All week long on our incredible Wake Up Warchant podcast, I joked -- or at least half-joked -- that Florida State should fake a COVID-19 outbreak so it wouldn't have to play Clemson today.
Because, the way I saw it, there was absolutely nothing positive that was going to come from this matchup with the Tigers. They're too good. Too well-coached. Too angry after losing their last game for the Seminoles to have any real chance at even keeping it close.
So make up a couple of false-positives. Do whatever it takes. Just avoid the game.
But here's the thing: Florida State didn't have to make up anything. Clemson went ahead and spoiled the game for itself. And that's what I hope isn't lost in the coming days and weeks as this last-minute postponement is analyzed and debated.
Not that playing the blame game in this situation does anybody any good (on a global scale, we're all in this together), but I think it should be pointed out that FSU isn't at fault here. No matter what complaints might be coming from the other side.
It was Clemson that traveled with a symptomatic player. Not Florida State.
It was Clemson that had him in meetings, on the plane, at practice, with the rest of the team. Not Florida State.
It was Clemson that, in the midst of the biggest surge of COVID cases in the entire pandemic, decided to not quarantine the player as soon as he started showing symptoms.
And yes, you could argue that the Tigers tested the player and he was negative twice during the week, and that's all they can do. But the counter to that is: No. It isn't.
FSU quarterback James Blackman and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans didn't make the trip to Louisville earlier this year because they were showing symptoms. They didn't test positive. It didn't matter. Florida State still kept them off the plane, out of the hotel and away from the rest of the team -- and Louisville's team, for that matter.
"I can tell you that within our program, throughout this whole season, there's been a strict policy and procedure in place," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said during an interview on ESPN this morning. "We've had players and coaches that have missed games due to just even showing symptoms, who at later dates came back with a negative test.
"I can tell you that we woke up this morning ready to play this game. ... I expressed to our [medical] advisors that we were ready to play the game."
