Schoffel column: FSU's brutal season continues with no reprieve in sight
First, they were the first Florida State team to start a season 1-3 since 1976.
Now, they’re the first to start a season 0-3 at home since 1974.
The big questions facing the 2017 Seminoles now are whether they will become the first FSU squad to fail to reach a bowl game since the 1981 season, and the first since 1976 to not finish above .500.
Thirty-five consecutive Seminole teams have gone bowling. Forty straight have posted winning records.
After falling at home Saturday to Louisville, 31-28, both of those marks are in serious jeopardy. And there aren’t really any signs that the tailspin is ending. As we pass the midway point of this season, the Seminoles’ only two victories have come against Duke and Wake Forest. And both were games that came down to the last play.
Until Saturday, the ‘Noles at least could say that they lost to really good teams; Alabama, N.C. State and Miami are a combined 20-1 on the season. But losing to Louisville taints even that point of contention.
The Cardinals were 4-3 entering Saturday’s game, and their only quality win came in the season opener against Purdue. Of course, Purdue lost Saturday to Rutgers to fall to 3-4 on the season, so maybe that doesn’t qualify as “quality” either. And a win over this FSU team doesn’t do it, either.
When freshman quarterback James Blackman was slammed to the grass and the final seconds ticked off the clock Saturday, a few Cardinals players jogged over to celebrate on the Seminole logo at midfield. But instead of spitting on it like N.C. State’s Bradley Chubb or pretending to dig it up like a group of Miami Hurricanes, the Cardinals seemed to lose interest and just walked away to join their teammates.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher was getting into it with a fan who was reportedly yelling at him to make changes to his coaching staff. If Showtime’s cameras were here again this season, they’d have to call it “Surreality TV.”
As if that's not bad enough, the second half of FSU's schedule, which was supposed to be so much easier, now looks fraught with danger.
After another crushing loss, the Seminoles now have to regroup and make a quick turnaround to prepare to play Friday at Boston College. That means they’ll be watching film and meeting on Sunday instead of recuperating, Then they’ll practice on Monday and Tuesday, hold their lighter practice on Wednesday and then fly north to face a BC team that suddenly looks like a juggernaut.
The Eagles have won three of their last four games, they beat this same Louisville team last week in Louisville, and they crushed a 5-1 Virginia team on Saturday, 41-10.
The Seminoles then return home to face a Syracuse squad that knocked off national champion Clemson last week and threw a scare into undefeated Miami on Saturday in Miami Gardens. A Syracuse team that also plays at a breakneck speed on offense, averaging more than 80 plays per game; something that FSU typically struggles with.
And then there are road games at Clemson and Florida. So other than a Homecoming date with Delaware State, there isn’t anything close to a sure win on the schedule. Good luck figuring out how this team gets to six wins.
Fisher, of course, doesn’t want to discuss that right now. He wants his players to focus on the next practice, the next play. He insists he’s seen no signs of giving up.
“There’s no quit in these kids,” Fisher said. “None, none, in any way shape or form.”
He went on to say he’s convinced the Seminoles can turn it around. They’re still fighting for the missing inches; striving to make one more play.
“Our guys have a great attitude,” he said. “They have great heart. They care about each other. They are hurt again. They are hurt in that locker room because they knew they were that close.”
One promising sign late Saturday afternoon was that no FSU players were pointing fingers, at least not publicly. Virtually every player who came into the postgame press conference acknowledged that they could have played better.
“Some players just didn’t perform as well as they needed to. Me personally, too,” said junior tight end Ryan Izzo.
“I don’t know what it is,” junior defensive end Josh Sweat said. “Obviously we’re not making the plays we need to make when it’s time to make them.”
But that’s been the problem with this team all season. There’s not one consistent issue to fix. There’s not one simple solution.
In the first game, it was special teams. Then it was the defense. Then it was the offense.
The running game gets fixed, then the red zone becomes a wasteland. The red-zone struggles seem to get resolved, then the offense starts turning it over. The defense looks good for stretches but collapses again and again at crucial moments.
It’s like this team is surrounded by tiny fires, and every time they stomp one out, another pops up behind them.
There was a time not too long ago when we were asking what FSU could salvage from this season.
Could they recover from the Alabama loss and still make the College Football Playoff?
Could they bounce back from the N.C. State loss and still compete for the ACC crown?
Could they knock off Miami and at least maintain their dominance against their in-state rivals.
The answer to all of those questions was a resounding, "No."
Now, they face the harshest question of all: How low can they go?
Contact managing editor Ira Schoffel at ira@warchant.com and follow @IraSchoffel on Twitter.
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