Syracuse Football Sitdown with Chop Chat talking #CUSEvsFSU

Paul A. Esden Jr. (@BoyGreen25): 

FSU has struggled mightily this season. Does this go beyond Deondre Francois? Or was he truly the difference maker in terms of how this season could’ve gone?

Jason: I wrote a column on Wednesday about how this season showed that the redshirt sophomore quarterback truly was the most valuable player this season seeing what has taken place since his injury. I’m not saying FSU would have been 6-1 with him under center, but they damn sure would not have been 2-5 heading into this weekend’s game.

That being said, you can’t just pin this season on the injury to Francois. This season has been lost in part due to a variety of injuries that range from running back Jacques Patrick going down with a knee injury to a wide receiver room that, at time, has looked more like a MASH unit this season. The Seminoles have also dealt with a defense that looks like the best ever at times and a group that can’t stop a high school team at other points. The loss of Francois was huge, but it isn’t the only reason the Noles limp into this one.

Kelvin: Well, anytime you lose the leader of your offense and replace him with a true freshman that’s 18 years old and wasn’t an early enrollee there’s going to be a huge drop off. Also, FSU missed three consecutive weeks due to the hurricane and played some good defenses in NC State and Miami. They should have won both games and that caused the team to lose confidence and it’s been downhill ever since.