Missing the playoffs with a better record than Alabama. I love it.

Coaching changes - We said awhile back that a sledge-hammer was coming to this coaching staff. Boy did it. Alex Atkins, Adam Fuller, Ron Dugans, Randy Shannon out. In , Gus the Bus, Pork Chop (aka Pot Roast), Tony White, Evan Cooper in. The Seminoles still need to hire a WR and OL coach. There could be more changes on and off the field. So far on paper the changes look good. I think each of these guys are qualified to be coaches at FSU. Not sure I could say the same about the ones who left. I do think each of these guys are good X's and O's type coaches. That being said there is always the other side of things. I have concerns from a recruiting standpoint. Once a coach is hired, I am all in. I want to see what each of these coaches bring to the table. The 2025 is done and FSU finished strong. Now they need to hit the portal and get a QB, a #1 WR, LT, DE and DT. Do that and this team could make some noise nexy year.

When it comes to college football, I enjoy every conference. Whether it is the SEC, ACC, BIG 12, the Big 10 now or what was formally known as the Pac 12. I will watch college football from the moments games start 12pm till midnight to watch Hawaii play which every lucky team gets to go out there. ESPN and the SEC should be ashamed of themselves already. I get protecting the brand. I get trying to make sure your teams are noticed and make the playoffs.....


What I don't get is 260 to 54 (score 6-3). Those are stats at halftime of the Texas vs. Georgia game. Texas dominated Georgia and the score was 6-3. This not protecting your brand. This is the WWE. They have turned the SEC into PRO WRESTLING. Texas should have been up 21-0. The game should have been a start of a blowout. If Texas had gone down big and the game ends in a blowout how do you sell a 9-3 team being in the playoffs. Especially when that team lost their starting QB. I am never one to really complain about refs but they altered that game.

Here is a quote from Kirk Herbstreet, 2023: FSU only managed to score 16 points with their backup QB. They just are not the same team without Jordan Travis:

Here is the quote from Kirk Herbreet, 2024: Im impressed with the Georgia being able to score 16 points with a backup QB, It just shows you how gritty they are".

I used to like Kirk Herbreet. The guy is now a clown. He has lost all credibility. Georgia offense this year was already pedestrian before Beck went out. After he went out their offense became hand the ball off to Etienne and pray the kid pulls us out this mess. I have a ton of respect for Kirby Smart. I feel he is the best defensive coach in college football. Heck he maybe the best defensive coach in all of football. He always seems to have a play unless Tua is coming in at halftime of a game.

That brings me to Arch Manning and Texas!!!! Sark for the love of God, put Arch in the game. I have no idea if Arch IS THE GUY. What I do know is I don't think Quinn Ewers is. He just does not seem to make the throws when needed. You think Jameis does not win that game yesterday. How about Cam Newton. Heck, how about Cam Ward. Ewers shrinks in big moments. I am not a fan of QUINN. Never was. I remember when he came out and one of the scouts who is a national guy told me that he was a generational QB and as good as or better than Trevor Lawrence. YEAH...NO. He is nowhere near a Trevor Lawrence. I feel for Texas to win the National Title, Sark may have to go the Saban route and put Arch in.

Moving on....SARK, RYAN, SARK, RYAN, SARK, RYAN, SARK, RYAN....I am not saying Sakisian and Ryan Day are not good coach....Heck their record says otherwise. Why is is James Franklin who won at Vanderbilt (yes 9-2) two years in a row. The guy who beat Tennessee, Georgia and Florida at Vandy is considered less of a coach. In six of his seasons in State College he has won at least 10 games. He won the Big 10 in 2016 (11-3 / 8-1) in the conference. So he can't beat Ohio State. Heck Ohio State can't beat Michigan and Texas can’t beat Georgia. Texas and Georgia have way better rosters. Penn State does not have a top ten roster. They win. They win a ton of ball games under Franklin. I get it, he is not the best game day coach. Yesterday he outcoached a better coach (Lanning) and a better roster (Oregon). Penn State was down 28-7 and almost pulled the game out. I was always concerned that a school like Florida, with all their resources were smart enough to hire Franklin. A guy who would recruit top five classes every year. Franklin at UF is a perennial playoff team and the Gators would win titles.

