Short-yardage woes continue to hamper Mike Norvell's Florida State offense

There are, of course, a number of reasons for the struggles the past two Saturdays. But maybe first and foremost has been third-down conversions. And even more specifically, short-yardage attempts.

Florida State was 1-for-6 on third downs in Saturday's 35-14 loss to Wake Forest. And 0-for-1 on fourth downs. Not being able to keep possession of the ball was a major reason why the Seminoles ran just 51 snaps on offense in Saturday's defeat.

"The short-yardage situations offensively, we've got to extend drives to be able to get into a rhythm," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "That's something that's critical."

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Down 7-0 in the first quarter against the Demon Deacons on Saturday, the Seminoles faced a third-and-1 at their own 27-yard line. Treshaun Ward was blown up for a three-yard loss on the play, and FSU was forced to punt.

Then, with the score at 27-14 early in the third quarter, the Seminoles had the ball at the Wake Forest 40-yard line. It was third-and-2. Quarterback Jordan Travis was sacked for a 10-yard loss on the play, and again the Seminoles punted.

The final nail in the short-yardage coffin against the Demon Deacons came later in the third quarter, with the Seminoles trailing 35-14 with the ball at the Wake 11.

On third-and-2, Jashuan Corbin was stopped for no gain. And then on fourth-and-2, McKenzie Milton tried to pick up the first down himself running to the left.

It didn't work. He was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. The Demon Deacons took over, and the game was essentially over.

"It was something we felt we could get an extra hat," Norvell said of the designed run by Milton. "Probably something we'll reflect back on."

Meaning they likely won't call the Milton off-tackle play again in short-yardage.

They might, in fact, go back to the Wildcat.

That formation had been a staple of Norvell's offense since the beginning of the 2020 season. Many times, when facing third- or fourth-and-short situations, the Seminoles would simply snap the ball to Corbin and let him barrel toward the line and a first down.

It was mostly effective last season. And it was effective in the opener against Notre Dame. Treshaun Ward even scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Irish.

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But it was also the play they ran on third-and-short on the final drive against Jacksonville State. It was stuffed. And the Seminoles punted, setting up that nightmare finish in Doak Campbell Stadium.

The FSU coaches didn't use it at all in short-yardage against Wake Forest.

"We had it as a secondary part of the plan," Norvell said. "Things we had that kind of got taken away there later. Some certain things they had shown, didn't know necessarily we would have the advantage for what we were looking for in some of those short-yardage situations.

"It's something we're going to continue to evaluate. ... It was discussed, but just in the game-week prep, there was something we thought we had better."

No matter what the FSU coaches decide to do in short-yardage moving forward, the results will have to be better if the Seminoles are going to have any shot of becoming a quality offense in 2021.

It would help, too, if the offensive line could get healthy. Starters Robert Scott and Maurice Smith both missed Saturday's game in Winston-Salem. Not that Norvell was blaming the short-yardage woes on their absence, but it certainly didn't help matters.

"No excuse in anything, but it's hurt," Norvell said. "We had to basically reshuffle the line once again. ... But we've got to get those guys back, we've got to continue to develop and coach."

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