Here’s a short rundown of the PFF grades from the FSU-BC game. PFF does not allow us post grades for all the players, so we hit the high and lowlights. But if you have a question about a specific player, just ask and I’ll be happy to provide that info.
Overall Team Grades:
Most of the overall Pro Football Focus grades above average following FSU’s 26-23 win against Boston College. This week’s grades closely mirror the grades from last week’s win vs. Miami.
Top Mark: Run defense (90.3) and passing (88.8) were both excellent. The run defense mark was the best of the season. Florida State held BC’s running game to just 3.3 yards per carry.
Low Mark: Receiving (57.1) and run blocking (52.8) were the two segments that came in with below average PFF marks. Even though FSU racked up 251 receiving yards, the grade was docked because of several dropped passes (see below).
Odd: Tackling (64.4) regressed after being outstanding the week before vs. Miami. The defense missed nine tackles on the day and BC amassed 143 yards after contact.
Passing:
Jordan Travis – 88.8 passing grade. It was a second-straight outstanding passing performance by Travis. This was his second highest grade of the season just behind the North Carolina game (90.4). / He finished 20-for-34 for 251 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions (three passes dropped). He was sacked three times. He now has a season passing grade of 85.5, which is 13th best among all Power-5 starting quarterbacks.
According to PFF, Travis was blitzed 12 times, completed 9-for-9 on those plays. His passing grade when blitzed was an impressive 91.2 with a 155.8 NFL passer rating on those plays. His highest grade (91.6) came on passes of 20 or more yards.
Rushing:
Jashaun Corbin – 59.9 rush grade / 62 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.8 YPC). He had 37 yards after contact.
Treshaun Ward – 56.9 rush grade / 4 rushes for 25 yards (6.2 YPC)
Receiving:
Malik McClain (64.3) – Two targets, one catch for 15 yards and a TD.
Ja'Khi Douglas (59.7) – Four targets, four catches for 44 yards (31 YAC). His 52 snaps played, and 36 routes run were this most of his career by 2X. He was FSU’s primary slot receiver lining up in that position 28 times. I don't understand why his grade wasn't higher.
Ontaria Wilson (63.7) – Five targets, three catches for 60 yards and a TD.
Andrew Parchment (48.4) – Targeted four times, one catch for 14 yards. He had one drop, which lowered his overall grade.
T. Ward had two catches on four targets but was severely docked because of two drops (45.7 receiving grade). This probably explains why his snaps were reduced in the second half.
Blocking:
As has been the trend over the past few games, FSU’s pass-blocking was far superior to run blocking. Four starters finished with marks of 73 or higher in this department - Robert Scott Jr. (83.7) Maurice Smith (74.5), Darius Washington (73.7), Brady Scott (73.0). Dillan Gibbons was fifth among starters but still had a decent 64.1 grade. Robert Scott was the only starter to not surrender a pressure and that was on 41 drop-backs.
The run-blocking grades were mediocre across the board for the offensive line. Only Maurice Smith has an average grade at 60.4. Darius Washington was the only OL with a grade well below average at 47.3. It’s worth noting that tight end Jordan Wilson was far and away FSU’s best run blocker on Saturday. He made key blocks on two of FSU’s touchdowns and finished with a team-high 69.2 run-blocking grade.
The OL flagged for three penalties on Saturday.
Defense:
It’s no surprise that Keir Thomas had the top defensive grade at 80.1. He finished with seven tackles, two sacks, three TFLs, a pass breakup and six QB hurries! As with Johnson’s mark last week, the 80.1 grade is probably too low considering how dominating he was vs. the Eagles.
It’s worth noting that Jarques McClellion did well with the second-best defensive grade (76.0). He was forced to come in for Jamie Robinson, who was ejected from the game on a bogus targeting call. Akeem Dent (75.5) and Kalen DeLoach (74.7) also had very good defensive grades.
Nobody on defense was awful but starters DJ Lundy (59.8), Fabien Lovett (58.9) and Omarion Cooper (51.1) finished with mediocre marks.
As we noted at the top, it wasn’t a great day for FSU’s defense when it came to tackling. The disappointing tackling is a major reason why the Eagles were able to amass 143 yards after contact (39.1% of BC’s offense). There were nine total missed tackles and a few starters really struggled here - DJ Lundy (50.1), Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (38.4), Kalen DeLoach (29.3).
Akeem Dent (76.0) and Jarques McClellion (71.7) were the top two players in coverage. Dent was targeted four times but didn’t give up a single catch. McClellion was targeted twice and gave up one catch for just five yards. Omarion Cooper, who was the star in last week’s win vs. Miami, struggled in the BC game with a 48.4 coverage grade. He gave up just one catch on three targets for 19 yards, but PFF looks at coverage even on plays when the ball isn’t thrown in the direction of the defender. He was also flagged for a penalty.
It's worth noting that BC really went after FSU’s linebackers in the passing game. The two Seminole LBs were targeted six times, gave up four catches for 97 yards and one TD. Considering that the Eagles only threw for 148 yards, that represents the huge chunk of the passing offense (65.5%).
Keir Thomas (74.2) and Robert Cooper (72.9) were the top two defenders when it came to the pass rush. According to PFF, Thomas had 13 total pressures, which included 3 sacks, 4 QB hits, and 6 hurries.
