Mike Norvell identifies the main areas Florida State's offense needs to improve

Florida State is coming off back-to-back losses to ranked opponents, first falling to Wake Forest and then to NC State. The latter result came as Florida State’s offense turned the ball over on a potential game-winning drive.

So what can the Seminoles do to improve on offense?

“Really in both times it was we’ve got to be able to have the run game established,” coach Mike Norvell said. “If you would have told me in the NC State game that we were going to run for over 200 yards against a really good defense that has not given up that type of production, I was very confident in what it would end up looking like.”

But rather than run the ball late with the offense driving well into makeable game-winning field goal range, the Seminoles took a shot at the end zone.

Quarterback Jordan Travis was picked off in the end zone, effectively ending the game.

Credit the Wolfpack for getting the Seminoles out of sync offensively, something Norvell has identified as a recurring theme for the offense. Too often Florida State finds itself in prolonged stretches without being able to put together a cohesive drive.

“There were times in the second half where they did a good job, they penetrated, they were able to create some disruption there in the run game,” Norvell said of NC State. “We missed a few opportunities with that and just weren’t able to sustain things.

“That’s showed up in kind of both of those games, where we’ve had really good production in the run game overall but there’s just those key moments. And then you couple that to not converting on third downs in those segments of time, it’s just that’s what makes offense go.”

Florida State offense searching for consistency

While the Seminoles have taken some hard knocks the last two weeks and now are on the outside looking in when it comes to the ACC Atlantic race, Florida State will have a chance to shake up the paradigm this weekend against Clemson.

So long as Travis is playing the Seminoles have a shot.

The explosive quarterback has been terrific, he just needs a little more help. And the Seminoles have to find ways to keep drives humming throughout games.

“We’ve been a very explosive offense throughout the year and I think we’ve been a very productive offense throughout the year, but we’ve got to eliminate those segments where we’ve gotten into a lull of just back-to-back series where we haven’t been able to get that rhythm established,” Norvell said. “We showed a good response there the week prior in Wake Forest, obviously it was there at the back end of it.

“You see even that last drive (at NC State), obviously you get the first down and then, ‘Here we go,’ we’re able to put together a string of plays together. It’s just we can’t have those segments to where we kind of stall out there just from our lack of movement.”

Florida State and Clemson will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Tallahassee, Fla., on Saturday, with the game televised on ABC.