After an uninspiring win over an FCS opponent, Florida State hosts a veteran Virginia team that wants to run the football. Can FSU find a way to slow down a rushing attack this season and get a key win at home, or will the 2026 season be more of the same?
Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps!
Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Substack page.
Check out our items in the Unconquered Shop. Support the podcast by buying some swag!
Please also support our podcast sponsors (and make sure to let them know you heard about them from the Unconquered Podcast):
Justin Galloway at Benchmark Mortgage: With the way that interest rates have climbed lately, if you’re looking to buy a house, you’re going to want to have the right people on your side to make sure you get the best possible rate and have the best loan strategy for your plans. Justin Galloway is exactly who you want on your side. If you’re buying a home in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, or Alabama, make sure you give Justin a chance to earn your business—the more questions you have, the more valuable he’s going to be for you, and he’s going to make sure you get the most value from your mortgage from rates to fees to overall planning. Give him a call at 615-594-4260 or email him at justin.galloway@benchmark.us and let him know you heard about him from Unconquered with Doc Staples.
Jacksonville, FL realtor, Luis Marquez, who brings professional photography and videography skills to online real estate listings. A current listing, in case you wanted to see a sample: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/415-Captiva-Dr-Ponte-Vedra-FL-32081/123618490_zpid/. Check out other examples of Luis’ work here: https://www.pixelperfectlisting.com/. Support the podcast and contact Luis for all your greater Jacksonville real estate needs at 850-443-5797 or via email at luismarquez@kw.com.
Chapel Hill, NC realtor, Shenandoah Nieuwsma, who brings PhD-level research and a relentless work ethic to real estate. She sets the standard for how to use data to benefit her clients. She also understands both people and strategy and is consequently an ace negotiator who knows how to get the best result.. Nobody knows the market better, and her enthusiasm and drive are unparalleled. I’ve worked with her, and if you’re about to be in the Research Triangle real estate market, you’ll want to work with Shen. Contact her at (919) 726-3955 or via email at shen@shenrealestate.com.
Garage Makeovers: The top rated garage remodeling company in south Florida according to Homeadvisor and Angies List. They are licensed and insured and have been serving all of Palm Beach and Broward County since 2005. Their services include: Painting and drywall work, Overhead Storage, Polyaspartic Flooring, Cabinets, Shelving, Slotwall and accessories for anything you have. Call Nathan at Garage Makeovers for all your storage and organizational needs, 954.571.8774.
EPR Creations, an online marketing and website design company that provides turnkey web design, search engine optimization, online marketing strategies, and website management. If you have a business that could benefit from a more robust online presence, EPR Creations can get you there. I’ve trusted them with multiple projects and have been happy with their work each time. Let EPR Creations empower you to do the things that inspire you (and make some money too).
Buy my books! Paul and the Resurrection of Israel and The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism are available through Amazon, Cambridge University Press, or wherever you buy your books. Buy extra copies for family and friends interested in the Bible! Thanks as always for your support!
The crazy part about today's effort is that if this defense and offense had played just half this good versus SMU, Florida State would probably be ranked around 15th in the country come next week. What a nutty sport! Go Noles!
Hey Doc. I think you absolutely nailed this preview and I'm right in-phase with you as far as how I expect this game to play out. Any sensible DC would play Kevin Wynn and Jordan Sanders - the only two DTs on this FSU roster that look like potential NFL linemen from a physical standpoint - at least 35 snaps each in this game and every game after for that matter. Will Norvell and White take this approach? Highly unlikely. They're instead almost certainly going to continue to play their two highest-paid linemen (Mandrell and Lyons) the majority of the snaps, which is totally bonkers since neither of those guys is any good playing over or near the ball.
So I'm expecting to see tomorrow the same ole, same ole from Norvell/White as far as lineups and play calls - lots of 3-man fronts with guys like Diggs and Anderson and the two lighter guys mentioned above being asked to play alot inside. No Bear fronts likely. And I'm also expecting the same, silly deep drops by the CBs and safeties. I'll set the Over/Under on combined snaps by Wynn and Sanders versus UVa at 40. If we greatly exceed that number, FSU will likely win tomorrow. If not - forget about it.
Offensively, let's see if Daniels will be put in a position to succeed by Norvell via his lineups and play calls. Or will Norvell be his usual stubborn self and continue to roll out a bunch of sets with our useless TEs (minus Loftin who is eventually going to be a stud.....somewhere). Whether he knows it or not, Norvell has found something with sets that really emphasize our top four receivers (Duce, Boggs, Danzy, and Lopez). If he'll lean into the 3-WR looks this offense can potentially take off. Will he? Probably not.
Go Noles!