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No. 4 Florida State football's Week 8 has them playing host to the No. 16 Duke Blue Devils on Saturday night in a top-25 matchup. Probably not many had this one circled on their calendars as a game that had major ACC title implications, but here we are.
The Seminoles football team is having a remarkable season so far, starting with their impressive win over LSU in the opener. What has really made them a strong contender for the ACC title game, however, was their victory over Clemson, giving the Tigers their second overall loss.
The Tigers' first loss was to Duke in their opener. But not only did the Blue Devils beat the Tigers, they outplayed them in every way. That leaves both of these teams facing each other this weekend with a win over the historically good Clemson team. The difference between them is that Florida State is undefeated, and Duke has just a seven-point loss to Notre Dame in their loss column.
Duke has only played one game since that Notre Dame loss, where they beat NC State 24-3. Florida State, meanwhile, is coming off a 41-3 routing of Syracuse last week. They've yet to score under 30 points in a single game this season, while their opponents have only allowed a season-high of 14 points in two games. Now, let's get into some Florida State football Week 8 predictions.
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Florida State football scores a season low against Duke football defense
As noted above, Duke football's defense is really good, the heart and soul of the team, and definitely what has helped them win so many games this season. Duke has only let two opponents put 14 points on them, with the three others scoring seven and last week's NC State Wolfpack team scoring only three.
Florida State football is averaging 42.2 points per game, per Team Rankings. This will be the Seminoles' lowest-scoring game to date, which will ironically be the Blue Devils' most points allowed. Look for Florida State to score at least 20 points — especially if Johnny Wilson plays — and that's probably being generous as it's likely to be much more.
Florida State struggles with run again, rushing for just over 100 yards
Although it really hasn't seemed to matter, where Florida State football has struggled this season offensively has been running the ball. That hasn't been as evident over the last two weeks where they rushed for 400 yards. But against Clemson, a much tougher defense than Virginia Tech and Syracuse, the Seminoles only rushed for 22 yards.
It would be hard to imagine seeing that total show up in the stat sheet much more this season, but this is yet another good defense that Florida State will be facing. However, Duke's numbers against the run are overwhelmingly good but more solid. They're allowing four yards per carry for 135 yards per game.
Running the ball isn't the heart of the Seminoles' offense, so don't be surprised if they just barely get to 100 yards on the ground in this game.
Keon Coleman has another monster game with over 100 yards, touchdown
Keon Coleman is coming off a monster week against Syracuse where he caught nine balls for 140 yards and a touchdown. Since transferring from Michigan State, he's been a huge improvement to the Florida State football wide receiver corps. He's a tall, lengthy receiver that gives cornerbacks fits. Look for Jordan Travis to find him often as a playmaker in this game, going over 100 yards again for at least one touchdown.
Florida State football beats Duke by two touchdowns
While the Duke defense under head coach Mike Elko is certainly good, it may not be good enough to hold this Florida State offense. That will mainly be due to Duke's offense having limited or short possessions. With Riley Leonard likely out again, Henry Belin IV will be getting his second start for the Blue Devils.
Belin completed only 4-of-12 passes for 107 yards but did have two touchdowns to one interception. Duke did most of their work on the ground against NC State last week, rushing for 194 yards. Talent-wise, thanks to Mike Norvell's impressive plucking in the transfer portal, Florida State blows Duke out of the water and should be able to handle most of what the Blue Devils throw at them offensively. That's the big difference in this game. Duke's offense will likely make too many mistakes and be put in tough situations. Florida State wins 28-10.
