FSU’s offense strives to improve on road
TALLAHASSEE — FSU quarterback Sean Maguire was not fazed when he stepped inside of Death Valley.
Sure, Clemson’s crowd was loud. Really loud. It affected Maguire and his teammates. And the Tigers’ defense lived up to its lofty billing, routinely getting to Maguire and forcing him into some bad throws.
Maguire had his miscues but never crumbled in his first road start. In fact, he got better as the game progressed. FSU didn’t win, but coach Jimbo Fisher learned something about his quarterback in this month’s loss to topranked Clemson.
“I’ve been with young guys on the road in biggame situations where they come off like a deer in the headlights,” Fisher said. “That whole day was not too big for him.
“I think that [experience] will help him tremendously going forward in his career and this weekend.”
No. 14 FSU (9-2) takes its show on the road Saturday when the Seminoles face No. 8 Florida (10-1) in Gainesville. Again, FSU will face an elite defense inside of a hostile environment. It will be déjà vu for Maguire, who will lead an offense that ranks toward the bottom of most significant statistical categories when it comes to road games.
“It’s a big week,” said Maguire, who is 2-1 as FSU’s starter this season. “They got a great [environment] . . . it’s big that we already got that experience, kind of what to expect of a loud environment out of the way.”
The Seminoles rank 115th nationally out of 128 teams in yards-per-game on the road (296.8) and are 112th in scoring offense (16.8 points per game) in away games. Comparatively, FSU is 41st and 23rd in those respective categories inside the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium.
The road woes can be blamed on a litany of issues. FSU faced two topfive defenses — Boston College and Clemson — in four road games and saw teams like the Eagles, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech place an emphasis on clock control to shorten games and limit possessions. It worked for Georgia Tech.
“Early in the season, we weren’t close to where we needed to be, and we had a lot of changes still to make on the offensive line, had a lot of guys hurt. And [former starting quarterback] Everett [Golson] was still learning the system,” Fisher said. “We had things going on.”
The Gators present similar issues.
Florida’s
defense
ranks sixth nationally in average yards allowed per game (281.7), opponent passer rating (102.23) and turnovers forced (24). Its offense, ranked 13th nationally in average time of possession, likes to play keepaway.
FSU’s road résumé is less than stellar, but the offense has made strides in problem areas — such as third-down conversions and inside the red zone — in recent weeks. The Seminoles are markedly more efficient in their last two games, scoring on 11 of 15 drives led by Maguire.
Duplicating that success is crucial for FSU to avoid its third road loss of the season.
“I just think everyone getting that big game out of the way, not just my experience on the road — there were couple [offensive linemen] and a lot of guys who haven’t played in such a hostile environment,” Maguire said. “So I think getting that out of the way, people will be a little more relaxed and just go play.”