Clark: Is tonight's ACC tourney game a must-win for FSU Baseball?

This season has already been unlike any other in Florida State baseball history.

So why not go ahead and finish it with something most of us have never been through before?

At this point in May, for oh, let's say the last four decades, the Seminoles have always been comfortably in the NCAA Tournament. The only thing they're ever really playing for at this point is seeding.

The questions aren't about getting into the NCAA tournament, but about how they get in: Are they going to be a top-eight national seed? Are they going to be the No. 1 overall seed? What region will they be matched up with?.

This year? Not so much.

This year, as the Seminoles head into their final ACC tournament game with N.C. State on Friday night in Durham, N.C. (7 p.m., Fox regional coverage), their postseason lives might truly be at stake.

If they lose, there's a legitimate chance they don't get into the NCAA tournament.

Even if they win, it's not exactly a guarantee. But if they go 0-2 this week, they will finish with a record of 35-22. And their RPI is currently at 55.

That's not the resume of a top seed, obviously.

That's the resume of a team squarely on the bubble. It's the resume of a team that will gather (we think) in the FSU clubhouse on late Monday morning to watch the NCAA Selection Show and have no idea if will see its name pop up on the screen.

Strange days, indeed.

For now, Baseball America's latest mock bracket (released on Thursday afternoon) has the Seminoles as a No. 3 seed in the UNLV Regional. The latest D1 Baseball mock bracket has the Seminoles in as well.

But it's dicey. It's not automatic.

Which is nuts, right?

None of us in the media who cover the team have ever lived this before. Usually, Florida State invites us to the stadium on Monday for the Selection Show. Most of the times, we're even allowed into the clubhouse to watch the announcement with the team.

And the scene is ALWAYS the same. The players are laughing, joking, smiling and eating. Completely relaxed. Because they know they're in the tournament, they just don't know what seed they're going to be.

They almost watch it with indifference. Like, "Yeah, yeah, can you just hurry up and show us who's coming to Tallahassee?"

It's going to be a whole lot different on Monday. I'm not even sure they'll get together to watch. But if they do or if they don't, I can promise you there will be butterflies floating in almost everyone's stomach. Because if their name doesn't show up on the screen -- if Friday's showdown against N.C. State is in fact a do-or-die game and the Seminoles come up short -- then Mike Martin's career is officially over.