Despite an impressive opening victory over Murray State, there were still questions Florida State and Jimbo Fisher wanted to have answered before conference play begins against Wake Forest.
Senior running back Chris Thompson continued to run with confidence on Saturday night.
Against Savannah State on Saturday night, some of those questions were answered in certain ways, despite the game getting out of hand and doing so quickly.
Here's a look at five things we saw in FSU's lopsided victory over SSU.
1. Did the offensive line continue to grow?
It's tough to judge against an opponent like SSU, but it certainly appeared as though the offensive line continued to build a sense of cohesion on Saturday night. The one negative came in the first half, when Austin Barron, who was starting in place of Bryan Stork, got flagged for the unit's first hold of the 2012 campaign.
And while it would have benefited the group as a whole chemistry-wise to have Stork in the lineup, FSU simply wasn't willing to take any unnecessary risks on the injury front after what happened with Brandon Jenkins in week one.
2. Will Chris Casher and Mario Edwards be significant factors in 2012?
It's still too early to tell just how much impact each of these talented freshmen will have this season, but with both of them entering the game in the third quarter against SSU, fans were able to confirm what Fisher said just days before — neither of them will redshirt.
As the season goes on, both Casher and Edwards should be eased more and more into the rotation. However, after very limited action against SSU due to the shortened length of the game because of weather, it's really too difficult to tell exactly where the freshmen currently stand as far as their development goes.
3. How are the running backs shaping up?
Again, it's tough to get a realistic feel for how FSU's stable of tailbacks are progressing, but it's safe to at least say the backs look to be on pace to be better than last year.
Chris Thompson and Devonta Freeman continued to show no signs of being bothered by their back issues and James Wilder continued to run physically and with confidence. At the moment, it looks like FSU has three solid options to choose from out of its backfield, but we'll learn a whole lot more about this department starting next week, once conference play begins.
4. Did Cason Beatty appear more comfortable?
After a decent, but average performance in week one, there were still questions left surrounding the true freshman punter's leg. More than anything, Beatty appeared nervous in week one.
Against SSU, however, he showed no signs of nerves in his only opportunity of the night. Beatty booted a high and impressive ball 46 yards to pin SSU at its own 7 yard line. If FSU can get kicks like that out of him all year, Fisher and his staff will be smiling from ear-to-ear.
5. How athletic is Kelvin Benjamin?
We heard how much improvement Benjamin made physically over the offseason — and his body showed us as well. There was even a glimpse of the 6-foot-6 receiver racing down field on kick coverage to wrap up a return man in week one.
However, until the contest with SSU, we didn't truly understand just how athletic Benjamin really is. Usually, receivers who run reverses are tiny guys; guys who can make people miss and make moves in the open field. Benjamin can do both of those things, he just happens to be slightly bigger than most. He ran a couple of reverses on Saturday night, including a 16 yard gain in the first quarter.
He also displayed great effort in the blocking department, including putting up a significant block for a touchdown run.
It might still be early, but at the moment all signs are pointing towards Benjamin having a significant say in this team's success in multiple facets of the game.
- Sean Grimm
- staff writer for Noles247 - Noles247