After returning to the practice fields on Sunday to correct mistakes from the weekend's disappointing performance at Louisville, Florida State's football players took Monday off before getting back to work today.
This will be the Seminoles' second and final bye week of the 2020 season, and it likely couldn't come at a better time.
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Instead of beginning preparations for their next opponent, the Seminoles instead are spending much of this week looking back at the first six games of this season.
First-year head coach Mike Norvell's team is off to a 2-4 start, with two of the losses being blowouts and another coming by 16 points.
"There's a lot of reflection going on," Norvell said during his weekly coach's show Monday night. "That's a huge part of this week, especially the early part of the week. That's something our coaches started [Sunday] night and even through the course of today."
A large part of that introspection will center around the things that have gone poorly during the first half of the 2020 campaign:
* FSU ranks 92nd in the country (out of 100 teams) in total defense, surrendering 490.5 yards per game. If the Jacksonville State game is removed from the equation, the Seminoles fall further to 95th in games against FBS opponents (527.2 yards).
* Penalties continue to be a major concern. Of the FBS teams that have played more than one game in 2020, the Seminoles are one of only two averaging at least 10 penalties per game (the other is UCF).
* Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller's unit continues to give up an alarming number of big plays, while making few of their own. In six games, the Seminoles have allowed 21 plays of 30 yards or more and 12 plays of 40 or more, ranking among the worst defenses in the country in both categories. At the same time, FSU is averaging just 1.33 sacks per game (tied for 85th) and 5.0 tackles for loss (80th).
While addressing those shortcomings obviously will be a major emphasis this week, Norvell said the Seminoles also will take time to look at the positives from the first half of the season. They'll examine areas where they have had success and see if they can take better advantage of those strengths in the final five regular-season games.