Clemson vs. SMU - This game was tale of two halves, (The past Dabo-1st Half) the new (The New Dabo-2nd Half). I watched the first half and thought maybe I am little pre-mature in saying Dabo is done. I watched the 2nd half and saw why I am concerned. Clemson is that dynasty that still has enough players where you can convinced the party is still going on. The 2nd half showed you once again that Clemson is no longer that juggernaut. Clemson was up big. The reality is SMU came out not ready for what was in front of them. They made mistakes...One after another. They gave up a big lead. Once the dust settled at halftime, the future of college football (Rhett Lashlee) made adjustments and SMU almost won the game. Yes, I think Lashlee is a future star coach in this game. SMU has the money to buy the horses up front. This year showed the boosters at SMU they can compete. The next few years may bring us back to the days of the Pony Express. Watch the 30/30. College football gave SMU the death penalty. The NIL era brought them back to life.

Dilly -Unreal what he has done at ASU in one season? They were awful last year. I mean they were close to FSU bad last year. I watched them play a year ago and they were blown out in every game. 3-9 in 2023. (27-15-Oklahoma State, 29-0 Fresno State, 42-28 USC, 55-0 Utah, 49-13 Oregon and they finished the season off 59-23 Oregon). A year later with 1 Skattebo and they are 12-2 and going to the playoffs. I know no one wants to listen....COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS NOW a YEAR TO YEAR Deal. What FSU looked like this year does not mean next year will be the same. I am not saying FSU will win the ACC and make the playoffs but it is now possible in this day and age of college football where you can flip 50 percent or more of your roster every year.

Blast from the past....Bill Snyder (Kansas State), John Robinson (USC), Randy Edsall (UCONN), Don Brown (UMASS), Jonny Majors (Pitt), Bill Walsh (Stanford), Bobby Petrino (Louisville), Chris Ault (Nevada), Mike Riley (Oregon State) and Mark Whipple (UMASS). They all hired these coaches twice. UCF is about to hire Scott Frost a second time. Usually the second time is nowhere near as successful as the first. Scott Frost had a great first run at UCF. To me this was a lazy hire. UCF for so long got it right (Frost round 1, Huepell, O'Leary) There were great coaches available (Jamey Chadwell). Great assistants available. Why take someone who not only has not been a head coach for a few years but left you the first time. The game has changed and now you are going to try and run it back again. Good luck.

Quarterback - This just in - you better have one. If you want a legit shot at winning a quarterback is a must. Watch SMU and look at how many plays that kid made last night when the game was on the line. Cam Ward turned Miami into a 10 win team. Drew Allar was a five star and finally showed up last night. You need your QB to be ELITE or play at an ELITE LEVEL. I hope Luke is that guy but I don't think he is that guy in 2025.

Defense - Georgia has an elite defense. Wow are they impressive. Texas has an ELITE defense. By the way, I don't think I have seen a player every get hit as hard as the Georgia QB. I did not think he was getting up.

PLAYOFFS....Did you SAY PLAYOFFS like Jim Mora once said. Yes, here come the playoffs. I know many may not like the bowl games. I do. I will most likely watch all or close to every bowl game and playoff game. I can't get enough of college football. For all its flaws it is a game I still love.

My Bracket.....

1. Oregon (BYE) 13-0
2. UGA (BYE) 11-2
3. Boise (BYE) 12-1
4.Arizona State (BYE) 11-2

5. Notre Dame - 11-1
12. Indiana - 11-1

6.Texas -11-2
11-SMU -11-2

7.Penn State -11-2
10-Clemson -10-3

8.Tenn- 10-2
9. Ohio State -10-2

First Four out - Alabama, Miami, South Carolina, Ole Miss.

Best coach in college football this season without an elite offense (Smart)
Team with the least amount of flaws and the best coach (Oregon)
Team who could win it all but also lose early on (Pick em - Ohio State/Texas)
Team that can win it all that no one talks about (Notre Dame)

You just have to get into the ACC title game and you can make the playoffs...Also look at the size difference between SMU and Clemson. FSU needs a new strength and conditioning coach. It is the number one issue I have right now. FSU looks like a G5 team. That is the problem with SMU. I am sure they will recruit bigger kids on both sides of the ball but man are they small compared to Clemson.

