Keeping It Heel
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UNC Football: Early Opponent Preview Florida State

By Brandon Griffin

Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries the ball against the Houston Cougars in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries the ball against the Houston Cougars in the third quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Cougars won 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Leading up to the first game of the season, Keeping It Heel will be doing opponent previews in reverse order.

Previous Previews:

NC State / The Citadel / Duke / Georgia Tech / Virginia / Miami/ Virginia Tech

This Week: Florida State

Last season UNC was penalized for their schedule. Due to a rotating schedule against the Atlantic and a smaller conference schedule, Carolina avoided the top three in the Atlantic.

That won’t be the case this season. In fact, by the time this game rolls around in October, both teams could be ranked in the top ten, with playoff implications riding on the outcome. Who will step up and distinguish themselves as the best in the ACC?

Head Coach: Jimbo Fisher. Career Record 68-14. This will be his seventh season at Florida State which is his only head coaching stop. Since taking over, Fisher has finished in the top 25 all six of his previous seasons and the top 10 three of those.

Fisher also brought Florida State their third national title in 2013. He has also had double-digit wins in five of his six seasons as well. Quite impressive considering he was following a coach who had won 304 games and two National Championships at FSU.

Best Non-Graduate: DB Deion Sanders. Hall of Famer, eight time Pro Bowler, eight time All-Pro, one time defensive player of the year, and two time Super Bowl champion. Career has 513 tackles, 53 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles, and 22 touchdowns.

Sanders made a name for himself by being a two sport athlete. In 1992, he almost became the first athlete to play in two different sporting events on the same day. As a ball player he hit .263 with 558 hits, 39 home runs, and 186 stolen bases.

Best Graduate: LB Derrick Brooks. Hall of Famer, 11 Time Pro Bowler, nine-time All-Pro, one time defensive player of the year, and one-time Super Bowl Champion. Career has 1715 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 25 interceptions, 24 forced fumbles, and 7 touchdowns.

Brooks is considered one of the all-time good guys in pro football. This attribute was acknowledged by the league in 2000 when he won the Walter Payton Man of the year award.

Last Season: Went 10-3 (6-2 in ACC play). Finished second in the Atlantic Division. Season highlights include starting the season 6-0 raising the notion they could play in their third straight national championship picture.

Followed that up with a last second loss to Georgia Tech on a blocked FG attempt and two weeks later lost to Clemson, giving the Tigers the Atlantic Division. Despite the two losses they still finished ahead of the Tar Heels in the CFP polls, taking UNC’s spot in an access bowl. FSU played Houston in the Peach Bowl where they lost 38-24.

This Season: Nine of their opponents finished last season with a winning record and eight of them made a bowl game. FSU doesn’t play Notre Dame this season.

In addition to their six home games they get three more games in Florida, meaning they are only leaving the state three times this season. With their talent and favorable schedule, an 11-1 record is not out of the question along with a fourth Atlantic title in five seasons.

Best Player: RB Dalvin Cook. Last season, he rushed for 1691 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown. Dalvin Cook is not just the best player on the Florida State team, he is probably the best player in the ACC and maybe even the country.

Last season he rushed for over 100 yards eight times and over 200 yards twice. He also ran for at least two touchdowns in seven games. Most impressively he did all this in only 12 games as he had to sit out a game with an ankle injury. If the Heels want to win this game, they will need to shut down Cook and let the other Seminoles beat them.

Matchup: Saturday, October 1st in Tallahassee. Time: TBD

Nov 7, 2015; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels place kicker Nick Weiler (24) kicks an extra point in the third quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels place kicker Nick Weiler (24) kicks an extra point in the third quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Prediction: In 2001, I was in school when UNC beat Florida State 41-9 in Chapel Hill. However I had gone home that weekend. Why? Because the Heels started that season 0-3 with two losses to top five teams.

FSU was ranked 6th that season and I didn’t believe it was worth watching. I was wrong. There is a good chance many other people will be wrong this season when they pick Florida State to blow out the Heels in Tallahassee.

Final score: UNC 37, Florida State 45. Though I think the game will be close, UNC only loss one game last season by more than eight points, it will be hard for UNC to win at Florida State. Nick Weiller will go for two when he thinks FSU is sleeping and will get stopped. An onside kick in the last minute will get recovered by the Seminoles and UNC’s comeback bid will come to an end.

I really believe this will be UNC’s first loss of the season. Unlike last season, their first loss will actually be a good one as Florida State should be really good this year. If things play out right UNC may get another chance at the Seminoles in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte.

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