But Intriguing

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: FSU’S NEW 2020 SCHEDULE IS TOUGH BUT INTRIGUING

By PAT BURNHAM, FEATURE FOOTBALL WRITER THEOSCEOLA.COM

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced a revised 11-game schedule featuring 10 conferences games while allowing each school to add one out-of-conference game on the condition it be played in the ACC member’s home state.

The schedule will include: Georgia Tech (Sept. 12), Jacksonville State (Oct. 3), at Miami (Sept. 26), at Notre Dame (Oct. 10), at Louisville (Oct. 17), North Carolina (Oct. 24), Pittsburg (Nov. 7), at NC State (Nov. 14), Clemson (Nov. 21), Virginia (Nov. 28) and at Duke (Dec. 5).

Good news: Arguably the best home schedule in memory. Bad news: Capacity limited to 25 percent and no FSU-UF game as SEC cancelled all out of conference competition.

The revised schedule is more daunting for first-year head coach Mike Norvell but it was going to be a challenge with only three days of spring practice and without the traditional offseason and summer workout program.

The challenging schedule will give Norvell and the Seminole fans a good look at exactly how far this program has to go to compete for the ACC title on a regular basis. The schedule and playing in one division (or no divisions) are both interesting.

ACC HOME GAMES

CLEMSON

The Tigers must be tamed to be knocked off their ACC throne. They were 14-1, 8-0 ACC, and advanced to the National Championship game once again last season where they fell to LSU. Trevor Lawrence returns for his junior season. Lawrence is 25-1 as a starter and had a terrific sophomore season, passing for 3,665 yards and 36 touchdowns. They also return running back Travis Etienne, who rushed for over 1,600 yards, and starting wide receiver Amari Rodgers. However, they must replace seven starters, including four offensive linemen. Defensively, the Tigers return six starters including the entire front four but must replace three starters i the secondary. The front seven is led by defensive tackle Nyles Pickney and middle linebacker James Skalski who were outstanding. They must replace arguably the best defensive player in college football in outside linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who led the team in tackles and sacks.

Numbers: Offense 5th total, 4th scoring, 13th rushing and 23rd passing. Defense: 6th total, 3rd scoring, 19th rushing and 4th passing. Dabo Swinney is 130-31 as head coach. Tony Elliott is back as offensive coordinator and Brent Venables as defensive coordinator.

GEORGIA TECH

The Yellow Jackets, who are FSU’s closest opponent geographically and should be on the Seminoles’ schedule annually, will finally come to Tallahassee. They went 3-9 last season, 2-6 in ACC play, under first-year head coach Geoff Collins. Georgia Tech has moved away from the wishbone offense run under former head coach Paul Johnson to a modern and balanced spread offense. They return eight on offense, including sophomore quarterback James Graham (1,164 passing yards but completed less than 50 percent of his passes). They return four running backs who combined for over 1,500 yards on the ground. The leader is junior Jordan Mason with 899 yards. They return the left side of their offensive line and center. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets return seven starters from their 4-2-5 scheme, including five defensive backs who were the strength of their defense. Junior cornerback Tre Swilling is the best player on defense.

Names and Numbers: Offense 127th total offense, 124th scoring, 72nd rushing and 124th passing. Defense: 89th in total defense, 104th scoring, 117th rushing and 36th passing.

NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels are on the upswing under head coach and FSU alum Mack Brown who enters his second season in his second stint as the head man at UNC. Last year the Tar Heels went 7-6, 4-4 in ACC play. UNC went 2-10 in 2018 under then head coach Larry Fedora. They gave Clemson its biggest scare of the season with the Tigers barely escaping with a 21-20 victory at North Carolina. They return nine starters on offense, including sophomore quarterback Sam Howell. Howell threw for 3,641 and 36 touchdowns against seven interceptions as a true freshman while completing over 61 percent. They return starting running back Michael Carter, a senior, who rushed for over 1,000 yards. His backup, Javonte Williams, returns with over 900 yards. They return two receivers, senior Dazz Newsome and junior Dyami Brown, who both had over 1,000 yards. They return three starting offensive linemen. Defensively, the Tar Heels return seven starter from s a base 3-3-5 scheme, all three starting linebackers and four backs. They must replace all three starters up front. The leader of the defense is senior middle

linebacker Chazz Surratt, who led the team in tackles after moving from quarterback.

Names and Numbers: Offense 12th total offense, 30th scoring, 38th rushing and 25th passing. Defensively: 49th total, 44th scoring, 51st rushing and 71st passing. Mack Brown enters his 32nd season with a record of 251-128-1. Phil Longo is offensive coordinator and Jay Bateman is defensive coordinator, both of whom were at UNC last season.

