After seeing the Florida State football team improve to 4-4 on Saturday with a 35-17 rout of visiting Syracuse, we're back with a new edition of the Warchant 3-2-1 -- where we offer up three observations, two questions and one prediction.

In this installment, we take a closer look at the decision to start Alex Hornibrook at quarterback, the Seminoles' OL shakeup, the recent defensive improvement and more.

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1. Alex Hornibrook gave FSU what it needed against Syracuse

You can look at Alex Hornibrook's statistics from Saturday and come away unimpressed. He completed just 15 of 26 passes for 196 yards and no touchdowns, so he didn't exactly set the world on fire from a statistical standpoint.

You also could watch some of his underthrown passes against Syracuse and wonder, "Why exactly is this guy starting over James Blackman?"

I personally would reject both of those notions. I think Hornibrook was 100 percent the right choice for Florida State in that game, regardless of how many throws he missed. I think he gave the Seminoles just what they needed against an inferior opponent.

Going into that game, I thought there was really only one formula for Syracuse to come away with a victory, and that involved FSU's offense melting down and literally giving the Orange the game. I'm not suggesting that would have happened had Blackman been running the show, but there undoubtedly would have been a better chance of it.

Based on what we've seen from him this season and in 2017, it's fair to say that Blackman is a higher-risk, higher-reward quarterback than Hornibrook. There is no question that the redshirt sophomore has a much better arm and is more athletic in the pocket -- he did a really nice job of keeping some plays alive last week at Wake Forest -- but he's also more likely to make mistakes.

Blackman has thrown an average of 1 interception per 38 passes this season, while Hornibrook has thrown exactly 1 in 72 attempts. If you combine Blackman's numbers over the past three seasons, he is throwing 1 interception every 32 attempts.

Before we go any further, I feel like we always need to include the following disclaimer when we evaluate Blackman's play: He has been dealt some really difficult circumstances. First, he was thrust into playing in Jimbo Fisher's complex offense as a true freshman, and now he's playing for his third offensive coordinator in three seasons. He also has no idea what it might be like to play behind a solid offensive line.

At the same time, you have to be able to trust your quarterback to protect the football. In most situations, it's the QB's No. 1 responsibility. And Blackman has had issues with interceptions and fumbles at critical moments throughout his career.

That's why Hornibrook, who brings a calm-and-composed demeanor to the offense, made perfect sense to be the starter on Saturday. This was a game where Florida State needed a quarterback to not lose the game, as opposed to one who could go out and win it. Syracuse came into Saturday having forced at least one turnover in 21 consecutive games -- a streak that ranked best in the nation. And the Seminoles and Hornibrook brought that streak to a screeching halt by delivering a turnover-free performance.

In some ways, Miami presents a very similar proposition. Like the Orange, the Hurricanes are much stronger on defense than they are on offense, so one would assume that Willie Taggart and Kendal Briles will again want to make sure that they don't do anything on offense that results in easy scores or great field position for UM.

But does that mean Hornibrook is the slam-dunk right choice to start again this Saturday? I'm not entirely sure.

I do love Hornibrook's composure. I think it has been a great asset for an offense that seems to lack leadership. But there's no way to calculate just how many yards Florida State's offense left on the field Saturday because the grad transfer was unable to get the ball to his receivers. The good news was that he knew where to go with the ball in most situations; the bad news was he couldn't always get it there.