Forget the rest. He’s the best.
That alone is enough to get the attention of the Florida State Seminoles, a team that has watched other quarterbacks shine all season. But if you go by the NFL draft rankings, then Miami’s Brad Kaaya is the best FSU has faced. He’s second to Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer in the early draft prognostications, which could mean trouble for a Seminole defense that has played chase most of the season.
Officially, Kaaya is only 72nd in the NCAA stats. But Miami has outmanned most of its opponents this season, leaving Kaaya to simply hand off most of the time.
Against, FSU, Kaaya figures to have to throw more. The Seminoles are 82nd in pass defense, which means there probably will be open receivers.
So far, FSU has struggled to stop opposing quarterbacks.
In the opening comeback win over Ole Miss, Chad Kelly threw for 313 yards and four scores.
In the lopsided loss to Louisville, Lamar Jackson ran and threw for 362 yards and five touchdowns.
In the win over South Florida, Quinton Flowers ran and threw for 319 yards.
In the narrow loss to North Carolina, Mitch Trubisky threw for 405 yards.
So, yeah, the FSU secondary has had its problems this season. Which leads us to Miami and Kaaya, who has played well in close losses to the Seminoles. In two games, Kaaya has thrown for 709 yards and five touchdowns.
“This is a huge game for us,” Kaaya said. “Without a doubt, we’re going out to win this game. We’re going to do our best and give our all, but this team can respond to adversity either way.”
