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For the third straight game the Seminoles dominated the competition. With

a quarter of the regular season now complete, FSU finds itself at No. 4 in both

major polls, its highest ranking since 2005, ranked No. 1 in every major

NCAA defensive statistic and No. 2 overall in scoring offense.

But just how good is Florida State? Are the Seminoles really "back"?

On paper the 'Noles have talent, depth, experience and coaching. And now the

statistics say the Seminoles belong among the elite of college football. The

problem is that Jimbo Fisher's squad has proved nothing.

Two victories against hapless FBS teams and dominating effort versus a

mediocre Wake Forest team might feel good to the average fan, but the 3-0 start

means very little to the bottom line. Florida State was a heavy favorite in all

three contests and did what was expected.

While it's hard to draw any hard early conclusions based on the level of

competition, a few trends are beginning to surface. So do these tends show that

FSU a national championship contender or pretender?

Defense is for real - Mark Stoops' squad has given up

just three points through three games and rank No. 1 in every major

defensive category. While the level of competition has been substandard at

best, there's no denying that the defense has dominated all facets of the

game. There is excellent depth, above average experience (five senior and

five junior starters), outstanding speed and arguably the top defensive

line in college football. There's a good reason why the saying "defense wins championships" is the oldest cliché in football and FSU clearly boasts

an elite defense.

Running game shows dramatic improvement - One of the

biggest question marks entering the 2012 season was whether FSU's horrific

ground game could get on track. Last year, the 'Noles averaged just 112

yards a game rushing ranking them 104th nationally. So far through the first three games, that average has more than

doubled at 279 yards a game ranking FSU 11th in the nation. While it's easy

to conclude that the lofty rushing stats are based on weak competition,

last year in its first two games FSU averaged just 131 rushing yards versus

ULM and Charleston Southern.

Team is healthy - Last year when FSU suffered two of its

biggest losses to Clemson and Wake Forest, which effectively eliminated

them from getting into the ACC Championship, it was decimated by injuries.

The starting quarterback, starting cornerback Greg Reid, multiple offensive

linemen and two key receivers were all out of action or hampered by

injuries during this two-game stretch. Starting running back Chris Thompson also went out early in the Wake Forest game with a

season-ending injury. Even with All-American defensive end Brandon Jenkins

out for the year, Florida State enters Saturday's all-important match-up in

really good shape on both sides of the ball.

More mature team should make fewer mistakes - Last year,

the Seminoles boasted just four senior starters that made it through the

bulk of the season. As a result of the lack of experience and maturity,

there were a high number of mental mistakes in three of FSU's four losses

(Clemson, Wake Forest and Virginia). FSU will enter Saturday's Clemson game

with nine senior starters including quarterback EJ Manuel. With another

year under its belt, FSU has shown a more business-like attitude and

dramatically reduced mistakes (just 3.3 penalties per game) through the

early part of the season.

Offensive line is still a question mark - Even with

lofty rushing numbers through the first three games, FSU's young offensive

line still has a long way to go to prove itself. On Saturday against the

first FBS opponent, the offense produced big numbers on the ground thanks

mainly to two huge Chris Thompson runs. Nevertheless, EJ Manuel faced a good deal of

pressure and was sacked three times. Also, the offense failed to convert a first-and-goal from the 2 in the second quarter, leading some to wonder if FSU's short yardage woes will continue in 2012. Despite two runs from power-back James Wilder

and one by fullback Lonnie Pryor, the line was unable to move Wake Forest's

undersized defensive front off the ball and the 'Noles had to settle for a

field goal.

EJ Manuel not quite an elite quarterback - There

is no doubt that EJ Manuel has been efficient since taking

over as FSU's full-time starting quarterback in 2011. For his career,

Manuel has completed two-thirds of his passes and tossed 30 touchdowns with

19 interceptions. Last year, there were even whispers that Fisher's

first prized recruit might be a dark horse Heisman candidate. However, the

former Rivals100 quarterback hasn't quite lived up to the huge

expectations he had coming out of Bayside High School (Virginia Beach, Va.)

and may finish his college career just being an above average

signal-caller.

Coaching staff has yet to prove itself in big games

- With three straight top 10 recruiting classes under their belt,

Jimbo Fisher and his staff have established

themselves as elite recruiters. But outside of a couple non-BCS bowls and

wins over struggling in-state rivals, the Seminole coaching staff

doesn't have any significant victories to hang their hat on. Since

Fisher took over in 2010, FSU has not defeated a top 10 team and is just

2-4 versus ranked opponents. One of those two wins came in 2010 against a Miami team

in that finished the year unranked at 7-6. The other was a bowl win

over South Carolina that same year after it lost its best player early in

the game

The pendulum will swing after Saturday night.

That's because the 'Noles face No. 9 ranked Clemson in an

intra-conference showdown. With Virginia Tech's upset loss to Pittsburgh this

past weekend, the nationally televised showdown between the Tigers and

Seminoles, the only ranked ACC teams in the Coaches' Poll, will decide who the

king of the ACC is.

A win would put the Seminoles in the driver's seat for the Atlantic Division

and for the berth in the ACC Championship Game. On other hand, a home loss to Clemson

would be disastrous. Such a setback could effectively eliminate FSU from the

ACC Championship race should Clemson takes care of its business in ACC

competition. Such a setback might also call into question all the progress

Jimbo Fisher has made to the program since taking over as head coach.

On the whole, the positive signs appear to outnumber the red flags. While

expecations were unreasonably high in 2011, there are legitimate reasons to buy

into the hype this year. The building blocks are in place and the players and

coaches seem supremely focused on the goal of an ACC Championship and Clemson

stands in the way.