Florida State sees crucial area exposed in loss to Virginia that they have to address if they hope to have realistic shot of beating Miami
A brutal night for the Noles in Charlottesville.
The Florida State Seminoles saw their strong start to the 2025 season derailed on Friday night in Charlottesville, Virginia 46-38 in double overtime against a game Virginia Cavaliers squad. The feeling of that 31-17 win over Alabama feels significantly further back in the rearview mirror than it did just a few days ago.
That’s because, for how physical the Seminoles played on both sides of the ball, and particularly defensively against the Crimson Tide, the Noles were the opposite against the Cavaliers on Friday night.
Florida State’s defense was gashed by Virginia on the ground in the loss
Virginia ran the ball 48 times and turned them into 211 rushing yards. The Cavaliers’ two-headed rushing attack of J’Mari Taylor and Xavier Brown were a handful for Florida State’s front seven for much of the game. Taylor led the Cavaliers with 27 carries for 99 yards, and Brown added 9 carries for 60 yards with a 15-yard receiving touchdown as well. Virginia QB Chandler Morris was especially slippery on the ground. He rushed 8 times for 37 yards, but he tore through the defense for three rushing touchdowns on the day.
The Seminoles’ defense looked like a wall at times against Alabama’s offense, allowing just 87 yards on 29 rushes and winning against the Alabama offensive line time and again.
The opposite appeared to be the case on Friday night against Virginia. That same group continually saw themselves getting worked backwards, and Virginia running backs were getting healthy yards after contact and setting up very manageable down and distances. FSU defenders also whiffed on too many tackles that sprung Virginia ballcarriers too often.
Virginia’s ground attack is one thing. The Miami Hurricanes’ is another, which has already found success this season against physical defenses like Notre Dame and Florida. The Noles and Hurricanes are set to do battle next weekend, and the Hurricanes’ massive and physical offensive line has to like what it saw on Friday night out of FSU’s defensive front.
The Seminoles have the horses to beat Miami on both sides of the line of scrimmage. But at this point, a lot is going to have to change from Friday night for that to happen. Because if Florida State can’t improve dramatically up front on defense against the Hurricanes, it’s going to be an uphill battle trying to stop the Canes’ potent ground game in Tallahassee next weekend.
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