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Seminoles in Trap Game Due to the Central Arkansas Defense
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- Seminoles in Trap Game Due to the Central Arkansas Defense
(David Leong/Imagn Images)
In whatcould be the classic trap game for the Florida State Seminoles (1-2, 01- inACC) on Saturday against FCS opponent Central Arkansas Bears (2-2, 0-1 in UAC),the Bears could easily be taken for granted and overlooked. But that would beill-advised gridiron hubris on the part of coach Mike Norvell and his Seminolesteam.
A closerlook at the Bears reveals a talented defense that ranks in the top 30 in theFCS, is disruptive, and could cause Florida State problems offensively in frontof the home crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium.
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First, theCentral Arkansas defensive secondary has six interceptions to its creditalready through their four games, and returned one of those for a touchdown.That is good enough for No. 7 nationally in the FCS. That little known nuggetof information could creep into Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels 'psyche and affect his confidence that Norvell continues to rave about eachweek . The Seminoles offense ranks No. 82 in the FBS in touchdown passes withjust four on the season, and No. 116 with four interceptions thrown by Daniels.
Secondly,the Bears are stingy in the red zone and have allowed opponents to convert 65percent of the time. They rank No. 15 in the FCS in that category. That will bea good-on-good matchup as the Seminoles are tied for first in the FBS in redzone offense, converting on 100 percent of their attempts from 20-yards out.Florida State is a perfect 13 for 13 so far this season and has scored 11touchdowns and converted two field goals. It will be interesting to see whichplays Norvell dials up to counter this defensive obstacle.
FloridaState will trot out running back Ousmane Kromah to carry the football onSaturday. He has rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns this season, andranks No. 2 in the ACC in rushing yards per game, with an average of 103 yardsper game.
Kromahuses his 6-foot-1 frame and 200+ pounds to grind out 5.87 yards per carry.Central Arkansas allows its opponents 115 yards per game on the ground, and apaltry 3.43 per carry average. That will be another matchup worth watching asthe game progresses.
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Lastly,the Bears allow opponents 328 yards of total offense per game. Currently, theSeminoles are ranked No.71 with 404 yards per game through 3 games. Against Alabama , the Seminoles gained 471 total yards against a better and tougherCrimson Tide defense, albeit in a 50-36 losing effort.
With Daniels,Kromah, and receivers Duce Robinson and Michai Danzy, Florida State has morethan enough talent to decimate the Bears defense. The question is: Can Norvellcall enough of the right plays, and can Florida State execute, to win this gamein dominating fashion?
FloridaState is -45.5-point favorites against Central Arkansas, as they should be. However,the Bears will be fired up to come to Tallahassee and pull off an upset againstan underperforming Florida State team that has two losses already this season,both to ranked opponents.
TheSeminoles need to score early and often, and the defense needs to dominate thisFCS opponent, as they should. But seeing is believing. Central Arkansas willplay loose, like they have nothing to lose. Oddly, the pressure may be more onthe Seminoles, and less on the Bears.
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FloridaState must avoid committing that hubris. This is the mother of all trap games. FloridaState cannot afford to look ahead to their October 3 game against Virginia .They need to focus on the task at hand, gaining a decisive victory over Norvell'salma mater .
