Florida State has been trying to recover from losses throughout most of the first half of the season.
Now Duke comes in off its first defeat.
The teams meet in a Friday night Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C.
Duke (5-1, 1-1 ACC) hasn’t played since falling 24-14 at Georgia Tech on Oct. 5. The Blue Devils are winless against Florida State in 22 all-time meetings.
Duke coach Manny Diaz said the break in the schedule came at a good time for his team to regroup.
“Our players were able to refresh themselves as much as you can midway through October,” Diaz said.
Florida State (1-5, 1-4), which has lost its past two games, has had the same gap of time between games as the Blue Devils. This will be the Seminoles’ second true road game, having fallen 42-16 at SMU on Sept. 28.
“It’s definitely always good just to re-set,” Seminoles safety K.J. Kirkland said. “It also gave us a better opportunity to scout our opponent.”
Kirkland and his teammates got a good look at Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy, who has thrown for 1,431 yards and 14 touchdowns with just five interceptions this season.
“That quarterback is pretty good,” Kirkland said. “He has got a big arm on him. They can run the ball. They do a lot of good things.”
Florida State’s offense needs a jolt. The Seminoles haven’t scored more than 16 points in a game since a season-opening 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell is trying to mix up the vibes, so the Seminoles nixed playing music at practice early this week in preparation for the Duke game.
“We don’t control the atmosphere, but we do control ourselves,” Norvell said. “We control what we do. We wanted a little changeup in regards to that. Making sure we bring the energy that is necessary on every single play.”
The Seminoles will be stocked with young players on offense, including redshirt freshman quarterback Brock Glenn. There could be four other freshmen or redshirt freshmen in the starting lineup on that side of the ball.
Diaz said Florida State has looked inspired by Glenn, who became the starter in the Clemson game Oct. 5, when he threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
“More than anything, it feels like the team has fire and energy behind him,” Diaz said.
Florida State defeated Duke 38-20 last October in Tallahassee, Fla., outscoring the Blue Devils 21-0 in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