Any thoughts

Saban wants 30 teams eligible for the cfp ($ec/BIG). Screw the other 100 teams, let them go to the toilet bowl lineup. Herb$hit wants a "national" board to make schedules. College football (cnfl) is a joke!

The earliest Early Signing Day in college football history is fast approaching on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Florida State has 13 verbal commitments in a 2025 class that is ranked 52nd in the nation by Rivals.

Osceola recruiting writers Charles Fishbein, Patrick Burnham and Nick Carlisle offer thoughts on how the class could shape up, with a few late flips included. Their story is a good table-setter with a position-by-position look on who we project FSU will sign.

Osceola staff members will be posting updates below in this thread beginning on Wednesday morning, posting as each new Seminole signs and the school has confirmed his signing. You can also chat with us and subscribers about the signees.

We'll have stories on each 2025 signee. All of those will be posted on the Osceola Village.

Below is the list of known signing ceremonies

QB Kevin Sperry – 9 a.m.
LB Tavion Wallace - 9:30 a.m.
OL Mario Nash – 10:30 a.m.
RB Ousmane Kromah - 2:15 p.m.
DL Kevin Wynn – 2:30 p.m.
DE Tobi Haastrup - 2:40pm (undecided)
TE Chase Loftin – 3 p.m.
OL Solomon Thomas – 5 p.m.

The Osceola staff will also go live on our YouTube channel as well as Osceola Facebook with real-time reaction to the signings at approximately 10 a.m.

Leaving:
1-Lawrance Toafili-RB
2-Malik Benson-WR
3-Ja'Khi Douglas-WR
4-Kentron Poitier-WR
5-Deuce Spann-WR
6-Darion Williamson-WR
7-Kyle Morlock-TE
8-Jackson West-TE
9-Jeremiah Byers-OL
10-Keiondre Jones-OL
11-Robert Scott-OL
12-Darius Washington-OL
13-Dante Anderson-DE (walk-on)
14-Joshua Farmer-DT (NFL)
15-Sione Lolohea-DE
16-DJ Lundy-LB
17-Cam Riley-LB
18-Devonte Brown-DB
19-Omarion Cooper-DB (walk-on)
20-Fentrell Cypress-CB
21-Kevin Knowles-CB
22-Ryan Fitzgerald-K
23-Alex Mastomanno-P

Expected Losses:
24-Roydell Williams-RB
25-Richie Leonard-OL
26-Darrell Jackson-DT
27-Grady Kelly-DT
28-Patrick Payton-DE
29-Julian Armella-OG
30-AZ Thomas-CB

There has been talk of some of these guys coming back. The odds are most of them will end up hitting the portal. Bryson Estes is another kid who it would not shock me to see him end up in the portal.

What is left....

QB
1-Luke Kromenhoek-SO
2-Brock Glenn-JR (Think he stays through spring)
3-Kevin Sperry-FR
4-Trever Jackson-RFR

Comments: I expect FSU to make a run at a QB in the portal. Will that be a guy who can be the starter or is the option more as a depth piece? We will know more by who visits over this portal window.

RB
5-Micahi Danzy-RFR
6-Kam Davis-SO
7-Jaylin Lucas-SR
8-Samuel Singleton-RSO
9-Ousmane Kromah-FR

Comments: If Roydell Williams returns you could see someone like Sam Singleton decide to move on. FSU has a deep and what I think is one of the more talented backfields in the ACC heading into spring football. This can change quickly is a couple of these guys want to hit the portal.

WR
10-Jalen Brown-RSO
11-Camdon Frier-RFR
12-BJ Gibson-FR
13-Destyn Hill-SO
14-Lawayne McCoy-RFR
15-Elijah Moore-RFR
16-Hykeem Williams-JR
17-Jayvan Boggs-FR
18-Tae Shaun Gelsey-FR
19-Jordan Scott-JR (JUCO)
20-Teriq Mallory-FR

Comments: 11 receivers on the roster is a lot of bodies. Hill, Williams and Scott....one of those three need to become the #1 receiver. FSU has a ton of # 3 receivers. You need to have a #1 and #2. You will hear the word POTENTIAL a lot with this group. Now they need to get it done. I would not be surprised to see FSU go after a #1 WR in the portal.

