Font Size:

While Florida State may have finished well below some lofty expectations this season with an 8-4 record and a date Thursday in the Champs Sports Bowl, the Seminoles were in every game they lost and at no point seemed overwhelmed by any opponent.

Jimbo Fisher US Presswire

A lot of that has to do with FSU taking relatively good care of the ball, as quarterbacks E.J. Manuel and Clint Trickett combined to throw just 12 interceptions and none of the running backs proved to have slippery fingers -- the team fumbled 17 times in 2011 but only lost five.

Defensively, the 'Noles had a tough time getting takeaways during the early part of the schedule but managed to crank up those statistics the last few games, finishing with 13 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. That's a turnover ratio of plus-3.

If coach Jimbo Fisher had but one wish heading into the highly-anticipated matchup with Notre Dame, it would probably be to win the turnover battle.

"[Turnovers] affect the game more than anything, and I think that’s one thing we have done very well on offense this year," Fisher said Wednesday at the kickoff luncheon press conference. "We had two games in which we had multiple turnovers. Other than that, we’ve had one or less turnovers in every game. And then creating turnovers. Early in the year we struggled because we didn’t create turnovers on defense, and then later in the year we were creating turnovers."

The Fighting Irish threw 14 interceptions this season and lost 12 fumbles on offense, while their defense picked off only eight passes and recovered just five fumbles. That's a turnover ratio of minus-13. ...

Both Florida State and Notre Dame have things they do well on offense and things they don't do so well, and the same can be said for the two programs on the defensive side of the ball.

Special teams, however, appear to favor the Seminoles, as Fisher has a tremendous kicker in Dustin Hopkins, an All-American punter in Shawn Powell, a handful of dangerous return men and a stable full of athletes on the coverage units.

Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly admitted Wednesday that FSU will feature the best special teams his players have seen all year, and one mistake in the often-ignored third phase of the game could end up being that fine line between winning and losing.

"If you make a mistake against Florida State in coverage, if you make a mistake in protection, if you don’t tackle well, Florida State can put points on the board in the special teams," said Kelly. "I think they’re the first team we will play this year that have that kind of dynamic ability in their special teams. It’s been a constant point of emphasis for us relative to how we have prepared in our bowl season. But clearly if you have two fairly even-matched teams, sometimes special teams makes a big difference. We knew that going in, and we are going to have to play well in that area."

The Golden Domers have a tremendous kick returner in George Atkinson and also cover kicks and punts rather well, but in what appears to be a misprint every time you see the number, incredibly the Irish have recorded only 3 punt-return yards all season long and average just 0.3 yards per attempt.

 ________________________________________

John Crist is the editor-in-chief of NoleDigest.com, a Heisman Trophy voter and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. For unbiased, unrivaled and unconquered coverage of Florida State athletics, visit NoleDigest.com and become a subscriber.