Brian Burns leads FSU’s top-10 sacks defense— and against stout competition

The word “elite” is rarely associated with teams that check in at the season’s midpoint with a 3-3 record. And that’s right where the Seminoles find themselves halfway through the 2018 campaign. Still, the ’Noles find themselves near the top of the national ranks when it comes to sacking their opponents’ QBs, and the numbers only improve with the level of competition.

Across all 130 FBS teams, Florida State is currently tied for 10th in the country with 19 sacks. Also at 19 through six games? Alabama. And it’s not like FSU has blown through a bunch of cupcakes in compiling its sack total. The Seminoles are a top-20 squad at sacks-per-game average in conference games, tied for sixth, nationally, with sacks against winning FBS teams, tied for second in sacks vs. power-five foes, and second in the land when it comes to total road sacks.

Leading the way for the ’Noles has been junior defensive end Brian Burns, who is tied for fourth, nationally, with seven sacks. And the emergence of interior linemen like Marvin Wilson (3.5 sacks) could really bolster FSU’s sacks number.