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FSU Football's Top Questions Heading Into Orange Bowl: No. 4
FSU football is preparing for their Orange Bowl showdown against Michigan – here’s one crucial question heading into the matchup.
For the 46th time in program history, FSU football will be playing another football game to end the season. After a early part of the 2016 season that had many wondering if the ‘Noles would go to a decent bowl game, a late season surge and some help from others means the Seminoles are heading to a New Years Six game for the third straight season.
December 30th, Florida State will be playing their second game of the year inside Hard Rock Stadium – this time against the Michigan Wolverines in the Capital One Orange Bowl. The game features two of the best players in the country, two of the top coaches in the game and two teams that had aspirations of being in the College Football Playoff when the season started.
The game will present challenges for both teams with plenty of questions left to be answered. Here’s one of the most important questions heading into the third ever meeting between the ‘Noles and the Wolverines.
No. 4 – Can the FSU defense keep their momentum going after a hot November?
It’s hard to believe for many that the defense on the field during the final month of the season for the Seminoles was the same group that was, for lack of a better term, embarrassing the team the first two months and doing nothing but making coordinator Charles Kelly wonder weekly whether or not he would still be employed.
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The unit allowed just five offensive touchdowns over the final month (allowing an average of 13 points a game) to go along with having 19 of their 47 sacks this season occurring over that span. Yes, some of it has to do with playing offenses that were less than stellar, but the growth has been noticeable to anyone that has watched college football.
Michigan finished the regular season with the 51st ranked offense – one behind Syracuse and 13 ahead of Boston College – with their strength certainly being the run game (ranked 31st nationally) over the passing game (ranked 82nd). If the Seminoles are going to come out on top, they have to put all the pressure on the Wolverines to beat them through the air.
The 26th ranked FSU defense will be the fifth best they have faced all season – with Michigan going 2-2 against the other units (losses to 4th ranked Ohio State and 21st ranked Iowa, wins against 13th ranked Wisconsin and 24th ranked Colorado). The Seminoles need to send a healthy dose of DeMarcus Walker, Brian Burns, Josh Sweat, Matthew Thomas and friends if they expect to come home with the Orange Bowl win.
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