TE
21-Brian Courtney-SR
22-Jerrale Powers-JR
23-Landen Thomas-SO
24-Amaree Williams-SO
25-Chase Loftin-FR

Comments: I expect FSU to go after a tight end in the portal. If Williams moves to defensive end than there will be a definite need for a tight end. This group is one of the better units in the ACC.

OL
26-Jonathan Daniels-RFR
27-Jaylen Early -JR
28-Bryson Estes-SR
29-TJ Ferguson-SR
30-Tye Hylton-FR
31-Manasse Itete-RFR
32-Andre Otto-RFR
33-Jacob Rizy-SR
34-Lucas Simmons-RFR
35-Jayden Todd-RFR
36-Mario Nash-FR
37-Sean Poret-FR

Comments: Right now the numbers are at 12 and that is with Ferhuson and Estes counting towards those numbers. If those two leave along with possibly Leonard and Armella than FSU will be in the portal heavy for offensive lineman. This group is in flux and FSU needs to figure it out. For them to win this part of the team MUST improve. I do think they have some guys on the roster who can start.

DE
38-Tomiwa Durojaiye-JR
39-Lamont Greene-RSO
40-Aaron Hester-JR
41-DD Holmes-RFR
42-Jaden Jones-SR
43-Marvin Jones Jr-SR
44-Byron Turner-SR
45-Mandrell Desir-FR
81-Tyon Lee-FR
82-Jessie Harrold-FR

Comments: Even if FSU lands Lee and Harris the defenisve end room is slightly above average. There are no Johnson or Verse in this group. This unit is in need of talent. I expect FSU to go after every pass rusher that hits the portal. They are going to have to over pay at the DE position.

DT
46-Jamorie Flagg-RFR
47-Grady Kelly-SR
48-Daniel Lyons-JR
49-KJ Sampson-RSO
50-Dnas White-RFR
51-Kevin Wynn-FR
52-Tyeland Coleman-JR
53-Darryl Desir-FR

Comments: Lyons and Sampson are two players FSU must keep. Both flashed this year. I think both of them could start. FSU will need to land at least 1 if not 2 DT options. FSU has to upgrade on the inside.

LB
54-Ethan Pritchard-(FR)
55-Justin Cryer-(JR)
56-Omar Graham-(JR)
59-Timir Hickman-Collins-FR
60-Shawn Murphy-JR
61-Blake Nichelson-JR
62-Jayden Parrish-RFR
63-Demarco Ward-RFR

DB
64-Ashylynd Barker-JR
65-Cai Bates-RFR
66-Shyheim Brown-SR
67-Jamari Howard-SO
68-Conrad Hussey-JR
69-Quindarrius Jones-JR
70-Edwin Joseph-SO
71-KJ Kirkland-FR
72-Ricky Knight-RFR
73-Charles Lester-RFR
74-Earl Little-JR
75-Jabril Rawls-RFR
76-Gregory Thomas-FR
77-Max Redmon-FR
78-Shamar Arnoux-FR


K
79-Brunno Reus-FR
80-Jake Weinstein-FR

FSU is under the number 85 scholarships. The number of total players on a roster is supposed to go to 105. It will be interesting to see how these schools work these numbers.

Portal Board

QB
Thomas Castellano-(Boston College-5'10-200

RB

WR
KC Conception-NC State-6'0-170
Bairion Brown-Kentucky-6'0-170


TE
Cody Hardy -Elon -6'5-270

OL
Derek Smmons-Western Carolina -6'6-325
Caden Kitler-UCF-6'3-290 (Center)
Xavier Gray-Liberty-6'8-320 (They need to offer these types of players)

DE
Kameron Olds-Kent State-6'4-245
Princewill Umanmielan-Nebraska-6'4-245
James Williams-Nebraska-6'6-250
Nyjalik Kelly-UCF-6'5-250

DT
Bear Alexander-USC-6'3-320
Vincent Jackson-Nebraska-6'5-290

LB
Stephon Thompson-Nebraska-6'1-240
Andrew Jones-Memphis-6'1-210

S
CJ Heard-FAU-5'11-200

CB

Miami at #13 is the highest ranked ACC school in recruiting according to Rivals. The second highest is FSU at #19 with 20 signees; 11 4* and 8 3*.. That is a surprise, but not as surprising as Clemson coming in at #33 with only 15 recruits with no 5* and just 8 4* and 7 3*. GT outperformed the rock scratchers, finishing at #23, with 24 total and 7 4* and 17 3*. More surprises, Louisville comes in at #67 w/ a total of 15 with 6 4* and 6 3* 🤔. UNC is ranked #82 w/ 9 total😳. Rest of the ACC looks to be ascending down to Sunbelt levels.

