Florida State has been terrible in ACC play since 2023, and it continued on Monday night. Although they had plenty of opportunities to pull out a big win, FSU fell to the SMU Mustangs 27-24 in Doak Campbell Stadium.
This now gives the Seminoles 14 losses in their last 17 conference games, which is the worst in the ACC over that span. Now, Florida State will have a bye week before hitting the road to play the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 19, and they'll be looking to avenge their loss to FSU a year ago.
A week later, they'll take on the Central Arkansas Bears before a tough conference schedule kicks in, which puts them in jeopardy of another disappointing season. With that said, here are five takeaways from Florida State's loss to SMU.
Mike Norvell's play calling is atrocious
It was a disaster
watching Norvell call plays in this game. The one that sticks out came on a 4th and 1 on FSU's own 45-yard line with just over nine minutes to go in the second quarter, and he called a toss play to the short side for a loss of two yards. They had no balance as they called 45 pass plays to 23 runs, and Norvell constantly called runs up the middle on first and second down that led to third-and-long plays. It was mind-boggling, to say the least.
Third down defense continues to be a major issue
The Seminoles allowed 10 out of 17 third downs to be converted in their first game, and they gave up eight conversions on 14 attempts by SMU on Monday night, which comes out to their opponents being successful on 58.1% of their third-down attempts for the season. The frustrating part is that a lot of these conversions have come on third and long, and defensive coordinator Tony White has to fix this and fast.
Mandrell Desir didn't show up, again
Desir had four tackles in the season opener, but they weren't impactful at all. Against SMU, he didn’t even record a stat, which is unacceptable for a player of his talent, and more importantly, a guy that Florida State has invested a ton of money in. He can't continue being a non-factor if the Seminoles' defense will have any chance of being successful.
FSU needs to consider starting Malachi Marshall at QB
Ashton Daniels has some talent, but through the first two games, he simply hasn't provided a consistent spark when guiding the offense. He looks timid when it's time to run with the football, and he doesn't seem to know what to do once his first read isn't available when he drops back to pass. Florida State needs to get some momentum offensively, and Marshall, who has a ton of arm talent, needs to be considered going forward.
Florida State is eyeing another terrible year in ACC play
The next three ACC opponents for FSU are the Virginia Cavaliers, Louisville Cardinals, and the Miami Hurricanes. This means that it's totally possible for them to begin conference play with a 0-4 record in 2026. Two of these games are on the road, and the Seminoles haven't won a road game since 2023. It's not looking good for them going forward.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Five takeaways from FSU's loss to SMU