PITT

The Panthers are coming off a 7-5 season, including a 4-4 record in ACC play. Pat Naruzzi enters his sixth season. Offensively, they return seven starters including senior quarterback Kenny Pickett and senior All-ACC center Jimmy Morrissey. Pickett threw for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes in the Panthers’ spread but balanced offense. They also return senior running back AJ Davis, who ran for 500 yards. Pitt’s second-leading receiver, senior Taysir Mack, caught 63 passes for 736 yards. The left side of the line is back. Defensively, the Panthers return seven players. Pitt runs a base 3-4 defense and the strength of this unit is its front seven, where they return four players including secondteam All-American defensive end Jaylen Twyman. The junior registered 10.5 sacks. They also return three members of their secondary including junior safety Paris Ford, who has NFL-type talent.

Names and Numbers: Offense 87th total, 114th scoring, 119th rushing, 39th passing. Defense: 15th total, 36th scoring, 12th rushing and 34th passing defense. Narduzzi record is 36-29 at Pitt and a 25-26 record against Power 5. Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, previously the OC for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won an FCS national championship at UMass as a head coach. Randy Bates is defensive coordinator.

VIRGINIA

The Seminoles lost to UVA (31-24) in a nail-biter in Charlottesville in FSU’s 2019 ACC opener. Virginia would go on to post a 7-5 record, going 6-2 in ACC play, and win the Coastal Division. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall enters his fifth season and will have his work cut out for him in replacing quarterback Bryce Perkins who threw for over 3,500 yards but also led the team in rushing with over 750 yards. They must also replace their two top receivers, Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois, who combined for over 150 catches and 1,700 yards. Sophomore Brennan Armstrong is expected to take over as the signal-caller and will rely on a line that returns all five starters. Junior running back Wayne Taulapapa also returns. As a starter he ran for 473 yards. Senior Terrell Hana is the only returning starter at wide receiver. His 74 catches ranked third on the team. Defensively, the Cavs run a base 3-4 defense with eight starters and will be tasked with carrying this team. It does have playmakers, including senior outside linebacker Charles Snowden, senior middle linebacker Zane Zandier and senior safety Joey Blount. Snowden is a versatile player who is disruptive off the edge or in coverage. Zandier led the team in tackles and Blount has five career interceptions.

Name and Numbers: Offense 81st total, 40th scoring, 117th rushing, 33rd passing. Defense: 48th total, 62nd scoring, 40th rushing and 78th passing. Mendenhall 25-27 at UVA, 124-70 including BYU. Robert Anae returns as offensive coordinator as does Kelly Poppinga as defensive coordinator.

ROAD GAMES

DUKE

Last year Duke went 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC in head coach David Cutcliffe’s 12th season (72-79 at Duke and 116- 108 overall). The quarterback guru must replace his starting quarterback, Quentin Harris, but does return leading rusher Deon Jackson and the top two receivers, Noah Gray and Jalon Calhoun. Jackson, who is a senior, led the team with 641 yards rushing on 172 attempts. Gray, who plays tight end, led the team in receptions with 51 catches for 392 yards. Junior Chase Brice, who was the backup to Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, is expected to be the starting quarterback in a very balanced spread. Duke returns four of five starters on the line, including veteran center Jake Wohlabaugh. Defensively, Duke runs a 4-2-5 base where it returns just five starters. It must replace three of its four defensive linemen from a year ago but does return senior defensive end Victor Kimukeje, who is a playmaker off the edge. Last season he totaled 8.5 sacks. They must also replace starters at linebacker but do have a veteran secondary that features four starters, the strength of this unit.

Names and Numbers: Offense 114th total, 94th scoring, 79th rushing and 110th passing. Defense: 56th total, 77th scoring, 87th rushing and 24th passing. Former FSU offensive tackle Greg Frey is Duke’s offensive line coach. Kurt Roper is offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinators are Ben Albert and Matt Guerrieri.

LOUISVILLE

The Cardinals are coming off an impressive 8-5 season, 5-3 in ACC play under first-year head coach Scott Satterfield (he replaced Bobby Petrino after a 2-10 campaign in 2018). The strength of last year’s team was its despite the fact it lost starting quarterback Juwon Pass two weeks into the season. Junior Micale Cunningham was a capable replacement, who will compete for the starting job as a senior. Cunningham completed 61 percent of his passes but only attempted 178 throws and at times looked reluctant. Expect a more balanced attack with Pass behind center. Last season the Cardinals ran the ball 64 percent of the time from its oneback, three-wide receiver spread . All four leading rushers return from a year ago. Sophomore running back Javian Hawkins is coming off a freshman season where he ran for 1,524 yards and nine touchdowns on 264 attempts. He is backed up by junior Hassan Hall, who ran for over 500 yards

and Cunningham also had 482 yards on the ground. Junior wide receiver Tutu Atwell returns after leading the Cards with over 1,272 receiving yards on 69 catches and 11 touchdowns last year. They do return three starting offensive linemen but must replace both tackles, including Mekhi Becton who went in the first round of this year’s NFL draft. Defensively, Louisville runs a 3-4 base defense that returns seven starters. The strength of the defense is at linebacker, where all four starters are back. Senior inside linebacker CJ Avery led the team in tackles. Senior outside linebacker Rodjay Burns is a versatile playmaker as an edge rusher but can also make plays in space and in coverage.

