On Saturday, Florida State coach Mike Norvell leads his Seminoles against his alma mater, Central Arkansas. This is a trap game of epic proportions. Florida State must execute in this game, on both sides of the ball, lest they fall prey to taking a lesser opponent for granted.
In what could be the classic trap game for the Florida State Seminoles (1-2, 01- in ACC) 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 be ill-advised gridiron hubris on the part of coach Mike Norvell and his Seminoles team.
A closer look at the Bears reveals a talented defense that ranks in the top 30 in the FCS, is disruptive, and could cause Florida State problems offensively in front of the home crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium.
First, the Central Arkansas defensive secondary has six interceptions to its credit already 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 nugget of information could creep into Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels’ psyche and affect his confidence that Norvell continues to rave about each week. The Seminoles offense ranks No. 82 in the FBS in touchdown passes with just 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 65 percent of the time. They rank No. 15 in the FCS in that category. That will be a good-on-good matchup as the Seminoles are tied for first in the FBS in red zone 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 11 touchdowns and converted two field goals. It will be interesting to see which plays Norvell dials up to counter this defensive obstacle.
Florida State will trot out running back Ousmane Kromah to carry the football on Saturday. He has rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns this season, and ranks No. 2 in the ACC in rushing yards per game, with an average of 103 yards per game.
Kromah uses 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 a paltry 3.43 per carry average. That will be another matchup worth watching as the game progresses.
Lastly, the Bears allow opponents 328 yards of total offense per game. Currently, the Seminoles are ranked No.71 with 404 yards per game through 3 games. Against Alabama, the Seminoles gained 471 total yards against a better and tougher Crimson Tide defense, albeit in a 50-36 losing effort.
With Daniels, Kromah, and receivers Duce Robinson and Michai Danzy, Florida State has more than enough talent to decimate the Bears defense. The question is: Can Norvell call enough of the right plays, and can Florida State execute, to win this game in dominating fashion?
Florida State 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 against an underperforming Florida State team that has two losses already this season, both to ranked opponents.
The Seminoles need to score early and often, and the defense needs to dominate this FCS opponent, as they should. But seeing is believing. Central Arkansas will play loose, like they have nothing to lose. Oddly, the pressure may be more on the Seminoles, and less on the Bears.
Florida State must avoid committing that hubris. This is the mother of all trap games. Florida State 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’s alma mater.
