Florida State suffered its third consecutive loss when it fell to Pittsburgh, leaving the Seminoles sitting at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference after starting the year undefeated through the first three games.
“It’s obviously disappointing that we lost three in a row,” senior quarterback Tommy Castellanos said. “But we're a family and I preach that we stick together. Obviously, we have to deal with it and go back to work and try and fix this thing, but we're a family. Ain’t pointing no fingers, chin up, chest out and take it like a man.”
With six games remaining and ACC title hopes dashed, what will this team play for and what is the motivation? There is the prospect of bowl-eligibility.
The seat that FSU coach Mike Norvell currently sits on has reached scorching levels and many in the fan base are calling for his job. The question remains how did it get this bad in such a hurry after a promising start to the season?
There are a multitude of reasons. The Seminoles have been decimated by injuries on offense, especially wide receiver (Squirrel White, Jayvan Boggs and Duce Robinson) as well as tight end (Randy Pittman has missed three games, including Pitt).
It’s not like the offense has been inept so far — the Seminoles are No. 5 in the nation in scoring (44.2) and are averaging 30 points in their four games against Power 4 opponents. The offense has its moments of success and failure, like all teams, but 31 points against Pitt should be enough to earn a victory.
That was not the case as the pass defense continues to be exposed week after week. It’s susceptible to the run game and continues to leave receivers wide open in what seems to be every third- or fourth-down conversion. Defensive coordinator Tony White has stated he is looking to simplify aspects of the game plan.
While the defense has been exposed in losses to Virginia, Miami and Pittsburgh, the season continues and the Seminoles are driven to improve.
“We still have the same goal that we came into with during the first game of the season," sophomore defensive back Edwin Joseph said. “Nothing really changed, the outcome is the outcome, but we still have to come back each day, each week. We don’t have a choice; we still have an opponent next week.”
The Seminoles’ schedule doesn’t include a ranked opponent in the final six games but has challenges. There’s a long road trip to Stanford, rivalry matchups with Clemson and Florida and a Friday night road game with NC State. While Wake Forest is in its early steps with a first-year coach and Virginia Tech has an interim head coach, neither should be dismissed.
FSU’s game at Stanford is likely the most “winnable” considering the Cardinal’s personnel and struggles. Regardless, adjustments in FSU’s coaching style or scheme and personnel must change in the next six games.
“There’s some things coaching wise, player wise, things that are emphasized, things that we’ve got to get fixed to come out just victorious,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “You’ve got three straight weeks where we’ve finished the game with a one-possession loss and there are too many things that have showed up and kept us from that and ultimately it all falls on my shoulders.”
Florida State fans agree with Norvell’s sentiment being that it falls on the coach. Given everything that has played out with the firing of Penn State’s coach James Franklin after a similar start to the season, fans are demanding results from Norvell after six seasons.
The Seminoles must regroup and try to fight and claw their way to a conference win, something that seems very elusive to FSU for the past two years. The Seminoles will travel far from home when they take the field at Stanford on Saturday for a 10:30 p.m. kickoff. This will mark the first time the two universities will play as conference members.
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