Throughout his time as a head coach, the run game has been Mike Norvell's bread and butter.

That has been true throughout his times both in Memphis and Tallahassee, but the 2022 season at Florida State was far and away the program's best rushing season since he took over.

With a rejuvenated offensive line and a deep, talented running back room, the Seminoles rushed for 2,783 yards and averaged 5.73 yards per carry last fall. Those were both the most by an FSU team since 2013.

There was confidence entering the season that the Seminoles would be able to carry that success over, bringing back most of the offensive line and two of the three main contributing running backs.

And yet, that hasn't proven to be the case through four games this season. While the Seminoles are 4-0, they are averaging just 4.73 yards per carry, the lowest average of the Norvell era at FSU.

In Saturday's win at Clemson, the Seminoles managed just 22 rushing yards on 20 carries (1.1 per carry), the program's fewest rushing yards in a game since the 59-10 loss to No. 1 Clemson in 2018. It was a stark difference from last year's FSU-Clemson game in Tallahassee in which the Seminoles ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns, averaging more than six yards per carry.

"I feel like we've got a lot of room to improve. We've just got to get in that rhythm," FSU running back Trey Benson said Wednesday. "We're passing the ball well so these next couple games, we'll get the running game going for sure."

In his debut season with the Seminoles after transferring from Oregon last fall, Benson got progressively more productive as the year progressed and he got more comfortable within FSU's offense and coming back from his severe knee injury suffered in Eugene.

Over the team's final seven games of the 2022 season, Benson ran for a combined 687 yards with six touchdowns, averaging 6.42 yards per carry and coming up 10 yards shy of being FSU's first 1,000-yard rusher since Cam Akers in 2019. He was a broken-tackle machine and one of the toughest runners in all of college football, building NFL draft buzz he delayed to return for another season with the Seminoles.

At least as of yet, that strong finish hasn't yet translated into this season. He's got 189 yards and is averaging 4.73 yards per carry with four touchdowns. However, three of those touchdowns were against Southern Miss and Benson hasn't yet averaged more than four yards per carry in three games against Power Five opponents so far this season.

While he hasn't fully hit his stride as a ball-carrier, Benson has made strides as a pass-catcher out of the backfield this season. He's coming off a Clemson game where he had a career-high three catches for 50 receiving yards against the Tigers. He has at least one catch in each of FSU's first four games this season and his six catches this season are already nearly half as many as the 13 he had in 2022.

"I like catching the ball out of the backfield. That's what I've got to show more of this year," Benson said. "The catch at Clemson I had, the back-shoulder catch, I'll always remember that catch because people think I couldn't do that. I appreciate that."

On FSU's first scoring drive Saturday, Benson also had a tough 12-yard run, which resembled his late-season 2022 form with a few broken tackles and a general tough-to-bring-down running style.

"I went and watched (that run) again last night. I'm like, 'That's me right there. That's how I run right there,'" Benson said. "They created a spark for me and these next couple games, they are going to be some good ones."

While Benson is the featured back, he's hardly the only culprit in FSU's running game struggles early this season. The Seminoles' offensive line has done a better job of pass-blocking than run-blocking early this season. Lawrance Toafili is also averaging less than five yards per carry. Rodney Hill and Caziah Holmes, the two most successful running backs early this season, have a combined 22 carries (with much of their success coming against Southern Miss).

In fact, FSU hasn't yet averaged four-plus yards per carry in three games against an P5 opponent. The inability to run consistently against LSU and Clemson — two of the tougher defenses the Seminoles will face this season — is understandable. Just 3.76 yards per carry at Boston College is a tougher pill to swallow.

After Week 4, FSU's 3.24 yards per carry against P5 competition ranks 73rd nationally.

Norvell talked Tuesday about the Seminoles' bye week being used to address what hasn't worked so far this season. The run game has to be near the top of that list.

"I know we had a lot of rushing yards last year, but we've got to work on the little things to improve," center Maurice Smith said. "We've got to just improve the little things, keep going."

The good news for FSU? What the doctor ordered may be waiting for the Seminoles coming out of the bye week. FSU's Week 5 opponent, Virginia Tech, is allowing over five yards per carry (110th nationally) in four games this season against Old Dominion, Purdue, Rutgers and Marshall.

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