FSU, Louisville seeking their first ACC win

Florida State and Louisville hoped to be contending in the ACC’s Atlantic Division at this point of the season.

Instead, both are in search of their first conference vic- tory when they meet today. They are a combined 0-3 in league play.

“There’s definite frustration, there’s no question about that,” said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, whose team gained just 214 yards last week in a 27-3 loss at Virginia in its ACC opener. The yardage and scoring totals were lows for the Cardinals

under Petrino.

“We have players that are competitors and cer- tain things aren’t happen- ing the way we expected, or they expected . ... The way you make confidence is you make plays, you have success.”

Doing so requires addressing concerns on both sides of the ball, particularly at quarterback after ineffective play by the starter forced a switch for the third con- secutive week. Malik Cun- ningham’s first career start lasted just over a quarter in Charlottesville before he was replaced by Jawon Pass, who also struggled.

Pe t rino hasn’t said whether Pass or Cunning- ham will begin under cen- ter against FSU, but offen- sive consistency remains the mission.

“We have an understand- ing who’s going to start and how we’re going to play him,” Petrino said. “It doesn’t do us any good to tell everybody that. But we do need to improve and get better there, and obviously everybody understands that.”

Louisville (2-2, 0-1) has won the past two meetings, and FSU wants to be ready for either QB — or both— to avoid a third straight loss to the Cardinals that would

end any hopes of division contention.

The Seminoles (2-2, 0-2) hope to follow up their 37-19 nonconference win over Northern Illinois with a significant victory for first- year coach Willie Taggart. The Seminoles outgained NIU, 473 yards to 221, and held the Huskies to just 6 yards rushing, their lowest total since limiting Colorado to minus-27 in 2007. Their

run defense ranks 11th in FBS at 97.5 yards per game.

Their next step is doing it again to string together wins for the first time.

“We have talent on this football team,” Taggart said. “We as coaches have got to help teach them how to win again and play winning football.”

Other things to watch today:

Francois factor: Florida State junior QB Deondre Francois has thrown for an ACC-best 1,083 yards and ranks second in yards per game at 270.8. He threw for a season-high 352 yards against Northern Illinois but faces a Louisville pass defense ranked sixth in the ACC at 198 yards per game.

Getting healthier: Louisville’s injury-plagued defense will welcome back sophomore linebacker Dorian Etheridge, who missed the past two games with a sprained ankle. Held out last week as a precaution, Etheridge is eager to return after being a sideline spectator.

“I was seeing everything, talking to them out there and trying to be a good team- mate,” he said. “But it’s nothing like being out on

the field.”

Rush hour: FSU needed 57 carries to gain 121 yards last week and is averaging only 102.8 rushing yards. Cam Akers (274 yards) and Jacques Patrick (153) have combined for just one touchdown. Taggart said the running game is a work in progress.

Moving on: FSU’s last visit here in 2016 featured the emergence of Louisville QB Lamar Jackson as the Heisman Trophy favorite after he accounted for 362 yards and five touchdowns in a 63-20 rout.

Jackson, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher and many players from both teams are gone.

The memory of that game seems to have faded, at least for some remaining Seminoles.

“That’s the past,” defensive tackle Fred Jones said. “We can’t do nothing about that. But we can set up for our future.”