3. Red-zone offense flat

The Jackets will pay particular heed in their redzone trips, where they have scored but four touchdowns in nine times to the opponent 20 or inside (along with one field goal). Over the course of a season, a redzone touchdown percentage in the high 60s or better would be considered successful. Batting .444 won’t do the trick. The Jackets got into the end zone on 53.6% of their red-zone possessions last season, which was 97th in FBS.

Worse, of the four possessions out of nine that have come up empty, they all advanced to the 11-yard line or farther. Two ended with blocked field-goal attempts, one an interception and another a lost fumble. Saturday’s loss against UCF first turned when the Jackets made three red-zone trips in their first three possessions but scored only seven points.

“I thought the plays were good, I thought the scheme was good, I liked the plan that we had (against UCF),” offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said. “We just missed a couple throws, and we have to secure the ball.”

Quarterback Jeff Sims was the guilty party on the fumble and also threw a redzone interception against FSU. The mistakes could reasonably be attributed to inexperience and a cost of playing a freshman. Execution on protection and kicks have been an issue with field-goal tries. Coach Geoff Collins did not reveal Tuesday if he would use Jude Kelley or Gavin Stewart, who replaced Kelley against UCF and made two point-after tries, or even another kicker.