College football programs don't always get opportunities to take a mulligan.

Bad coaching hires often set programs back several years, and if they aren't rectified quickly, they can lead to tailspins that change the landscape of a state, region and conference.

That's one reason why the powers that be at Florida State had to be excited about what they saw unfold on Saturday -- particularly down in Miami, where the rival Hurricanes were stunned by Florida International University.

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As much as it has pained the Seminoles to lose to Miami each of the past three seasons -- after reeling off seven straight wins and 10 victories in 12 years -- there was a sudden comfort that came with watching "The U" suffer a humiliating loss on Saturday to a commuter school in its own community.

And we're not simply talking about this in terms of schadenfreude ... although there were super-sized servings of that throughout the college football slate on Saturday (Hey Jimbo! Howdy Tom Herman!).

What UM's lackluster performance against FIU illustrated was that the door is still wide open for Florida State to return to state prominence if the Seminoles can get it right with their current coaching hire.

Miami is now 6-5 under first-year head coach Manny Diaz, and it's no sure thing that the 'Canes are going to win next week at Duke. If the program was losing steam in its final year under Mark Richt, it has officially sprung a leak under Diaz.

According to ESPN's Chris Fallica, the Hurricanes on Saturday became the only team in 40 years to lose three times in the same season when favored by at least 14 points. They were favored by 21 against FIU, 18.5 against Georgia Tech and 14 against Virginia Tech -- all losses.

On top of that, Diaz's first full recruiting cycle has been riddled by decommitments, with another one coming from defensive lineman Tre'von Riggins immediately after Saturday's game.

So even though Florida State has taken a major step backward during the past three seasons -- the final year under Jimbo Fisher and the two under Willie Taggart -- it's not as if its chief rival has capitalized on the opportunity. If anything, the Hurricanes could actually be in worse shape if Diaz proves to be not ready for his first head coaching gig.

While Florida State was able to cut bait with Taggart and start charting a new course, Miami is likely still in wait-and-see mode with Diaz. It's extremely unlikely that UM will make a coaching change after just one season, and if the Seminoles can make a strong hire and get things back in order, there's no reason they can't push back ahead of the 'Canes in short order.

That is the bright side of FSU's decision to fire Taggart in less than two years, and it was reinforced to me when I spoke this past week to the Quarterback Club in Ocala. The club's organizers asked me to come down back before the season started -- the idea was I could visit during the bye week and give them a breakdown of Florida State before the annual rivalry game.

While that club isn't comprised of all UF fans -- there were some supporters of Florida State, Clemson and other programs -- the vast majority were Gators. And the comment more than one made to me was they wish they could have fired Will Muschamp when they knew he wasn't the answer, the same way FSU did with Taggart.