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Florida State football, recruiting news: Way-too-early FSU bowl predictions

Your daily dose of Florida State football, recruiting and other sports news.

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl-Michigan vs Florida State Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Football:

This game lost some of its gloss when the Wolfpack dropped their Week 1 tilt against South Carolina, but they recovered to put away Marshall and Furman the last two weeks. This is NC State’s chance to atone for that season-opening slip-up. Florida State hasn’t played since falling to Alabama on Sept. 2, and the challenge its offensive line faces on Saturday won’t be much easier.

Like the Crimson Tide, the Wolfpack’s success is predicated on the trench mauling done by its defensive line. And whereas the Seminoles had a quarterback with a year of starting experience, Deondre Francois, trying to deal with Alabama’s front, they’ll roll out a true freshman with a three-star recruiting rating and an unproven record as a passer, James Blackman, against NC State. Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher can feed running backs Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick often to limit Blackman’s mistakes, but the newbie is going to have to prove he can make throws downfield to keep the Wolfpack from stacking the box. Blackman came in to hand the ball off a few times after Francois went down with a knee injury late in the fourth quarter against Alabama, but a Week 2 date with Louisiana-Monroe that would have served as a good testing ground for the Glades Central (Fla.) High product was cancelled because of Hurricane Irma.

Florida State: 1. The loss of Deondre Francois. 2. A spotty offensive line. 3. A brutal schedule/Clemson.

Recruiting:

Other Sports:

Alumni:

  • In Thursday night’s San Fransisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams game, there will be multiple ’Noles playing. For San Fran, LB Dekoda Watson and DL Tank Carradine will represent the Garnet and Gold. Former FSU standout DB Lamarcus Joyner will suit up for the Rams.