The Florida State program is still not where Willie Taggart wants it. Not even close actually.

If it was, of course, FSU wouldn't be a massive underdog this weekend against the defending national champion Clemson Tigers.

The Seminoles are 3-2 on the year, and unless they pull off one of the biggest upsets in school history at Clemson on Saturday, they're going to be 3-3 at the halfway point of the season.

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But Taggart admitted during his weekly press conference on Monday that the Seminoles' modest two-game winning streak has brought some positive energy to the program. On the recruiting trail, sure, but also just in everyday life.

"Yeah, it's been different winning," Taggart said. "The mood is different everywhere when you win. At the gas station. And even the dog doesn't bark at you as much when you win. They're OK with it. But the mood is different. You walk into a school (to recruit), and everyone is talking about the win.

"You're not getting as much, 'I'm praying for you' now. ... I don't want them to stop praying for us. Prayer changes things. But you've got less of those now."

The well-wishers might ramp up again after this weekend, but either way, Taggart says the team has a different feel than it did earlier in the season. Over the last few weeks, he and the Seminoles' players have talked about how they're now playing for each other, that they've bought into the message and the direction of the program.

The FSU head coach doesn't like talking about 2018. He usually tries to avoid questions about last season altogether when they're brought up -- even just as comparison to how much growth the 2019 team is showing.

But he likes how much closer these Seminoles appear to be.

"I will say I think that's a big part of why our football team is improving," Taggart said. "It's because we're getting a lot of that selfishness out of here, and guys are starting to buy into the team concept and taking pride in their university and doing whatever they can to help the football team win.

"And to me, that's why we're having some success now. A lot of that selfishness is leaving. The team is becoming first."