The most one sided of the conference championship games (in theory at least), as Florida State, the #1 team in the nation, will try not to mess up their incredible opportunity to play for the national title against whoever, taking on the huge underdog in the form of Duke.
What makes this game such an overwhelming one-sided affair? The Seminoles rank in the top two in the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense, yards per play and yards allowed per play this season.Duke? Rank fifth in the ACC in both scoring offense (33.7) and scoring defense (23.0).
A loss here for Florida State just seems too unlikely considering they haven’t trailed in a game for very long – The last FSU deficit came more than two months ago: Sept. 28 at Boston College. The Seminoles trailed that game up until 1:49 left in the second quarter, when Chad Abram caught a 10-yard TD pass to tie the game. Since then, Florida State has played 511:49 minutes of football and has been tied or had a lead the entire time.
That win in Boston by 14 points was the closest game the Seminoles have been involved in this season. Their toughest games – Maryland (won by 63 points), Clemson (by 37 points) and Miami (27 points), turned out to be walks in the park for a team that has an endless array of offensive weapons and a defense that’s deep and proven against some strong offensive units.
For Duke, 10-2, it’s been a much tougher, less impressive road. They’ve lost games to Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh, while having very close affairs against Troy, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and North Carolina. Anthony Boone is a good quarterback while Jela Duncan and Josh Snead form a strong rushing attack, but this team hasn’t seen anything remotley close to what Florida State have planned.
Predictions – If Duke beat Florida State it’ll be the upset of the season, and probably the biggest one we’ve seen in years. The Seminoles seem to be the real deal through and through, deserving to reach the national championship game.