The improvement is apparent when the games are taking place, and also in the statistics.

The Florida State offensive line, which has ranked among the nation's worst in recent years, has experienced a resurgence under first-year OL coach Alex Atkins.

The Seminoles are allowing fewer sacks and substantially fewer tackles for loss each game, and their Pro Football Focus grades have improved at nearly every position.

The test Atkins' group faces this week, however, could be the stiffest yet.

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The Pitt Panthers, who will travel to face FSU this Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium (4 p.m., ACC Network), rank No. 1 nationally in rushing defense, No. 1 in sacks and No. 1 in tackles for loss.

"This is probably the most physical defense we've faced," Seminoles offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham said. "Very similar from that standpoint to Notre Dame. They're big, they're physical guys. They're extremely good on the defensive line -- definitely a strength of what they do. They challenge receivers. Very rarely do you see soft coverage. It is bump-and-run. It is tight quarters. They're in your face. And essentially, it's cover-zero.

"It is an attacking defense -- that doesn't attack through pressure. They attack through everybody within nine yards of the line of scrimmage. They do not want you to run the football. They want you to force shots down the field, and have those shots be contested with man-to-man coverage. ... It is an old-school mentality that they're going to go out there and whoop your butt."

The Panthers primarily run a 4-3 defensive front, and three players in that front-seven rank among the nation's leaders in tackles for loss.

Linebacker Sirvocea Dennis ranks fourth nationally with 10.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, and defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver are tied for fifth with 9.5. The Panthers have two other defenders who rank in the top 45 in that category.