Dan Mullen labels Florida State as the team to beat in ACC: 'They're gonna be a problem'
The masses were impressed by Florida State following their dominant 45-24 win over LSU on Sunday night. But are the Seminoles now the team to beat in the ACC?
Former Florida and Mississippi State head coach and current analyst for ESPN Dan Mullen was asked that exact question, and is definitely buying into the newly generated hype in Tallahassee.
“Absolutely they’re the team to beat,” Mullen said. “You look at the performance and what they were able to do on the field last night, the skill players on offense. Jordan Travis to Keon Coleman, great matchup that they have there.”
The Travis and Coleman duo surely looked unstoppable on Sunday versus the Tigers. Travis completed 23 of his 31 pass attempts for 342 and four touchdown passes, and three of those touchdowns were to Coleman who added nine catches and 122 yards to his hat trick.
But the Seminoles’ explosive passing game wasn’t the only thing that impressed Mullen on Sunday night.
“They were able to run the ball offensively and really really what impressed me was their defensive line and their ability to stop the run and shut down LSU,” Mullen said. “You don’t usually see LSU lose the line of scrimmage battle and they did, and as they get into ACC play, they’re gonna be a problem.”
Like the offense, Florida State’s defense definitely impressed in their season debut. The Seminoles held LSU to just 113 yards on the ground after they averaged 183.7 a game last season, limiting dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Tigers’ running back committee.
They also created two turnovers and excelled at getting off of the field to the ball back to their offense, limiting the Tigers to converting just three of their 10 third downs and zero of their three fourth down conversion attempts.
There’s no doubt the Seminoles impressed early and posses one of the strongest rosters across all of college football. But them making an ACC title appearance would be their first since 2014.
Clemson has taken home seven of the last eight ACC title wins, and North Carolina also impressed in their Week 1 matchup versus an SEC opponent in South Carolina on Saturday night.
The road to the ACC Championship won’t be easy, but following Week 1, it’s hard to deny that the Seminoles look built to endure and succeed in their journey as they look to establish themselves back atop the nation’s top teams.