By Jerry Ratcliffe
Tony Elliott asked his football team the other day, how many of them want to play pro ball. Everybody raised their hand.
With No. 8 Florida State coming to town tonight in one of the biggest games at Scott Stadium in 20 years, the players who raised their hand will get a chance.
“I said [to his team], well, this is the closest thing you’re going to get to [playing pro ball] at this level, when you’re playing a team like Florida State,” Elliott told the Cavaliers. “It’s pro ball and it’s a game of inches.”
Fans and a national TV audience (ESPN, 7 p.m.) may be in for a track meet. Unbeaten FSU is averaging 58 points per game (No. 1 nationally) and 629 yards per game (also No. 1 nationally), while Virginia is averaging 45.5 points per game (No. 11) and 564.5 yards per outing (No. 5).
Elliott said this is the best Florida State team he has seen in a long time, which is meaningful because Elliott was the offensive coordinator for Clemson teams that had annual showdowns with the Seminoles during the Tigers’ ACC dynasty.
FSU coach Mike Norvelle has been impressed with what he’s seen of Virginia (3-1) on film.
“This is a team that can absolutely contend,” Norvelle said of the Cavaliers.
The atmosphere could be magical, electric tonight if the home fans show up, and Norvelle knows it. He expressed some concern, noting this is FSU’s first night game of the season, that a raucous crowd could be awaiting, which is reminiscent of two of the special nights in UVA football history.
George Welsh’s Wahoos became the first ACC team to beat FSU when the ‘Noles joined the conference and shredded most of its first 29 opponents until Virginia pulled off the colossal upset in a night game at Scott Stadium in 1995.
Ten years later, Al Groh’s Cavaliers also knocked off Bobby Bowden’s No. 4-ranked Seminoles in another night game at Scott.
Could tonight add to the magic?
“Man, truthfully, every week I’m dreaming and hoping for a full stadium, capacity stadium, packed, loud, aggressive, putting pressure on opposing teams,” Elliott said. “I’m hopeful this week that when I run out of the tunnel, it’s a full stadium.”
There are several keys to the game, perhaps none bigger than which team can dominate the running game. FSU is big with an array of fast, physical backs and an offensive coordinator in veteran Gus Malzahn, who prefers to pound the ball.
Virginia, for the first time in years, has established a reliable running game, having rushed for 200 or more yards for three straight games and ranks 12th in the country in rushing (251.5 yards per game). FSU averages even more (363).
“It’s crucial that we run the ball against Florida State for a multitude of reasons,” said offensive coordinator Des Kitchings. “One, to eliminate us being in obvious pass situations. Two, to help try to sustain the ball and maintain the clock and keep their offense off the field. That’s who we are, that’s what we believe we are, that being able to run the football attributes to our success.”
Should Virginia get into a wild, up-and-down-the-field, scoring contest with FSU, does that put pressure on the Cavaliers to answer every Seminole touchdown? Would that force Kitchings into being more aggressive with his play calls?
“No,” Kitchings said. “Just kind of do what we believe we can do, go out and score points and not get caught up into looking at what they’re doing as opposed to kind of what we’re doing. We have to try to stay efficient, stay ahead of the chains, continue to convert third-down situations so we can stay on the field, and not putting our defense backs out there. Then, take advantage of opportunities when we get down to the red [zone] area.”
Kitchings said when those opportunities come, Virginia needs to score touchdowns, keeping in mind FSU’s ability to put points on the board.
Another key for both teams is keeping their quarterbacks clean.
FSU’s Thomas Castellanos, a former versatile, dual-threat QB at Boston College, now pilots the Seminoles, and even though Virginia contained him last season with BC, Castellanos is surrounded by much more talent from Tallahassee.
Meanwhile, Chandler Morris has wowed the opposition with his overall game and experience. A cool cat in the huddle, Morris has been accurate (71 percent) and has made some impressive throws from in the pocket and on the run. He is particularly dangerous when he has to scramble because Morris keeps his eyes downfield and has an uncanny knack for finding open receivers.
“He keeps the play alive,” Norvelle said of Morris after watching video of the Virginia QB.
FSU’s defensive coordinator Tony White was blown away by Morris, comparing him to Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
“He’s electric,” White said of Morris.
Both teams are loaded offensively with solid QB play, physical offensive lines, rugged running backs and a fleet of big-play receivers.
Both defenses have talent, but neither have faced offenses like they will tonight.
Malzahn, who has been a head coach on the Power 4 level, said of FSU’s offense, that it’s still coming together.
“We have 11 new starters, and new offensive (coaching) staff, so to be honest, we’ve told our players that we’ve generally been playing lesser opponents (East Texas A&M, Kent State),” Malzahn said. “The real season is coming up now.”
It all starts tonight.
