Nation-leading 10 turnovers putting clamps on FSU offense

There are some major issues for the Florida State football team to fix. Obviously.

But the one that might be the most worrisome for FSU head coach Mike Norvell and his offensive staff isn't the high number of penalties. Although those are a big problem. And it's not short-yardage situations either. Although those, too, have been a monumental concern.

No, coming off the 35-14 loss at Wake Forest on Saturday, the No. 1 issue that needs to get cleaned up is turnovers.

The Seminoles had six in the loss to the Demon Deacons and now lead the country in that category.

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"Everything is a reflection of myself," offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham said. "I've got to find a way to score points. I've got to find a way to help our guys, put them in a better position to score points and find a way to stay out of our own way.

"Because we didn't get penalties (against Wake), but we had five turnovers. Technically six, but I don't count a Hail Mary. But five turnovers in a football game, that's not a recipe for success."

Neither is 10 total turnovers through three games. Seven of those 10 have been interceptions, including one as Dillingham noted that was a Hail Mary at the end of the first half against Wake Forest.

But nine of the 10 turnovers have been critical mistakes so far in 2021, and the 10 turnovers as a whole are the most in the entire country.

So are the seven interceptions — four by Jordan Travis and three by McKenzie Milton.

Milton also had two fumbles in the loss to Wake, the most crucial being on first-and-goal at the Demon Deacons' 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. He also threw a critical interception in the second half against Jacksonville State.

"That's something we've got clean up in regards to how we're protecting the football," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "There were a couple of decisions that were made (against Wake) that you can understand the reasoning, you can see it, but we've just got to continue to grow and get better in making sure we're owning the football and not giving up the short field or losing those possessions."

And while they don't technically count as turnovers, Florida State's offense has also given the ball back four times already this season on failed fourth-down conversion attempts. A turnover on downs isn't quite the same thing as an actual turnover, but on one instance in particular -- a Travis interception against Notre Dame in the second half — it came on a fourth-down call that was going to end the possession anyway.

And technicality or not, it's a problem that has to be cleaned up. Otherwise, the offense will continue to struggle to put up points and the losses will continue to mount.

"If you look at the drives where we don't have a penalty or a turnover, pretty good production," Norvell said. "Those are things we talk about in fall camp. Those are things we point out. At the end of the day, we've got to go apply it.

"Right now, it's just words until we do it."

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