Schoffel: The uncomfortable truths about this FSU football team

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It’s going to end soon enough. That’s the good news.

In less than two weeks, barring something completely unexpected, the 2018 Florida State football season will come to an end.

All of the embarrassing performances, all of the sloppy play and bizarre decisions, all of the slow starts and ugly finishes ... all of it will be filed away somewhere in the recesses of our memory banks, with other things we try not to think about. Probably next to the remnants of the 2009 FSU defense and the "Rainbow offense" of the early 2000s.

Through 10 games, this has been a historic level of awful. Not only are the Seminoles now 4-6 and very likely about to give away the school’s streak of 36 consecutive bowl appearances, but they’re losing in spectacular fashion.

With its 42-13 romp on Saturday, Notre Dame became the third straight FSU opponent to score more than 40 points against the 'Noles. That’s the first time any Florida State team has been blistered like that in back-to back-to- back weeks. And if you’ve been paying attention all season, you know that this has been a season of ignominious accomplishments.

Just last week, the Seminoles set the mark for most points surrendered in consecutive games with 106. Earlier this year, they became the first FSU team to lose to Syracuse since 1966. There also was the late meltdown against Miami, when the 'Noles squandered a 27-7 second-half lead, and the ugly opener against Virginia Tech, when they never got out of the starting blocks.

When these Seminoles do it, they do it big. They’ve now lost five games by more than 20 points, which is really a staggering accomplishment.

Rather than break down all of the reasons the Seminoles lost this one particular game at Notre Dame, it seems like now is a good time for us to discuss the uncomfortable truths about this 2018 season and the state of FSU Football.

Some of these are concerns that have been hovering around the program for most of the season. But after 10 weeks of trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, I think it's fair to go ahead and etch them in stone.

* This defense was never as good as we thought

There was a time early this season when it appeared Florida State's defense was rock-solid against the run, and good enough overall to keep the Seminoles in games even if the offense faltered. That now feels like a very long time ago.

Since the second quarter of the Clemson game, FSU's defense has been in shambles. After getting stops on the Tigers' first three drives that night, Harlon Barnett's defense allowed Clemson to score on 9 of its next 11 possessions. Against N.C. State, the Seminoles gave up scores on 9 of the first 10 drives in the game (not including when the Wolfpack ran out the clock just before halftime). And at Notre Dame, FSU allowed the Irish to score on each of its first five drives to take a 32-6 lead at halftime.