By any measure, Florida State’s 2020 football season was an abject failure. The Seminoles fell well short of even the most pessimistic projections, finishing with the program’s worst win-loss record since 1975, when the team went 3-8.
So, what happened? How did Mike Norvell’s rookie season go so horribly wrong?
Here’s my take on the top five reasons to explain why FSU’s 2020 season turned into an unmitigated disaster.
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1. Pandemic destroyed the offseason
Nobody could have anticipated that 2020 would be derailed by a worldwide pandemic. At times during the summer months, it looked like there might not even be a college football season.
Well, the season happened, sort of, but there was effectively no preseason. The Seminoles had to close up shop just three days into spring practice. For the next several months, all interactions between the coaches and players had to be done virtually.
The inability to properly coach up players, install plays, get stronger in the weight room and build relationships spoiled everything Mike Norvell and his staff were planning. Unlike most other teams that were hindered by the pandemic, FSU’s staff had to start from scratch. Throw in the mess the prior two staffs left behind (see No. 3), and it’s not surprising that the season turned into a dumpster fire.
The adverse impact the pandemic had on teams with new coaching staffs is obvious when you look at win-loss records across the country. Excluding the Pac-12, since most of those teams have only played a couple of games, here’s a rundown of Power 5 teams that had new coaching staffs in 2020:
Rutgers: Greg Schiano 3-6 (2-10 in 2019)
Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin 4-5 (4-8 in 2019)
Arkansas: Sam Pittman 3-7 (2-10 in 2019)
Florida State: Mike Norvell 3-6 (6-7 in 2019)
Boston College: Jeff Hafley 6-5 (6-7 2019)
Mississippi State: Mike Leach 3-7 (6-7 in 2019)
Baylor: Dave Aranda 2-7 (11-3 in 2019)
Michigan State: Mel Tucker 2-5 (7-6 in 2019)
As you can see from this list, only one team (Boston College) out of eight finished with a .500 record or better in 2020.
