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FSU’s rushing game vs. Alabama’s front seven: Who wins, and why?

Clint Lamb

By Clint Lamb

Published:

Alabama and Florida State constantly achieve two things: 1) both bring in top recruiting classes and 2) both provide a quality pipeline to the NFL. Each team suffered key losses from last year’s teams that saw a combined 14 players selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, but they both have the talent to reload instead of rebuild.

Look at the star power that will line up Saturday night in Atlanta. Alabama’s defense is locked and loaded again. FSU replaced Dalvin Cook with Cam Akers, the No. 1 running back recruit in the country.

As you can see, neither team will lack talent come Saturday night. Although, the Crimson Tide does seem to look better on paper, as if that matters much.

One of the keys battles will be FSU’s rushing game vs. Alabama’s front seven.

Alabama has continuously fielded one of the top run defenses in all of college football during the Nick Saban era. Since 2008, the Tide has finished in the top 10 against the run every season, including four seasons at No. 1 and two more seasons at No. 2.

Here’s a breakdown of the Florida State’s rushing offense compared to Alabama’s rushing defense.

By the 2016 Numbers

Alabama DL vs. Florida State OL

The difference in this matchup could come down to experience.

Alabama must replace two of its three starters along the defensive line (Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson) and both of its edge players (Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams). While Williams was much more impactful as a pass rusher, the other three were excellent against the run, especially Tomlinson.

Florida State’s offensive line, on the other hand, returns four of its five starters from last season. Their only loss was a big one, however. Former left tackle Roderick Johnson was the ACC’s top offensive lineman, receiving the Jacobs Blocking Trophy to reflect that. His departure left a huge void on Deondre Francois’ blindside, but sophomore Josh Ball (6-8, 287) looks ready to fill that void.

The lack of experience would seemingly give the Florida State offensive line a major advantage, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Alabama nose tackle Da’Ron Payne is one of the nation’s top run-stuffing 0-techniques. His 6-2, 308-pound frame, mixed with his strength that allows to bench 550 pounds, makes moving him almost impossible. He isn’t just an immovable object, however. Payne has excellent movement skills for a player his size.

The former 5-star prospect will also have a deep rotation flanking either side of him in Da’Shawn Hand, Isaiah Buggs, Quinnen Williams and Raekwon Davis, whose status is unknown after suffering a gunshot wound in his leg this past weekend.

While experience helps, the talent that Alabama has in the defensive trenches will be prove to be too much for the Seminoles’ experienced, but limited offensive line.

Advantage: Alabama

Alabama LBs vs. Florida State QB/RB

While he’s been participating in fall camp, not many people know how far along Alabama LB Shaun Dion Hamilton is in his recovery from a torn ACL that ended his 2016 season prematurely. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go, but will he be 100 percent right out of the gate?

Dion Hamilton is expected to line up next to the man who replaced him in the starting lineup following his injury, Rashaan Evans.

Evans’ insertion into the starting lineup didn’t come without some issues. On the first snap following Dion Hamilton’s injury, the Gators tested Evans on a wheel route to tight end DeAndre Goolsby. It exposed Evans’ limited experience dropping into coverage, and resulted in a Florida touchdown. Evans is a heat-seeking missile when he is playing confident, but he needs to show better awareness when dropping into coverage.

Florida State suffered a significant loss at the running back position with Cook moving on to the NFL. He is the school’s leader is career rushing yards (4,464) and rushing touchdowns (46) while also having the two best individual seasons in school history with 1,691 rushing yards in 2015 and 1,765 in 2016.

Replacing that kind of player isn’t easy to do, but the Seminoles will still have one of the ACC’s best rushing duos in Jacques Patrick and freshman phenom Cam Akers. Patrick is projected to be the starter, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Akers earn the majority of the touches sooner rather than later.

At 5-11, 214 pounds, Akers has everything you could want in a running back. In the above video, you can see the former 5-star’s superb footwork. He’s already a fluid runner who can handle a massive workload, if needed.

In addition, quarterback Deondre Francois is a capable runner when needed. He netted over 500 yards rushing last season if you were to remove the negative yardage from sacks.

Advantage: Florida State

Final Thoughts

Both teams are expected to contend for a Playoff spot. In fact, two of SI’s college football writers predicted Florida State and Alabama would see each other again in the national championship game.

The X-factor Saturday night is Deondre Francois, whom the Seminoles will almost certainly want to get out in space to extend plays and put pressure on the defense with his legs. It’s an element that the Alabama defense has struggled with occasionally over the past decade, with players such as Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Nick Marshall and Deshaun Watson causing the Tide’s defense major problems.

Expect Alabama’s front-seven to keep the Florida State running backs in check, however. There are a lot of unknown variables, but the front-seven for Alabama gets the final nod.

Overall advantage: Alabama

Clint Lamb

Clint helps cover the SEC West for Saturday Down South. His work can also be found on USA TODAY Sports, The 'Bama Beat podcast and The Bullpen with TonyMac and The Lamb. Previous stops include SEC Country, 247Sports and Touchdown Alabama Magazine.

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