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Florida State moved Nate Pabst from right guard to right tackle and inserted Paul Bowling at guard after Chimdia Nwaiwu allowed a sack early in the second half against SMU; Tim Harris Jr. said the staff had not abandoned Nwaiwu's development, so the in-game switch does not establish a permanent starting lineup.
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Nwaiwu had allowed a team-high five pressures and two sacks on 50 pass-blocking snaps through two games; Florida State's overall pressure rate was near 39 percent, ranked 119th in the article, making the right-side protection problem a concrete concern rather than just a reaction to the loss.
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Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels averaged 3.56 seconds before throwing, while the offense's 2.92-second time-to-pressure was tied for 12th best nationally; Mike Norvell pointed to receiver separation, quarterback anticipation and protection together as obstacles to the downfield passing game, rather than attributing every pressure to the line.
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Pabst had allowed no pressures in 50 pass-blocking snaps at guard but gave up two in 13 second-half snaps at right tackle against SMU, and Bowling surrendered the interior pressure Daniels stepped into on a late sack; the replacement configuration therefore also showed protection limitations despite two touchdowns in its next four possessions.
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Norvell said Florida State is still seeking its best offensive-line combination and challenged Nwaiwu and Jonathan Daniels to improve while retaining Pabst's ability to cover tackle; the bye before Alabama provides an evaluation window, with no final post-bye starting five announced in this report.