Saturday night at 8:00pm EST the no. 2 Florida State Seminoles will host no.5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Tallahassee with serious national championship implications on the line.
As we enter the eighth week of the NCAA Division 1 football season the margin for error becomes very minimal, even with the new BCS Playoff Format in place. This far into the season no top 25 team want's to drop a crucial game and lose ground in the national rankings, making this week's College Football matchup of the week between Florida State and Notre Dame one of the most exciting match-ups of the year.
Both an undefeated 6-0, the two college football power-houses will clash inside Doak Campbell Stadium with high hopes of eventually finishing in the nations final four in the aforementioned playoff format and earning a National Championship berth.
Florida State is coming into the week with a lot of negative attention surrounding star QB Jameis Winston and the recent inquiry into potential autographs surfacing on the internet. What's not being talked about however, is that while they're not as dominant as they were last season during their title run, the Seminoles still remain one of the most talented teams in all of college football and are favored to defend their National Crown come January.
On the other hand, behind the brilliance of Everett Golson, Notre Dame has gotten off to a tremendous start to the season despite the criticism of a fairly weak strength of schedule to this point. But make not mistake about it, a win on the road against the defending national champions would silence all the doubters and put the Fighting Irish in good contention to earn a spot in College Football's first ever Final Four.
Here are my key to victory for each side:
Notre Dame Keys to Victory;
1. Limit the turn-overs
Yes, Notre Dame is 6-0 despite committing several turnovers in their last three games that led to points against. Should they do the same against the 'Noles' they'll be in for a long evening. Golson, who's committed eight turnovers in their last three games need's to protect the ball with his life.
2. Stop the run
When the Fighting Irish have been successful this season on defense they've forced their opponents into third and long situations all game. In order to force the Seminoles into third and long situations, Notre Dame must stop Florida State from running at will. If Notre Dame can get to third down and long, Brian VanGorder can take over from there.
Florida State Keys to Victory ;
1. Consistency from 'Famous' Jameis
Jameis Winston - distracted or not, has come out way overhyped in big games this season, and on saturday Florida State simply cannot wait for him to settle into a groove. He need's to bring it for sixty-plus minutes. Make no argument about it, Winston is the engine that drives the Seminoles success. If he's on point, the run game begins to click and their whole offense starts to fire on all cylinders.
2. Third Receiving Option
It would help Jameis Winston quite a bit if he can get a solid performance out of his third receiving options. WR Rashad Greene and TE Nick O'Leary will probably be in double and sometimes even triple coverage all night - but if one of the other Seminole receivers can step up and win their match-ups, Florida State should be successful on the offensive side of the ball. A successful third option will free up space for Greene and O'Leary as well as loosen up the running game for the No. 2 ranked Seminoles. My money is on Bobo Wilson.
My Prediction:
31-27 Florida State University
No comments:
Post a Comment