As we wait for Florida State officials to name the university's next head football coach, it's time to take stock of the program heading toward the end of the 2019 season.
Which players will be leaving for the NFL? What are the bowl possibilities? Can Odell Haggins lead the Seminoles to an upset in Gainesville?
Our panel -- Warchant's Gene Williams, Ira Schoffel, Corey Clark and Aslan Hajivandi -- answer those questions and more in our latest Warchant Roundtable.
** Super Promo: Get 50% off the cost of a new subscription **
Q: If FSU wins Saturday as expected, which bowl game would be a best-case scenario?
GENE: There’s some buzz that Jacksonville might want FSU for the Gator Bowl. Considering where this team was a few weeks ago, being able to play in an upper-tier bowl like the Gator would be a home run. A matchup against Texas A&M (and Jimbo Fisher) would be a lot of fun, but a team like Tennessee is probably more realistic. And it’s always good to play close to home so more fans can see the Seminoles in person.
COREY: Best-case scenario is that Jacksonville feels awful for moving FSU's season opener for a hurricane that never actually hit the state and decides to let Florida State come back for the Gator Bowl! Other than that? I don't know. Shreveport? Detroit? El Paso? None of these locales would ever be confused with "best" case anything, but this is the deal when you barely sneak into bowl eligibility. At least Shreveport has a ton of casinos. So we can all triple our salaries at the tables.
ASLAN: Selfishly, the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa against one of the directional Florida schools, and you go hang half a hundred on ‘em. Yeah, I know everyone wants Jimbo in Jacksonville. No thanks. The only thing worse than getting dumped is getting beat up by your ex’s new flame. Too much risk, not enough reward.
IRA: Jacksonville would definitely be best-case, but I was told this week that's not even something to talk about unless Florida State shocks UF in two weeks. While I wouldn't say that's out of the realm of possibility, it's certainly not likely. And it doesn't sound like Tampa is in the picture either. Shreveport, here we come ... again?
Q: The way the team played Saturday against Boston College, does that change your expectations for the regular-season finale at Florida?
COREY: Not in the slightest. B.C. has one of the worst defenses in Power 5 and a kid who was their seventh-string QB a season ago running the offense. And the Seminoles still pulled that one out in the final minute. It was a great win, don't get me wrong. Awesome to see Odell Haggins get celebrated like that. But Florida is a whole different animal. The Gators will have the better QB, the better offensive line and the better defense. And they will be playing at home. I simply don't expect the Seminoles -- no matter who the QB is -- to be able to move the ball and score with any regularity in that one. That win over B.C. was nice. Very nice. But I still feel like the Gators have a supreme advantage heading into that one.
IRA: It does change them a little bit, but not enough to expect a Florida State win. Before we saw what we saw on Saturday, I expected the Seminoles to get blown out in Gainesville. Now, I can see a scenario where FSU can at least be competitive. I liked the way FSU's players fought for extra yards at Boston College -- James Blackman diving for the first down, D.J. Matthews diving for the pylon, etc -- and I also thought the offense had a better rhythm in that game than we've seen for most of this season. The problem is this defense has really struggled against any quality quarterback -- and even some not-so-quality quarterbacks -- it has faced. So I have a hard time imagining FSU holding UF to less than 30 points, and it's almost inconceivable that this offensive line is going to allow the 'Noles to surpass that total against a very good Gator defense.
ASLAN: Yeah, the expectation is still a loss but perhaps a more competitive contest. The problems offensively that plagued them vs. Miami will likely rear their head again in that game, plus Florida’s offense is a bit more dynamic than Miami’s. So not sure how long FSU’s defense will be able to keep them at bay. With losses to LSU and UGA, this is the redeeming game for Dan Mullen, and he’ll unload whatever he can in this one.
GENE: Like Ira said, had nothing changed, I was convinced that a blowout was coming. This team was going nowhere, had no energy and was ridiculously mistake-ridden. Even though B.C. is about as average as they come, FSU performed at a higher level than it had all season. There is clearly a more positive vibe with Odell Haggins running the show. With that in mind, there’s a decent chance that FSU puts up a good fight down in Gainesville. Will we be chanting “Five-and-0dell” in a couple weeks? Probably not, but a competitive contest would be a welcome change from what was probably going to happen.