NOTE: Hey PFF, start grading officiating! It would have been very interesting to see the incredibly low marks this crew would had after numerous botched calls.
Official Defensive Stats:
Overall Team Grades:
Most of the overall Pro Football Focus grades above average following FSU’s 26-23 win against Boston College. This week’s grades closely mirror the grades from last week’s win vs. Miami.
Top Mark: Run defense (90.3) and passing (88.8) were both excellent. The run defense mark was the best of the season. Florida State held BC’s running game to just 3.3 yards per carry.
Low Mark: Receiving (57.1) and run blocking (52.8) were the two segments that came in with below average PFF marks. Even though FSU racked up 251 receiving yards, the grade was docked because of several dropped passes (see below).
Odd: Tackling (64.4) regressed after being outstanding the week before vs. Miami. The defense missed nine tackles on the day and BC amassed 143 yards after contact.
Passing:
Jordan Travis – 88.8 passing grade. It was a second-straight outstanding passing performance by Travis. This was his second highest grade of the season just behind the North Carolina game (90.4). / He finished 20-for-34 for 251 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions (three passes dropped). He was sacked three times. He now has a season passing grade of 85.5, which is 13th best among all Power-5 starting quarterbacks.
According to PFF, Travis was blitzed 12 times, completed 9-for-9 on those plays. His passing grade when blitzed was an impressive 91.2 with a 155.8 NFL passer rating on those plays. His highest grade (91.6) came on passes of 20 or more yards.
Rushing:
Jashaun Corbin – 59.9 rush grade / 62 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.8 YPC). He had 37 yards after contact.
Treshaun Ward – 56.9 rush grade / 4 rushes for 25 yards (6.2 YPC)
Receiving:
Malik McClain (64.3) – Two targets, one catch for 15 yards and a TD.
Ja'Khi Douglas (59.7) – Four targets, four catches for 44 yards (31 YAC). His 52 snaps played, and 36 routes run were this most of his career by 2X. He was FSU’s primary slot receiver lining up in that position 28 times. I don't understand why his grade wasn't higher.
Ontaria Wilson (63.7) – Five targets, three catches for 60 yards and a TD.
Andrew Parchment (48.4) – Targeted four times, one catch for 14 yards. He had one drop, which lowered his overall grade.
T. Ward had two catches on four targets but was severely docked because of two drops (45.7 receiving grade). This probably explains why his snaps were reduced in the second half.
Blocking:
As has been the trend over the past few games, FSU’s pass-blocking was far superior to run blocking. Four starters finished with marks of 73 or higher in this department - Robert Scott Jr. (83.7) Maurice Smith (74.5), Darius Washington (73.7), Brady Scott (73.0). Dillan Gibbons was fifth among starters but still had a decent 64.1 grade. Robert Scott was the only starter to not surrender a pressure and that was on 41 drop-backs.
The run-blocking grades were mediocre across the board for the offensive line. Only Maurice Smith has an average grade at 60.4. Darius Washington was the only OL with a grade well below average at 47.3. It’s worth noting that tight end Jordan Wilson was far and away FSU’s best run blocker on Saturday. He made key blocks on two of FSU’s touchdowns and finished with a team-high 69.2 run-blocking grade.
The OL flagged for three penalties on Saturday.
Defense:
It’s no surprise that Keir Thomas had the top defensive grade at 80.1. He finished with seven tackles, two sacks, three TFLs, a pass breakup and six QB hurries! As with Johnson’s mark last week, the 80.1 grade is probably too low considering how dominating he was vs. the Eagles.
It’s worth noting that Jarques McClellion did well with the second-best defensive grade (76.0). He was forced to come in for Jamie Robinson, who was ejected from the game on a bogus targeting call. Akeem Dent (75.5) and Kalen DeLoach (74.7) also had very good defensive grades.
Nobody on defense was awful but starters DJ Lundy (59.8), Fabien Lovett (58.9) and Omarion Cooper (51.1) finished with mediocre marks.
As we noted at the top, it wasn’t a great day for FSU’s defense when it came to tackling. The disappointing tackling is a major reason why the Eagles were able to amass 143 yards after contact (39.1% of BC’s offense). There were nine total missed tackles and a few starters really struggled here - DJ Lundy (50.1), Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (38.4), Kalen DeLoach (29.3).
Akeem Dent (76.0) and Jarques McClellion (71.7) were the top two players in coverage. Dent was targeted four times but didn’t give up a single catch. McClellion was targeted twice and gave up one catch for just five yards. Omarion Cooper, who was the star in last week’s win vs. Miami, struggled in the BC game with a 48.4 coverage grade. He gave up just one catch on three targets for 19 yards, but PFF looks at coverage even on plays when the ball isn’t thrown in the direction of the defender. He was also flagged for a penalty.
It's worth noting that BC really went after FSU’s linebackers in the passing game. The two Seminole LBs were targeted six times, gave up four catches for 97 yards and one TD. Considering that the Eagles only threw for 148 yards, that represents the huge chunk of the passing offense (65.5%).
Keir Thomas (74.2) and Robert Cooper (72.9) were the top two defenders when it came to the pass rush. According to PFF, Thomas had 13 total pressures, which included 3 sacks, 4 QB hits, and 6 hurries.
NOTE: Hey PFF, start grading officiating! It would have been very interesting to see the incredibly low marks this crew would had after numerous botched calls.
Official Defensive Stats:
