Florida State football opponent recap: Week 4

Each week we take a look at how FSU’s past and future opponents acquitted themselves the previous weekend. This week saw those in action notch a 7-1 record, with the only loss (aside from Florida State’s opponent) coming from Florida on Rocky Top. I think we’ll take it.

Ole Miss (2-2): Won 45-14 vs. Georgia

It really wasn’t that close, either. The Rebels jumped on Kirby Smart’s Dawgs and never looked back, discovering that a 31-0 lead is infinitely less blow-able than one of 21 points. Chad Kelly was slinging it, and Jacob Eason had a bad time in obvious passing downs once Georgia was behind. The Rebel offense continues to make FSU’s Labor Day victory look more impressive.

Charleston Southern (2-2): Won 35-7 at Monmouth

The Bucs won a conference game at Monmouth. Good for them.

Louisville (4-0): Won 59-28 at Marshall

The Cardinals got through an awkward road trip to Marshall and defeated the Herd, which hasn’t always been a given for UL. Lamar Jackson was still did Lamar Jackson things. It’s Clemson week now, and we’re all looking forward to the GameDay visit and showdown on Saturday night. The Tigers opened as a 3-point favorite at home, which has quickly shifted to a Louisville favorite of about a point.

South Florida (3-1): Ahem

North Carolina (3-1): Won 37-36 vs. Pitt

UNC mounted a thrilling comeback to beat the Panthers at home with seconds remaining on the clock. The Heels trailed by 13 with about ten minutes to play, ultimately engineering a 17 play, 3:30 minute drive that witnessed three fourth down conversions, to win the game with a pass to Bug Howard. Mitch Trubisky is good, and so is his backfield mate Elijah Hood, although the Heels spent much of the day throwing the ball. We’ll have more on Carolina as the week progresses.

Miami (3-0): The resurgent Miami running game failed to gain a yard against Bye. Disturbing.

Wake Forest (4-0): Won 33-28 at Indiana

EXCUSE ME, THAT’S UNDEFEATED WAKE FOREST TO YOU, SIR/MADAM. The Demon Deacons went to Bloomington and beat the vaunted Hoosiers, with a backup quarterback, no less. The Deacs now seem pretty likely to make a bowl, which is huge. They’ll face NC State next weekend and opened as a 9-point underdog. I don’t think the Wolfpack is going to enjoy playing that game, as Wake appears to be pretty stout on defense, again, and competent enough to hang around on offense.

Clemson (4-0): Won 26-7 at GT

It looked for all the world like Clemson was finally going to put it together on offense during the first half last Thursday night. They had good variety early, used their tempo, and seemed to be so close to unleashing the offensive fury we saw a year ago. While it’s a win, the offense still left something to be desired, particularly in the second half. Still, FSU are aware of how vexing a night game at Bobby Dodd can be, and the Tigers faced a short week with Louisville looming. Also, Clemson’s defense, particularly its line, remains terrifying. Dexter Lawrence frequently decided that he did not want Georgia Tech to do anything when he was lined up at 0-tech, and they obeyed him. We’ll try not to think about him and his many talented cohorts for a little while longer.

North Carolina State (2-1): Did good work against Bye in a lookahead situation to UNDEFEATED WAKE FOREST.

Boston College (2-2): Won 42-10 vs. Wagner

Yeah, it may have been the lowest attendance for a home opener that they’ve had, but BC bounced back and beat mighty Wagner, dangit. They’d be best served just forgetting what happened last week, though ECU’s recent experience made it look a lot more understandable. What does this say about NC State, you ask? Guess we’ll see next week against UNDEFEATED WAKE FOREST.

Syracuse (2-2): Won 31-24 at UCONN

Hooorrraaaaayyyyyy. Dino and the boys went on the road and knocked off UCONN, who yes, thank you for remembering, did just beat Virginia at home last week. Eric Dungey threw for over 400 yards and two touchdowns, adding another on the ground. Most importantly, he remains not broken physically. Amba Etta-Tawo set Syracuse’s single-game receiving record with 270 yards. The Orange will travel to East Rutherford for a neutral site showdown with BVG-less Notre Dame at noon. And we all know ND ain’t got nothing for the real ACC members, AM I RIGHT PAWL.

Florida (3-1): Lost 38-28 at Tennessee

For a while, it looked to be another nail in the coffin for Butch Jones. In arguably the most important game of his career, his Vols looked typically incompetent in the passing game for 30 minutes against the Gators. But then. Several on Twitter remarked that the second half felt a lot like FSU vs. Ole Miss, and I can see it. Tennessee started catching passes, and all of a sudden it was Florida’s offense that couldn’t stay on the field. The Gator defense was hung out to dry and soon gassed, and UT was able to notch a massive victory in the SEC East. Florida goes to Vanderbilt next week, and then takes on LSU, by which time they hope to have Luke of the River back at quarterback. If not, we’re poised for a monumental all-former-Purdue-quarterback fight on October the 8th.