Is Florida State good enough to make a bowl game?

We are officially witnessing a live dumpster fire in Tallahassee, Florida. Home of the Florida State Seminoles, the once 2023 undefeated Noles are now 0-3 in 2024. 

Say what you want about transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, but the problem has always been greater than one man. If this game was not a clear indication of that, then I am not sure what is. 

The Seminoles once again lost, to the Memphis Tigers, 20-12. It certainly was not pretty; henceforth there were many problems. So, what is next for Florida State? Can the Seminoles seriously make a bowl game? And who can Florida State possibly beat? 

Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Memphis were all favorable games for Florida State coming into the year. All three games ended in defeat. It is almost hard to believe Florida State was once ranked 10th in the nation–now that seems laughable. 

In fact, Florida State is now the first team ever to be ranked in the AP top-10 and start 0-3, with all three losses to unranked opponents.

There is much blame to go around. Frankly, this just doesn’t look like a good team. Every football fan knows that the quarterback position is easiest to blame for team struggles. But with a 0-3 record, the problems are far beyond one person. 

It starts with Mike Norvell, the man who was responsible for the incredible 2023 season, and the man who is responsible for this atrocious 2024 season. At this point, it is hard to tell whether this is a lack of preparation, or if these pieces simply do not fit the puzzle.

Uiagalelei is the biggest piece of the puzzle that does not fit. But it stems far beyond this. The same inconsistencies that hurt the Seminoles in Week 0, are now the same inconsistencies that are hurting them today. There is no established run game, no established passing game, and the pass protection for Uiagalelei is abysmal. 

I think it is hard to replace the magnitude of talent the Seminoles lost through the NFL Draft. However, a collection of transfers has not worked out whatsoever. Malik Benson finally had his first real showing for the Noles’ offense as he led the team with 99 receiving yards. 

Uiagalelei finished 16-31 with 201 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Uiagalelei was also sacked 4 times and was nearly escaping the pocket a lot. Memphis’ blitz attack was just pounding the Seminoles up front, and there was no answer for it. He fit the ball into some very tight windows and tried to extend plays as best as possible, but ultimately there was no time for DJ to operate cleanly. 

Make no mistake, I am not defending Uiagalelei, I am just pointing out some critical team mishaps’. Uiagalelei had some flat-out bad passes and misreads. However, when you can’t establish the run game and give no time to go through progressions, your quarterback is bound to miss passes. 

While the pieces do not fit well, there also needs to be blame directed at Coach Norvell. The penalties were crucial and some were just head-scratching. I really am not sure how Florida State managed to muff a punt because two players wearing maroon jerseys ran into each other. The worst penalty of them all came against FSU on special teams nevertheless.

After a massive stand where the Seminoles were able to hold the Tigers to 4th and 8, an offsides penalty would allow Memphis to pick up a crucial fourth down. This was essentially the end of the game as all the momentum had shifted. 

Despite the Tigers coming away with no points, it was just the same offensive woes that hurt the Seminoles in their final one-minute drive. 

The truth of the matter is that Florida State has far too many issues that are catalysts to the record we see right now. The way things currently shape out, Florida State has Cal, SMU, and Clemson as their next three games before their midseason gauntlet. I seriously do not find a favorable game on their schedule outside of Charleston Southern. Florida State is not lined up to make a bowl game and I believe they would be lucky to go 6-6. 

Here we are in Week 3, continuing to talk about Florida State for the wrong reasons. It is a sad time to be a Noles fan…

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