touchdowns and one interception make that number easy to overlook. He also adds 125 yards, a 3.7 average per carry, and one touchdown on the ground.

To show how efficient Pribula has been, consider Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, who has thrown for 1,206 yards but has one fewer touchdown and the same number of interceptions.

That’s not the kind of quarterback Florida State fans want to see in a must-win game, considering the secondary has struggled this season to slow down the passing attack. Against SMU and Alabama, the secondary gave up a combined 750 yards and six touchdowns.

Stats like that are why FSU ranks 135th in average passing yards per game (290) and 109th in average passing touchdowns per game (2.0). Now, the Seminoles’ secondary is tasked with doing something it has yet to do: slow down a Virginia passing attack that ranks 52nd in passing yards per game (254.5) and fourth in passing touchdowns per game (3.8).

For Florida State, the formula is simple: Daniels has to protect the football, the secondary has to slow down Virginia’s passing attack, and the Seminoles must finally show that a strong week of preparation can translate into a complete performance on game day.

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