TALLAHASSEE — Florida State’s rush defense has had letdowns in losses, but the body of work shows significant improvement: FSU is 27th in the FBS in allowing just 112.6 yards per game, up 80 spots in the rankings from 2024.

First-year defensive coordinator Tony White’s 3-3-5 scheme features multiple looks up front, and the Seminoles have their best run defense since they ranked 21st in 2016.

The Seminoles have faced a few mobile quarterbacks, including Wake Forest’s Robby Ashford (12 carries, 59 yards) in a 42-7 win two weeks ago. But now FSU will face quarterback Kyron Drones, who has been inconsistent as a passer but at 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, is a tough runner who powers Virginia Tech’s option offense.

“They’ve done a good job of really showcasing him in the triple-option game,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “There’s a ton of option football that’s going to show up. He’s done a great job of being a threat as a runner. He’s a big kid, hard runner. He does bring elusive movements.”

The losses have piled up this fall for FSU (4-5, 1-5 ACC) and Virginia Tech (3-6, 2-3) going into their matchup Saturday (7:30 p.m. on ACC Network). Even through a coaching change — Brent Pry was dismissed after an 0-3 start on Sept. 14, with offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery taking over as interim head coach — Virginia Tech has battled and used Drones’ legs to try to grind out wins.

Drones hasn’t thrown for more than 200 yards in his past five games and his accuracy has often been 50 percent or lower at the end of the day. But Drones has run for 83 yards (at ranked Georgia Tech), 137 yards (vs. Cal) and 85 yards (ranked Louisville) in VT’s past three games. VT couldn’t pull off the upsets, but Drones had a season-high 137 rushing yards (and two touchdowns) in a 42-34 double-overtime win over California on Oct. 24 in Blacksburg, Va.

The problem for the Hokies is Drones is coming off an ugly passing day in the 28-16 loss to Louisville, completing just 11 of 24 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Virginia Tech needs to run and struggles to pass, so the Seminoles know what is coming their way.

One area of concern for the Seminoles is they won’t have top corner Ja’Bril Rawls, who is out Saturday due to injury, and FSU’s defensive ends have struggled to set the edge and prevent quarterbacks from picking up big gains. Drones is dangerous enough to make for a long night for FSU, especially if he is able to put VT in third- or fourth-and-short situations.

The Seminoles just held Clemson to 4-of-15 on third downs in last week’s 24-10 loss. But White lamented the repercussions of coming up short.

“It’s always going to come down to the special situations,” White said. “I thought third down, one or two more stops will take away seven to 10 points on the board. They converted four third downs but those are the scoring drives. You got to be able to limit those some kind of way.”

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/11/14/fsus-rush-defense-could-be-tested-by-va-tech-qb-drones/