TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State upset the No. 5 team in the country, North Carolina, 31-28, on Saturday evening. The Seminoles gave up 558 yards to an extremely talented Tar Heels' offense. The opponent had a chance to win it in the final minutes. But in the end, the Seminoles' defense got the stop it had to have and put together a much-needed statement victory.
While the yardage allowed was a lot, the defense bent plenty but ultimately didn't break. They were effective at getting off the field holding North Carolina to 2-for-11 on third down conversions and stalemating them on all three fourth down attempts. They were especially effective in the first half forcing four punts, a turnover on downs and recording an interception for a touchdown on the first six series of the game. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell and his team responded, posting 21 points over the final 20 minutes of action, but when the defense had to get a stop, they forced a turnover on downs with 35 seconds remaining to earn the win.
Saturday evening was a big step forward for a defense that lacked confidence, results, and truthfully many positives to point to in their first four outings. The second half of last week's loss at Notre Dame had some silver linings for the defense, including a late fourth down stop. It appears that those small victories played a big role in knocking off one of the nation's best teams in this early portion of the season. For a defense that has been much maligned in recent seasons, it shows growth is possible.
"So two years ago, after Notre Dame, obviously they beat the hell out of us and that never feels good. This time was different. I feel like we showed our potential. I just feel like when we went back to practice after that, it was like okay, we need to clean up on some things," Kaindoh said on Saturday after the victory. "Nobody believed in us and that we could go out and beat North Carolina and stuff, but I feel like we just knew after the Notre Dame game that we were kind of scratching the surface, just a little bit, so let's just go harder.
"I would say it started in practice," Kaindoh added. "We came back after Notre Dame and we just made up in our mind that we were going to practice harder. I feel like it carried over to the game."
Their practice habits translated to a game, after a week that Norvell said was arguably the best preparation by his team since the season began.
FSU's defense looked faster and more physical than they had at any point through the first month. They swarmed to the ball better as a unit. They were far more active in the backfield, racking up a season-high four sacks to go along with eight tackles for loss. They made North Carolina earn it on the ground, holding them well under their season average in rushing.
"I think it was just everybody doing their job and playing together. I feel like that is one of the main things that we talked about all week was just playing together and making sure that everybody does what they need to do and just at the end of the day play football," Buck safety Jaiden Lars-Woodbey said.
Mistakes still existed, allowing 17 bang plays to the Tar Heels for 412 total yards, including 301 yards and three touchdowns through the air. But the defense got big stops, an interception for a touchdown, created two blocked punt situations. They had successes, that ultimately led to a victory on the scoreboard. They also did it short-handed, playing just 24 players with around a half-dozen contributors sidelined for a variety of reasons.
"I thought the defense responded incredibly. The amount of guys who were not available tonight, or the guys who got banged up during the course of the game, that was heart. What you see on the field was guys on the field who made the choice to give it their all," head coach Mike Norvell said. "I grabbed the defensive backs, the defensive line, linebackers, I talked to them specifically as groups after that game because I know the challenge that was presented. There's been a lot of talk about what we haven't done up to this point in the season, tonight we needed them to show up big and boy did they ever.
"From Josh Kaindoh's interception return for a touchdown, pressure on the quarterback, that is a dang good offense we just faced. That's one of the best offenses in the country and our guys just continued to rise to the challenge. The plays that they made, they made some incredible plays, but we didn't let that distract us to the next one," Norvell continued. "I was just so proud of the defensive front, forcing unit and guys in the back end because that was challenging with some of the personnel situations that arose throughout the course of the game."
FSU's success started with a change in approach. The Seminoles went with a 4-2-5 look quite often on the evening, starting out that way. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller opted to be aggressive with bringing defensive backs on blitzes and working to create pressure, even if it meant they left others in 1-on-1 situations that weren't favorable down the field.
The difference, one week after recording just one negative play, is that they created havoc. They disrupted the flow of a top-tier offense. They took their lumps, but they kept going and they played four complete quarters.
