Coming into Monday Night, it felt like the Florida State Seminoles would need some magic to knock off 19th ranked SMU. Instead of magic, the Seminoles got chaos as a power outage in Doak Campbell Stadium delayed the game for nearly two hours. When the game finally kicked off, SMU was stuck playing its first game of the season with no Player-Coach communication or tablets due to the power outage.
Considering the fact that Mike Norvell comes into the season on the hot seat, a top 25 win is just what he needed to help quiet some of the calls for his job. Instead, Florida State blew a game SMU tried to hand to the Seminoles, and it'll only make Norvell's seat a little warmer.
Florida State blew the Top 25 opportunity Mike Norvell greatly needed
On Monday Night, SMU played like a team that was affected by a two-hour delay and the strange circumstances that it brought in their first game of the season. Kevin Jennings threw a pair of interceptions, including one in the redzone which Rhett Lashlee blamed on a receiver running the wrong route. Add in that the Mustangs fumbled in plus territory, missed a short field goal, and they muffed a punt, and the Seminoles won the turnover battle 4-0 not counting the fumble on the pitch play attempt.
Anytime you win the turnover battle by 3, you should easily leave the game with a win, but instead, Florida State fell as the Mustangs took the lead on a chip shot field goal with 21 seconds remaining.
In this game, it felt clear that Mike Norvell doesn't trust transfer QB Ashton Daniels as the Seminoles ran the ball 43 times, including several times on 3rd and long. Florida State's run game did move the ball down the field, but it didn't create the spark plays SMU found with ease at times.
SMU scored 27 points in this game, but that number was greatly helped by defensive mistakes from the Seminoles. SMU's 1st touchdown was a 50-yard bomb where the Seminoles left a wide receiver uncovered; the next touchdown came as Randy Pittman Jr was left open in the end zone, and the final touchdown was a 79-yard slant taken to the house thanks to a pair of missed tackles.
For Mike Norvell, letting an opportunity like this slip away is the type of mistake that can seal your fate. Alabama is next on the schedule which can drop the Seminoles below .500, and with games left against Louisville, Virginia, Miami, Pitt, and Florida, you can't afford to let a win slip away early in the season.
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