Commentary

FSU's D poses threat for Sooners

Jones-to-Broyles is an explosive combo, but the Noles' secondary is up to the challenge

Updated: September 15, 2011, 12:41 PM ET

By KC Joyner | ESPN Insider

In some ways, it's surprising that the Oklahoma Sooners come into their Saturday road test against the Florida State Seminoles as the favorite. After all, these teams are relatively equal in talent (both have top-12 recruiting classes in each of the past four years according to ESPN's recruiting rankings) and both are top-5 teams in the AP poll, but FSU has the advantage of playing at home.

A big reason why the Sooners would be favored, of course, is that they crushed the Noles last season in Norman by a score of 47-17, in a game that saw OU quarterback Landry Jones put up 380 passing yards and four touchdowns and leading Sooners receiver Ryan Broyles catch 12 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.

But that's where things get interesting. While on paper the Sooners' passing game, particularly the Jones-Broyles connection, looks to be OU's biggest advantage heading into this year's contest, the Florida State defense actually has what it takes to shut that combo down Saturday night.

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