Florida State is unranked for 1st time since '11, and fans should be concerned
It may not be time for Florida State fans to hurtle themselves towards the panic button just yet, but Saturday's loss to NC State has certainly moved the danger level into a radiating orange zone.
An 0-2 start after entering the season as a national championship contender has landed Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles on the island of unranked teams for the first time since Week 13 of the 2011 season, and certain areas of Florida State's game have provided fans with ample cause for concern moving forward into the conference schedule.
There may be no elite answer at quarterback
Replacing a proven leader like Deondre Francois is never an easy task for any program, but Seminoles fans should prepare to make peace with the fact that James Blackman simply may not be ready to take command of an offense with so many expectations.
Sure, Blackman did a serviceable job in his lone start since Francois went down, but Florida State wasn't exactly looking for serviceable when they were preparing for Alabama in week 1. It was looking for dominating, game-changing, and, most importantly, consistent. It remains to be seen if Blackman can check these boxes, and it may not be fair to criticize him if he proves unable to right away, but the fact of the matter is that Florida State needs production from that position from one source or another if it hopes to salvage a season up to its usual standards.
Will a 1st string running back please stand up?
Florida State has been spoiled with the likes of Dalvin Cook and Devonta Freeman in recent years, so it's fair to say the run game carried considerable question marks heading into 2017. Through two games, those question marks have been emphasized rather than erased.
It must be noted that Florida State's opponents thus far have two of the stingiest defenses in the nation, so this area of production should be given a little more of a grace period to develop. The numbers through those two games are not inspiring however, with Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick combining to average just 3.9 yards per carry.
There is still time for either man to earn the primary touches out of the backfield, and their input would do well to take some of the attention off of Blackman. Time is a valuable commodity in college football, and the sooner either one can step up, the better chance Florida State stands of rescuing their season.
Run-defense needs to rebound
Florida State has managed to put forth an overall defense in the top third of the league for quite some time, but the Seminoles performance so far this season has shown some signs of trending in the opposite direction.
The Seminoles have allowed an average of 141.5 yards on the ground through two games so far, but that number may be bloated due to most other teams having double the amount of games played. Florida State has yet to play Louisville and Clemson with proven ground weapons and dynamic quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Kelly Bryant, so a porous run-defense does definitely not bode well in a conference like the ACC.