Clark: So what are we to think of this Florida State defense now?
When Monday's press conference started, I really just had one goal: To see if we could get Florida State defensive coordinator Adam Fuller to explain how in the world his defense came out in the second half Saturday looking like it was 2013 all over again.
After, you know, looking like 1974 for the first half.
What I didn't know was I would ask a question that would set off Mike Norvell on a four-minute long address that was delivered so well, so passionately, it was as if he had practiced it in front of a mirror for hours.
Seriously, if you haven't watched it yet, go click on this bad boy right here and see why Norvell is still so genuinely excited about the long-term future of Florida State Football.
In the meantime, let's get back to the short-term future of the defense.
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Here's why I was so stunned by what happened in the second half against Louisville.
It wasn't just that it was the best defensive performance in a half since Adam Fuller arrived. No, sir. That wouldn't mean anything at all, would it?
It was one of the best defensive halves at Florida State in a decade. Truly. A decade.
The Seminoles allowed 0 points and 79 yards of total offense to Louisville in the 31-23 loss. The last time an FSU defense allowed less than that in a second half to an FBS school?
October of 2013. In a 59-3 win over Wake Forest.
I mean, what?
This defense has been getting steamrolled for years, so how in the world did that happen? How did a defense that gave up 31 points on the first five drives of the game (we'll get to that in a moment; it's not like those drives didn't count) finish off the game with eight straight stops?
It was just the third time in five years an FSU defense had accomplished that feat.
And just to put the final touches on the historic performance: The last time a Florida State defense posted a second-half shutout of an FBS opponent? A 34-17 win over N.C. State in November of 2015.
The rebirth has begun!
Well, OK. Not quite. But what are we to make of what we saw? How did the defense look so completely lost and unprepared the first five drives against Louisville and then go out and play like a dynasty-era defense the final 31 minutes?
And can we expect any momentum to be taken from that second half? Or was it just a 30-minute out-of-body experience, after which the FSU defense will go back to being the FSU defense again on Saturday vs. Syracuse?
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