Miami Hurricanes Football: Q&A with Chop Chat

We’re just hours away from kick-off between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles. Due to that, we decided to ask our friends over at FanSided’s FSU site, Chop Chat some questions leading up to tonight’s game.

We want to thank David Visser from taking the time to answer these.

FSU has seemed to struggle lately, particularly in the first half of games. What do you think the problem has been compared to last year’s team that ran the table?

As the question states, this is not last year’s team, which gelled incredibly and seemed to keep it in fifth gear throughout the year. Some key defensive leaders (Telvin Smith, Terrence Brooks, Lamarcus Joyner) are now playing on Sundays, and the loss of Kelvin Benjamin and Kenny Shaw has certainly been seen in some mistakes made by the uber-talented true freshmen getting playing time in their stead.

I also think the national media has worn on this team more than they’ll admit. It has to be difficult to stay motivated when every time anyone talks about your game – and your team – it’s from a negative perspective. FSU has slid from first to third while winning all its games. As a result, I think the players often press and try to do too much, especially early on.

Florida State’s defensive line and linebackers have struggled some this year, but who are some of the guys that Miami fans should be concerned about on Saturday?

Linebacker health has plagued the ‘Noles all year, but the good news for FSU in this one is that everyone who had been on the bubble is healthy, and they’ll need that to slow down Duke Johnson. Along those lines, Reggie Northrup is a thumper who excels in stopping the run.

On the line, Mario Edwards, Jr. is coming off his best game at Florida State. Against UVA, he recorded nine tackles, four for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble—and, believe it or not, he played even better than those numbers indicate. Edwards tends to play himself into shape as the season progresses, and, much to the dismay of future opponents, it looks like he’s just getting started.

Duke Johnson is having a ridiculous season and is on the verge of breaking Miami’s all-time rushing record. How does FSU stop Johnson while still worrying about the speed on the outside?

Gap responsibility has come back to haunt FSU throughout the year, as its young, athletic players sometimes rely too much on their physical ability and not on maintaining their responsibilities. They’ll need to play disciplined football tonight, and take away Johnson’s options.

On the outside, the Seminoles boast a pair of lockdown corners in Ronald Darby and P.J. Williams, each of whom are capable of playing on an island. Don’t be surprised to see the ‘Noles make Brad Kaaya – and not Johnson – beat them.

FSU is still one of the best teams in the country, but they don’t seem to be as dominant as they were last season. What do you think the odds are for FSU to finish undefeated, and ultimately play for a national championship?

As I mentioned earlier, this is not last year’s dominant team. But it sure is scrappy. The Seminoles continue to find different ways to win. FSU fans have been waiting for the ‘Noles to put it all together, but, so far, they’ve always found enough. And regardless of the controversy caused by the Seminoles’ drop in the CFB Playoff rankings, there’s simply no way an undefeated FSU team misses the Playoff.

That being said, the Playoff will be all about surviving, and Florida State has more experience in that area than anyone. They could falter at any moment—including tonight. But they also could continue to hang around, tormenting the naysayers and winning it all just to spite them.

Finally, do you think FSU gets out of Miami undefeated, or do you think the Hurricanes pull off the upset? What’s your score prediction?

There are a number of reasons to believe Miami pulls off this upset. Kaaya has about a season of experience under his belt at this point. Johnson is a stud. And the Hurricane defense is finally finding its way to the opposition’s quarterback.

But there’s one number that says they won’t, and that’s No. 5. Winston relishes this sort of stage, and until he proves that he’s capable of losing a college football game, I can’t pick him to do anything other than win. This will be a chippy one, but I think FSU gets its 26^th win in a row: 34-24, Seminoles.

Thanks again to David Visser for his responses.