"We just had the mindset of just being aggressive, coming out and being aggressive this game. Just trying to put pressure on the quarterback and just playing good upfront," defensive end Janarius Robinson said.
The supposed stars of FSU's defense also came to play. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., who has been FSU's best defender in 2020, continued that trend. Defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, slowed by an early season injury, turned in a huge play and applied pressure several times. Fellow defensive end Janarius Robinson, who had been dreadful at times with handling his role and responsibilities on the edge, had his best game, maybe of his career, racking up a career-high two sacks and three tackles for loss. Others like freshmen linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. provided a spark with a team-leading nine tackles, but also showed freshman flaws being picked on in the passing game.
More than anybody though, senior defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, a captain for the Seminoles and the central focus of the Seminoles defense by many opponents and certainly onlookers, played to the level he is fully capable of. His effort was off the charts. He regularly created successful outcomes for himself and his teammates. He encapsulated the reasons why FSU's defense went from hopeless to hopeful over the span of a 60-minute game.
"It's great. Marvin is a tremendous player. We needed him to show up big today, and he's just continued to work. That's something that, give credit to him, it's not always about the stat line. It's not always about all those things. There's people who are game planning for him, there's things he's experiencing early this season. But tonight, in those key moments, I thought he showed up at a very high level," Norvell said of Wilson. "He's no different than anyone else on this team, in order to play to the level that you're capable of, you've got to just continue to believe in the preparation, and Marvin embraces that. He's an extremely hard worker. And I think that showed up tonight in a big-time moment."
The instances where the defense found success created mental momentum for them and seemed to be infectious, even when things felt like they were falling apart. With the Tar Heels making their way down the field in the final minute, the defense kept plugging away. They created pressure and rushed Howell's throws, getting a drop by a receiver on third down to set up a crucial fourth down. Marvin Wilson flushed Howell from the pocket, freshman linebacker DJ Lundy made an effort on the pass obstructing the view from quarterback to intended receiver, running back Javonte Williams, and the ball hit the turf as it careened off of him. It wasn't a spectacular play or moment, but it spoke to an effort turned in by a group that hadn't been able to do something of that sorts through the first third of the season. Most of all, it showed that the group may have found some kind of belief in what they are capable of, albeit with blemishes.
"They had confident eyes. They understood that all it takes is one play. We saw that when we created a couple negative plays there on the final drive. You have to give them credit, they made a couple of incredible catches within the moment on that drive. But our guys, you see it in their response, you see it in their body language. They were ready for the next one," Norvell said. "That's all they were focused, trying to finish to the best of their ability. They put us in a great position to win that game and they finished the job."
The defense, exhausted after being on the field for over 33 minutes on the night, celebrated in the cool fall air of a Tallahassee Saturday night. Smiling about success for the first time in some time.
"It was very rewarding," Lars-Woodbey said of earning the victory with the final stop. "All of the criticism and all of the things that everybody said we need to do, we just came out and we did what we had to do and we beat a number five team in the nation. I think that says a lot about us as a defense. It is just real simple, we came out here and did what we had to do and we held an air raiding offense to 28 points.
"I think it just came down to a matter of heart during those last two minutes," he added. "We just had to lay it on the line. All the scheme and everything went out the window during those last two minutes, it is just where is your heart. Are you willing to put your life on the line for your teammates? I think that we all did that as a coaching staff and as a team."
It also certainly earned the defense a level of respect among their teammates on offense. FSU is trying to rebuild a program and a team with small steps, individual victories. They earned a big victory on Saturday night and it may have just proven to the defense that they are capable of more in 2020.
"The defense played amazing today. It was great. They played amazing. They are the reason why we won the game to be honest. They came up big in the fourth quarter and made a great stop, the biggest stop of the game," starting quarterback Jordan Travis said. "But their energy that they brought, it just made everyone else just go. We had so much energy. We were comfortable. We had a big lead.
"But towards the end, I mean that is football, they came close but the defense came up big and I'm very thankful for them," Travis added.
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