Names and Numbers: Offense 24th in total, 30th scoring, 24th rushing, 65th passing. Defense: 102nd total, 109th scoring, 112th rushing and 79th defense. Satterfield is 59-29 including six seasons at Appalachian State. Both offensive coordinator, Dwayne Ledford, and defensive coordinator, Bryan Brown, return.

MIAMI

The Hurricanes are coming off a disappointing 6-7 season, 4-4 in ACC play, under head coach Manny Diaz, who is entering is second year in Coral Cables under some pressure. Offensively, Miami returns seven starters but that includes four offensive linemen from a unit that was not very productive in opening holes in the running game or protecting the passer. They do return one of the best tight ends in the country in junior Brevin Jordan, who had 495 yards receiving on 35 catches and two touchdowns. Former Houston dual-threat quarterback D’Eriq King, a graduate transfer, is expected to man the controls. In 2018, King threw for over 2,900 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 674 yards and 14 touchdowns. They also must replace their leading rusher, DeeJay Dallas, but do return Cam’ron Davis, who ran for almost 600 yards on 114 carries. Diaz must replace all three starting wide receivers in his spread . Defensively, they return five starters but have to replace two outstanding linebackers, Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pickney, who combined for 99 career starts. The strength of the defense will be upfront where defensive ends Gregory Rousseau and senior Quincy Roche are expected to be a force coming off opposite sides of the ball. Roche is a graduate transfer from Temple, where he was an AllAmerican totalling 13 sacks. The secondary returns two starters including junior cornerback Al Blades.

Names and Numbers: Offense 98th total, 90th scoring, 120th rushing, 52nd passing. Defense ranked 13th total, 23rd scoring, 17th rushing and 18th passing. Former FSU defensive lineman Todd Stroud is the Hurricanes’ defensive line coach. Former Auburn and UConn assistant Rhett Lashlee is offensive coordinator. Blake Baker in second season as defensive coordinator. NC STATE

The Wolfpack are coming off a 6-6 season in which they went 1-7 in ACC play. There will be some pressure on Dave Doeren in his eighth year in Raleigh to get the Wolfpack back to a bowl game. He returns eight starters on , including four offensive linemen and star sophomore running back Bam Knight who led the team in rushing with 745 yards. The Wolfpack are deep in the offensive backfield where backup Jordan Houston returns after running for 526 yards. Sophomore Devin Leary is expected at quarterback after throwing for 1,219 yards while completing just under 50 percent of his passes. Former FSU quarterback Bailey Hockman will compete for the job. Three of the Wolfpack’s leading receivers include senior Emeka Emezie after leading the team with 576 receiving yards. Defensively, NC State will utilize a base 3-3-5 defense and must replace eight starters including defensive tackle Larrell Murchison, who is now in the NFL. Outside linebacker Payton Wilson, a sophomore, is back and led the team in tackles.

Names and Numbers: Offense 88th total, 107th scoring, 75th rushing and 67th passing. Defense: 72nd total, 82nd scoring, 50th rushing and 103rd passing. Tim Beck in first season as offensive coordinator. Tony Gibson will run the defense.

NOTRE DAME

FSU welcomes ND to its revised schedule. The Irish look to be one of the toughest games on the Seminoles’ schedule heading into this season and are ranked in the top 10 in many preseason polls. Last year Notre Dame went 11-2, including 5-0 against its ACC opponents (Boston College, Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech). Coach Brian Kelly returns seven starters including star senior quarterback Ian Book, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 34 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He was also the second leading rusher on the team with 546 yards on 112 attempts. They must replace last year’s starting running back, Tony Jones, and all three starting wide receivers but do return five starting offensive linemen.

Defensively, the Irish must replace six starters but do return three players on the front who either started or saw significant playing time in their 4-3 base defense. Junior middle linebacker Drew White is the leader of the defense and led the team in tackles with 93 stops. Junior outside linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is another outstanding playmaker with 80 tackles. The Irish return only one starter from last year’s secondary, senior cornerback Shaun Crawford.

Names and Numbers: Offense 43rd total, 13th scoring, 45th rushing, 49th passing. Defense: 18th total, 12th scoring, 60th rushing and 43rd in passing. Kelly is 92-37 in 10 years at Notre Dame (263-94-2) including at Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Grand Valley State. Tommy Rees is offensive coordinator and Clark Lea in third season leading the defense.