Preview: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Florida State

By foxsports
Published

 

The basics

When: Monday, 8 p.m. ET

Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla. | Buy tickets

TV: ESPN

The story

Florida State returns 10 offensive starters, including one of the best players in the nation, running back Dalvin Cook. They return six defensive starters, including one of the best players in the nation, safety Derwin James. If they can get solid quarterback play from redshirt freshman Deondre Francois, they have the makings of national champions. This game is our first chance to see if he’s the player who can lead the way. On the other side of the field is Chad Kelly, who put up massive numbers in 2015 but loses his top rusher and two top receivers. Can Kelly cover the gap and lead Ole Miss to contention in the SEC West?

The key players

1

Is the redshirt freshman quarterback the second coming of Jameis Winston? The Seminoles don’t need a Heisman Trophy-worthy season, but he can make or break a team that has everything in front of it in 2016. Ole Miss’ defense poses an impressive first test.

2

Haynes is going to be Francois’ main tormenter — he had 10 sacks and eight hurries last season and will need to find himself in the backfield often to counteract the nearly unstoppable Florida State rushing attack.

    3

    Kelly needs a new top receiver. Adeboyejo, who caught seven touchdowns last year, is the man to take the job. He’ll have to make a big impact early to help open up the other outlets in the Ole Miss offense.

    The line

    Florida State (-4.5), O/U 57

    Florida State enters as 4.5-point favorites. Given the questions with the Seminoles at quarterback, this is a game you should take off. Florida State could be among the elite teams in the nation or a team on par with Ole Miss, a solid 10-win operation. We’ll find out in this game, but it’s best not to have action on it.

    The aftermath

    It comes down to the play of Francois for the Noles. If he plays well and Florida State wins big, they’re off to the races and they’re searching for a playoff berth. Poor play, even with a win, tempers enthusiasm ahead of a Week 3 matchup with Louisville. Ole Miss has never won the SEC West, and a win over Florida State will have Rebs fans thinking this is the year. A loss doesn’t do much to squash dreams, but it does make getting to 10 wins awfully hard.

    The prediction

    Florida State 31, Ole Miss 21

    The Florida State defense stymies Kelly, who tries to do it all himself, and the Noles run all over the Rebs with Cook and Jacques Patrick. Francois is serviceable but doesn’t flash any brilliance in the steady-as-you-go win.

    — Dieter Kurtenbach