It’s ok to admit you got invested in Florida State’s opportunity to pull out a stunning Week 1 upset for the second straight year Monday night in Tallahassee.
It’s also ok to admit, now that it’s over, that it was a net positive in the long term that the Seminoles didn’t win this game against SMU.
With how that game played out, the win wouldn’t have convinced anyone to hop back on the Mike Norvell bandwagon if they’re already off.
And for how loud and consistent the boos were throughout Monday’s game
at Doak Campbell Stadium, it doesn’t seem that there are many people left on it.
The Alabama game last year, even if it ended up being false hope, was convincing. The offense was effective under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, while Tony White’s new-look defense was stifling.
After a disastrous 2024 season, it seemed things were back on track in Tallahassee.
Florida State wasn’t in this game against SMU because of things it did well. It had a chance to win this game into the final minutes because the Mustangs tried to hand them the game on a platter.
I guess you can say one good thing FSU did in this game was not turn the ball over even once while SMU turned it over four times.
But by the same token, never leading or creating a real feeling that you were going to win a game where you had a plus-four turnover edge in your home stadium speaks very poorly of this team.
In the first real test of the season, Ashton Daniels was not remotely a passing threat at quarterback, nor did Norvell exactly display much confidence in the QB with his gameplan largely committed to the ground game.
The defense was a disaster on third down, time and time again leaving wide-open receivers and failing to convert situations which were in their favor. Even with three forced turnovers, it’s hard to label a performance where the defense gave up 585 yards of offense as a positive.
While the punting and kicking were good, FSU had to use a timeout on special teams due to not having 11 players on the field for the second straight week.
None of the phases was particularly good or worthy of winning. That FSU still almost won was much more an indictment of SMU than a testament to anything the Seminoles did well.
And it’s hard to imagine there would have been the same good vibes from the fanbase after this win as there were after last year’s Alabama upset.
Because a fanbase so willing to shout “Fire Norvell” in unison while leaving the stadium Monday night wouldn’t have instantly been won back over had Florida State pulled out this improbable win.
It’s hard to imagine anything would have been changed for the better in the greater scheme had FSU won. If anything, it probably would have only pushed back the timing on a decision to move which continues to feel more and more inevitable with every game that passes.
