No. 7 Florida State enjoying impressive turnaround heading into matchup with Kent State

TALLAHASSEE Fla AP Florida State went - last year and ranked st in scoring offense Kent State meanwhile didn t win a competition and was last th in scoring Both teams have enjoyed modest turnarounds heading into their matchup Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium FSU coach Mike Norvell hired six new assistant coaches added nearly new players and stunned Alabama in the opener The Seminoles - are now No in the AP Top There has been quality work that s gone into it to put us in this position Norvell mentioned The urgency for advancement is absolutely there I think they see the possible They know the initiatives that are a necessity for us to become what we re capable of Mark Carney was Kent State s offensive coordinator in before getting elevated to interim head coach in April following the dismissal of Kenni Burns The Golden Flashes - ended a -game losing streak with a season-opening win over lower-division Merrimack and led Buffalo last week before giving up a touchdown in the final minutes Our competitive depth was outstanding declared Carney who used players against Buffalo Not a lot of drop-off when you play that countless players That s a credit to your coaching staff and the way you re advancing players Florida State is favored by points according to BetMGM Sportsbook Rare air for the Seminoles Florida State is only the fourth association in the Top era beginning in to start a season unranked and reach the top by Week The others Miami in Texas A M in and Miami in The Seminoles are the highest ranked of the four Injury update Norvell reported he s hopeful sophomore receiver Lawayne McCoy will make his debut after missing most of of preseason camp and the band s first two games Norvell considers McCoy a tier one receiver McCoy s possible return could be timely considering fellow receiver Squirrel White is questionable after suffering a hand wrist injury against East Texas A M Kent State starting center Dustyn Morrell has a high-ankle sprain but his status for the challenge is unclear In a rush The Seminoles have nine rushing touchdowns in one more than their -game total from a year ago Florida State had just yards rushing in and already is more than halfway to that total with yards rushing through two games The Seminoles lead the ACC in rushing offense averaging yards a battle on the ground In the mix Florida State defensive coordinator Tony White produced top- rush defenses at Nebraska in and After a - start and an upset of Alabama White s name is in the mix on hot boards for the opening at UCLA White is a graduate of UCLA The Bruins fired DeShaun Foster last week after an - start Leaning on DeShields Kent State coaches have used CJ Montes and Dru DeShields at quarterback DeShields is now the projected starter against Florida State after throwing for yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown against Buffalo Touchdown maker Kent State s Cade Wolford has seven catches in three games with four of them being touchdowns The -foot- -pound Wolford leads the nation in yards per reception