Staff Predictions: Florida State vs. Wake Forest

The Florida State Seminoles will play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in North Carolina, Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., and FSU will be the underdogs.

As we do every week, your Tomahawk Nation staff has broken down all the film, charted every snap, performed A.I. virtual simulation of the individual man-to-man matchups [by position], compiled, sorted, and analyzed all of the data, and have come to the conclusion that the Noles should indeed be the dogs in this game.

Please watch, read, listen, sign-up, and like Kevin Little’s [@XsandNoles] Florida State vs Wake Forest Preview.

Check out Jon Marchant’s Q&A with Cameron from SBN’s Blogger So Dear to see how they are feeling about this game.

If you like to learn about Seminole Football History, Tim Scribble, NoleThruandThru, and Matt Minnick will take you back with some Matchup and Memories of Florida State vs Wake Forest history.

Will Florida State be able to overcome the momentum Wake Forest is presently experiencing, enough to cover the spread?

Read what your Tomahawk Nation prognosticators predict how this Saturday’s showdown will go, and then share your opinions on how you are feeling about this game.

NoleThruandThru

I know that this FSU team is somewhere in between what we saw against Notre Dame and Jacksonville State. Many of the players and coaches are saying the right things about being motivated, using the two close losses as fuel to improve, etc. I’m just not sure I believe them yet.

I’m ready to see a youth movement at several positions, particularly wide receiver and defensive back. Start getting meaningful reps for the younger players with higher ceilings and build for the future, because the present is bleak. For the sake of the recruiting class I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t feel positive about this game.

Wake Forest 33, FSU 28

Tommy Mire

There are a few key things that need to happen for the Seminoles to come out of Winston-Salem with a victory and hopefully that will zap some life into a fan base that might slowly be losing faith.

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with penalties that put you behind or the opposing team ahead of the chains before the drive even starts. Through the past two games, the Noles accounted for 20 penalties that gave opposing teams 168 yards—Wake Forest, 6-63 (notice a difference?) These are detrimental mistakes that absolutely need to be corrected to get the team moving.

The other thing that needs to happen is the upperclassmen have to step up. There should be some guys who were absent last Saturday against the Gamecocks available and hopefully with some more reliable targets FSU can keep the game in check. If not, the defense won't be able to hold on and we know how that goes.

Wake Forest 34, Florida State 25

LastNoleOfKrypton

Wake Forest has a good offense coached by a good coach and I was ready to go all fire and brimstone on this team after last Saturday but that’s just not me. If Shade Tree believes in this team’s ability to respond then whom am I to disagree? The running game will take over this one with a few PA shots to Malik McClain and Camm Mcdonald to put FSU over the top.

FSU 31 Wake 27

Jon Marchant

I have no idea what team we’re going to get tomorrow, and I think there’s too many questions hanging in the air to feel confident about anything. It’s funny; they really are just two final plays and six total points from being 2-0. And it’s not too late to turn this around. I mean, one-score games are essentially coin flips, and there’s inherently a bit of bad luck to be zero for two in such games. That kind of luck has to shift in your favor at some point.

But I can’t shake my concern that the JSU game shouldn’t have been a one-score game to begin with. This staff got arrogant and played around, and they may have shattered the season because of it. Starting 0-3 would be a disaster, but I feel like it’s staring us in the face. Then again, what if this loss is by just one score again? Didn’t I say this was the ‘lose a little’ season? What do we make of that?

Florida State 27, Wake Forest 34

FrankDNole

I don’t know anyone from this Wake Forest, but I don’t like some of the things I’m hearing on the world wide weds, and it’s not sitting too pretty with me.

I’m hearing they are talking like they deserve to be seated at the Big Boy Arby’s Table, but I got some news for them witch burners,

NO ARBY’S FOR YOU THIS WEEK, WAKE!

Florida State Seminoles 38, What is a Demon Deacon? 27

CoachAB

Hello darkness my old friend… I’m sorry folks but I can’t deal with this nonsense any longer, deep breath, okay I’m good.

This has the potential of many outcomes such as WF blowout, FSU blowout, close calls, I expect FSU to show up and battle in a “us versus the world” setting. Can FSU eliminate the pre-snap penalties and catch the ball? Can the defense make plays on the ball? These are some of the big issues to watch.

WF 38, FSU 30

Brian Pellerin

What in the world can we make from this FSU team? This week, the staff made a definitive choice at quarterback, but that wasn’t really as big a problem as the drops from the wide receivers and penalties overall. The key is limiting those mistakes. Despite them, Florida State has been one play away from winning twice now. Does that mean they’re the team that is one correctable mistake away from competing or the one that can only get it in its own way? Not sure. But I know they have to have this win.

Florida State 31, Wake Forest 28

Perry Kostidakis

This is either the team that nearly won against Notre Dame or the team that squandered victory against Jacksonville State, and both are teams that lost games. Will this be the chance for the team to take a step forward? It all rests in the hands of the offense — quite literally, as the receivers will dictate when and if big plays will happen. Call it wishcasting, but in a game so pivotal for the future of Florida State football and Mike Norvell’s tenure, the Seminoles are going to have to find a way to win.

Florida State 34, Wake Forest 28