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The No. 17 Florida State Seminoles are coming off their first regular season loss in two years and return home to take on the Syracuse Orange in Week 9. Due to a rash of injuries, particularly in the backfield, FSU is not necessarily a shoo-in to bounce back against Syracuse and will need some fresh faces to step up and carry the load this Saturday. Enter true freshman Jacques Patrick who will take center stage this weekend to lead the way for the Noles rushing attack and help Florida State return to their winning ways.
Attrition can be a major factor in any college football season and the injuries have started to pile up for Florida State. The biggest among them may be to their leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, who has been ruled out this week against Syracuse with an ankle injury that he suffered in last week’s loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This is on top of the lingering hamstring issues that Cook has been dealing with which have cost him parts of three games already this season. Despite his injury issues, Cook has already rushed for 1,037 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns and is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.
In addition to Cook being sidelined, Florida State will be without their No. 2 running back Mario Pender as well opening up the door for Jacques Patrick to get his first collegiate start. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound freshman was ranked as the No. 49 rated player in the 2015 recruiting class but has seen limited action up to this point, amassing just 12 yards on six carries. Jimbo Fisher has expressed extreme confidence in Patrick, noting that this was about the same time last season that Cook emerged as a true freshman and took over the FSU running game, finishing the year with 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Seminoles are hoping that Patrick makes a similar splash in his debut. Fisher has raved about the work that the young back has put in since getting on campus, saying that he “probably has the best hands” of the running backs on the roster. That skill combined with his big body make him a unique talent that blends the ability to run inside between the tackles and create big plays out in space. There will be opportunities to run against the Orange, who are giving up 148 yards per game on the ground and have given up the second-most rushing touchdowns in the ACC this season (13).
Establishing a running game will also be paramount for the Noles as they try and piece together a roster that has been ravaged by injuries. In addition to Cook and Pender, quarterback Everett Golson is banged up and has been limited in practice. Right tackle Derrick Kelly has been ruled out as well with a leg injury and center Ryan Hoefeld is questionable with a shoulder injury.
Being able to control the pace of the game with the running game will be central to Florida State’s success in this game and Jacques Patrick is poised to step up and take command of the rushing attack against Syracuse. Will he prove up to the challenge and get the Noles back into the win column on Saturday?
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