Unless something unforeseen happens in the next 36 hours, the Florida State football team will be opening up the 2020 season on Saturday against Georgia Tech.
We made it!
We did it, fam.
We've actually made it.
I know the season is going to be worlds different than anything we've ever seen. I know crowds will be almost non-existent and I assume there will be some starts and stops and postponements, and maybe even some cancellations.
I don't care. Not right now. Because right now, I'm overjoyed that I get to watch college football again. I know you are, too. When something you love is so close to being taken away, you can't help but appreciate it when you actually get to see it again.
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I'll be honest: I had some struggles early on during this pandemic. I didn't come close to a breakdown or anything, but I was genuinely saddened (and maybe even a little depressed) as one week slipped into another without any live sports to watch. Or write about. Or talk about.
It was like a punch to the gut that lasted weeks.
I feel like anybody that's a true sports fan had similar pains throughout the last six months.
Now, obviously there are greater concerns in the world and our country right now than sadness over sports, but that doesn't mean we weren't entitled to be saddened that something we love might not come back anytime soon.
It's a human reaction.
So, with that in mind, I just want to extend a hearty, "We made it!" to everyone reading this column. Congratulations!
*ALSO SEE: Matchup Analysis & Prediction: Georgia Tech at Florida State
I know there have been times in the last three years when you probably wished a Florida State football game had been canceled (the ones against Clemson come to mind), but when you're genuinely presented with the scenario that an entire season could be postponed or never played, you realize a day with bad football is better than any day without football.
And with that in mind, let me say this: I have a sneaking suspicion the days of bad football are going to be much less common than what we've become used to around these parts in recent years.
There is no blueprint for how to coach football during a pandemic.
That's not something you learn as you work your way up the ladder. There are no books to read or documentaries to watch on how to manage this type of obstacle.
But if you were going to build a coach from scratch to deal with something like this, if you were going to write out the traits you think would come in handy when trying to build a culture on Zoom for three months and then in preseason practice for a month, I think you might go with things like: Detail-oriented to the point of obsessive, intense, challenging, no-nonsense, hungry and a maniacal work ethic.
That's what Florida State has now in Mike Norvell.
As you read in Ira Schoffel's series in July, the new FSU head coach made sure his players were preparing as best they possibly could — even if they were hundreds of miles away from Tallahassee — for a season that was never fully guaranteed to even happen.
He had a detailed plan for every single person on his roster. And his coaching staff.
Because that's who Mike Norvell is.
I have no idea if he's going to be great here, but I do know that he did absolutely all he could, through the most trying of circumstances, to make sure Florida State was as prepared as possible for Saturday's opener vs. the Yellow Jackets.
He has a plan, a detailed one, that he isn't going to waver from. Because he truly believes — with every fiber of his being — that it's the best way to win football games consistently.
It worked at Memphis, obviously.
He expects it to work at Florida State.
There are some minor differences between the two programs, of course.
Because as you may or may not know, Florida State Football is one of the most iconic brands in the United States. Memphis football, as you may or may not know, is not.
So, there will be more pressure, more attention, more headlines and bottom-line scrolls about this football team now than any he's ever been a part of before.
We'll see how he handles it. I have a hunch he'll end up winning more than a few football games during his time in Tallahassee, but I have no real way of knowing how quickly he can turn this thing around.
I'm certainly not expecting any miracles in Year 1. I think it will take some time to turn a roster that has known nothing but mediocrity for three years into a force in the ACC.
There are going to be some missteps and mistakes.
There might even be a time or two where you wonder to yourself, "Is Bob Stoops still available? Or any Stoops for that matter?"
That might even happen this Saturday. Who knows?
Rebuilds take time. But they also typically take passionate and driven individuals leading the way and setting a standard that is never deviated from.
*ALSO SEE: Behind Enemy Lines: Georgia Tech insider discusses matchup with FSU
If we've learned anything about Mike Norvell over the last nine months, it's that he's about as passionate and driven as a person can possibly be. Starting Saturday, we'll learn — to some extent anyway — just how much that passion and drive has infiltrated his football team. We'll get to see just what kind of buy-in there's been, and what kind of difference a new (and perhaps vastly improved) coaching staff can make in nine months.
But no matter what happens Saturday, whether FSU wins by four touchdowns or loses on a blocked kick that's run back for a touchdown (too soon, Clark!), I think we'll all appreciate one thing more than we ever have before: College football is back.
It's here. There will be a game inside Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Through all the trials and tribulations and Twitter comments, we're here. We made it.
Thank God.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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