Florida State grabbed national attention in its opener then rolled through a pair of easy wins against overmatched teams. The test awaiting the eighth-ranked Seminoles will be tougher with Friday night's trip to Virginia.
FSU (3-0) opened the year with an impressive takedown of then-No. 8 Alabama at home, but it has barely been tested since by romping through home tune-ups against East Texas A&M and Kent State. The test now will be getting a shorter week to prepare for opening Atlantic Coast Conference
play, along with the Seminoles' first road game against a team with one of the country's top offenses.
“It's what you do with it," coach Mike Norvell told reporters this week, "And how you handle yourself and how you respond. ... You've got to be on point.”
Virginia (3-1, 1-0) is off to a quality start in a key year for fourth-year coach Tony Elliott, an offensive-minded coach who has the Cavaliers rolling on that side of the ball to start this season. The Cavs have scored at least 31 points in every game, with their only loss coming in a shootout at N.C. State in a nonconference matchup between league teams since it was agreed to outside the ACC's scheduling model.
FSU is the highest-ranked league opponent to visit Scott Stadium since 2016.
“There's a lot of circumstances that you can have to make sure you block out, so you can focus,” Elliott said.
Florida State's offense is putting up gaudy numbers. It has amassed 700 yards in each of the last two games while averaging a national-best 628.7 yards per game.
Most notably, FSU racked up a program single-game record 498 yards on the ground against Kent State to go with eight rushing scores. That has FSU ranked second nationally by averaging 363.0 yards on the ground.
“They're big up front, they're coached very well,” Elliott said. “They come right at you.”
Norvell has known Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris since he was a kid going back to his time on the Tulsa staff with Morris' father — former SMU and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris.
Morris transferred to Virginia after spending last season at North Texas and has thrown for eight touchdowns with just one interception through four games.
“He's playing with such confidence right now,” Norvell said.
“You're happy to see people that you know when they’re young, and you watch their journey, you’re happy to see them have success. I just don’t want to see it Friday night.”
FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos has thrown just 38 passes through three games, but his running ability has been an X-factor. His 78 yards on the ground helped move the sticks against Alabama. He has three rushing touchdowns on the season.
Virginia is off to a 3-1 start for the second straight year. The Cavaliers haven't been 4-1 in back-to-back seasons in more than two decades (2003-04).
This season marks 30 years since Virginia upset then-No. 2 FSU at home to hand the Seminoles their first ACC loss after a 29-0 start. The Cavaliers have unveiled throwback uniforms to that 1995 win for the occasion.
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