A look across the country:

I know many are excited about the fact that Mike let three go and will be letting more go. It had to happen (and it sucks on a personal level) but it's not assured to fix things. I think we are in a nasty spot now where coaches we get are going to to awesome because they have giant balls to step in here when Mike could be gone in a few years and they do that because they are so confident. Great. The others are those who may not really be that great and their schools don't fight too hard to get them. But either way, the issue of how long Mike is here comes into play.

I have tried to narrow down the *real* cost if we let Mike go. It's not as simple as counting years and multiplying his salary.

Mike moved to $9.875M for this year. His salary bumps a little each year and his last year (31) is around $10.835M. I think it's fair to consider his salary average from next year to end at around $10.5M.

His deal ends in 31, so he coaches through the 31 season if I have that right. He's already paid for this year, so any buyout would be based on 7 years still due if he was fired this year. He won't be, but I want to do the math anyway. Many just assume it's around 73M by simple multiplication, but it's not. We don't pay him the full value. Our deal is that he gets 85% of what's due if he's fired. That means it's really more like $8.925M a year. Not firesale, but better.

We also don't pay a lump sum. We owe him his 85% of it paid over the years as if he was an employee.

This triggers some present value analysis. I am NOT a math/econ guy so had to rely on web calculators. But if I put in 7 years of the 85% salary number I get 62.475M total, and if I apply a seven year PV calc at 4% (no idea if that is close), I get $47.475M as the value today. And I would surely imagine they'd negotiate from there.

It's still really bad, but I do think at all steps here we have to look at that number as we bring in more coaches and commit to more buyouts if this does not work.

Looking at strictly measurables. . .height, weight, strength, speed, etc. Do we have a starting 5 and two backups on our roster at this moment who are currently or could be physically ready to play at this level for next season?

I see a lot of missed assignments, complete whiffs, getting out of stances late, things that I feel can be correctable in a short period of time, but do we have the tools to work with? Will the younger ones on the roster be ready to step in for next season? I know we will have to hit the portal pretty heavily, but how many to we currently have on this roster with the potential to play at a high level soon?

FSU sports information:

Florida State senior outside hitter Audrey Koenig was named the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after a great all-around offensive performance in two matches against Wake Forest and NC State this past weekend.

Koenig put together one of the best offensive performances on Friday night as she recorded 20 kills in three sets against Wake Forest. Koenig is one of three ACC players to record 20 or more kills in a three-set match this season. More impressively, Koenig totaled eight aces against the Demon Deacons which was the second-highest mark in school history. Koenig followed up her performance on Friday with a solid 12 kills on Sunday against NC State while adding three more aces. Her 11 aces were the most of any player in the country this past weekend.

Koenig and the Seminoles will be back in action on Friday night as they will face No. 1 Pitt at 7 p.m. on ACCNX.

FSU’s defense is 101st in the FBS in scoring (29.8). The Seminoles have struggled in particular against the run (115th at 192.4 yards), while faring relatively better vs. the pass (53rd at 206.4 yards).

Shannon has a bye week to motivate and focus on the fundamentals to improve the defense ahead of a pair of home games, against Charleston Southern and then Florida. While it's fair to expect FSU's defense to play its base 4-2-5 and not show much of its hand against an FCS team, Shannon and FSU's coaches could offer some new schematic changes for the matchup against the Gators.

"Having a bye week gives us a little bit of time," FSU coach Mike Norvell said. "I want Randy to go run the defense, and I want him to be able to put his emphasis to it, for our guys to be able to go out there and play fast, play confident, to be free in playing within the calls of what we need to do.

"Will it look a little bit different? Yes, there will be some differences. There will be some things that probably mirror. We're 10 games into a season so it's going to be probably a healthy mix."

Hey all! Super excited that the Noles are coming to CT next Friday. I am a frequent visitor to Mohegan Sun so I figured I'd those of you who are going some information. @Bob Ferrante and anyone else, feel free to share the information with anyone you know who is coming.

First, if you have never been, Mohegan is a world class casino in the middle of nothing. It is consistently named one of the best casinos in the USA. There are tons of available parking so that won't be an issue for those that drive or rent cars. The hotel can be expensive to stay at, but there is a Hyatt roughly 5 minutes away that has a shuttle service back and forth with the casino.

There are a lot of dining and nightlife options. Some of my favorite include Micheal Jordan's steakhouse, TAO, Landsowne Irish Pub. I would highly suggest getting reservations as it will be a busy weekend. For drinks, there is a country bar on site that has good nightlife scene. Also, Avalon is a top notch club (expect a high cover). But my fav spot is Vista Lounge, that is where you will definitely find me after the game.

Around Uncasville, if you are spending the weekend in CT, I would definitely head to Groton to check out the sub base. Or if you have a lot of time, head down to New Haven. Walk around Yale's campus, check out the older, fun bars there.

If enough people are coming up, maybe we can all meet up before & after at one of the spots, turn it into an FSU scene. Feel free to message or reply here w/ any questions. Go Noles!

FSU (2-0) is back home to play host to Tarleton State (0-2), a Texas school that plays in the WAC. Tarleton State is coached by a familiar name in Billy Gillispie, who previously coached at Texas A&M and Kentucky (among other stops).

This is FSU's Military Appreciation Game.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. with a live stream on ACC Network Extra. FSU is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2020-21.

The Seminoles are No. 83 in KenPom's rankings and have defeated Northern Kentucky (172) and Rice (228). Tarleton State is ranked at 277, the lowest opponent in KenPom's rankings this season.

Jamir Watkins was named the ACC's co-player of the week. He has scored in double figures in 21 straight games.

FSU will also host Florida on Friday at 6 p.m. Coach Leonard Hamilton is helping lead a toy drive that will benefit Tallahassee youth. Fans can bring an unwrapped gift to the FSU-UF game and toys will be distributed. Doug Mannheimer said that FSU fans contributed eight large bins of toys in 2023.

As part of a scheduling change, FSU will now play host to Western Carolina on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. The game was slated to be played in Asheville, N.C.

FSU sports information:

The Florida State women’s basketball team (2-1) defeated Florida A&M (0-3) on Monday night at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, 93-54.

“I’m really proud of this win today,” FSU head coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “This was a fun, extra special game against our friends across town, Florida A&M. We have a lot of respect for their program, and they came out and played a great basketball game today and they played hard for 40 minutes. I was proud of our team for how they came out and were aggressive and disciplined and executed our game plan. I loved how we got to the free throw line and how we rebounded. Lots of things were great and we have a lot of work to do as well.”

Ta’Niya Latson led all scorers for the third time this season in as many games, contributing 21 points, including 15 from the free throw line. Latson tied her career high in free throws made, tying her program record she shares with Carla Williams and Cierra Brevard.

O’Mariah Gordon added season-high 19 points and a career high six steals.

Five Seminoles scored in double figures for the second time this season. In addition to Latson and Gordon, Carla Viegas shot 4-of-7 from the three-point line, scoring 12 points.

Sydney Bowles and Malea Williams each contributed 10 points.

Makayla Timpson led all rebounders with nine and swatted four blocks.

The Seminoles took an early lead in the first period, going on a 9-0 run to start, stretching the lead 25-12.

In the second, FSU outscored Florida A&M 24-10, holding the Rattlers to shooting 23 percent in the quarter, taking the 49-22 lead at the half.

After scoring 26 points in the third, FSU added 18 in the fourth, winning the game 93-54.

The Seminoles will celebrate Seminoles Heritage against Samford on Thursday at 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.