Mike Norvell made his hire: Gus Malzahn. For those who don't remember Gus made a name for himself coaching high school football in Arkansas. At the time Mitch Mustain was the top quarterback in the nation. He may have signed with USC out of HS and Gus ended up at Arkansas with Petrino and they brought him over. Gus at the time was an innovative coach along with Hugh Freeze. He had a ton of success that Gene Chizik hired him to be the OC at Auburn. The QB was Cam Newton. Gus wanted to be a HC so he parlayed the AU OC job into the HC job at Arkansas State. When AU moved on from Gene Chizik they made Gus the HC.

Why Gus? The No. 1 reason why Gus was hired is because MN wants to run the football. It was the No. 1 reason why Brennan Marion was at the top of the board. I don't disagree with this. Look at UF and Michigan. UF turned their season around not because Lagway. It was because they could finally run the ball, control the clock and keep their defense fresh. The one thing about FSU, Miami and Florida they all have the same type of personal. They recruit undersized guys on defense that can fly to the football. How do you keep those guys fresh, recruit well and have depth but RUN THE BALL? FSU is not built to have their defense constantly on the field. Gus is going to come in and help Mike run the ball, control the clock, protect the QB and keep the defense fresh. He has had top-rated run offenses no matter where he has been. UCF ran the ball very well. I think if Gus brings his OL coach with him (Herb Hand) FSU will be able to turn the run game around in year 1.

Why Not Gus? The game has changed. I look at Jamey Chadwell (Liberty OC), I look at Indiana, I look at Brennan Marion (UNLV OC), and I look at Joe Craddock (Tulane). They use a ton of motion and shifts. You see them constantly move guys around and widen the field. Gus' offense shrinks the field and I don't believe that is the way the game is played anymore. While his offenses are still able to produce a great run game his passing game is not very good. He was so bad this year he fired himself and hired Tim Harris to call plays. This is a major red flag for a coach who is being brought in to save the day. My No. 2 concern and I will discuss this with Jason Staples on a podcast later today is his ability to recruit and develop quarterbacks. I have dealt with coaches on his staff. I once brought up a name of a QB from Boynton Beach HS. I told the assistant coach at the time you need to go after this kid. He fits the mold of a QB that would do well in Gus offense. The coach said Fish, Gus does not think he throws well enough. The name of that quarterback was Lamar Jackson. Instead he recruited Sean White from University School in Davie. Sean was a drop-back QB who could not run, had lead feet and was an FCS-level QB. I would forgive this act because other coaches felt the same but at UCF this year he took Dylan Rizk. Another kid who is not very athletic and came from an Air Raid offense in HS. I question whether he can evaluate QBs and develop them.

Final Thoughts: Whether I like the hire or not, I am always willing to give things a chance. The problem is we saw this same story play out this year at Ohio State. Pupil (Ryan Day) hired teacher (Chip Kelly) and the Ohio State offense did not come up big yesterday against Michigan. I am a big fan of new.. There are words in the football world like Culture and Development. These are words IMHO that are used to make fans feel good. They sound good coming out of a coach’s mouth. I had one coach say to me, Fish if you want good culture win games. That is how you create culture. FSU won 13 games last year and everyone says "the culture is great." Now the same coaches and many of the same players and culture sucks. COME ON. I listen to Colin Cowherd and he talks about Jerry Jones. I am a Cowboy fan. He says when Jerry went big (Hiring Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells) he won. When Jerry goes small and safe he loses a lot. I think Mike had the chance to swing a big bat. Yes, Marion is the unknown and a risk. FSU and Mike needed to take that risk. I just hope the safe route gets them where FSU needs to go.

I went and looked up his defenses at Nebraska and Syracuse. I am not going to break him down as a potential canidate. He runs a 3-3-5 defense which means you would need to change your personal.

Nebraska Scoring Defense (2024) 19th
Passing Defense (2024) 52nd
Rushing Defense (2024) 14th
Total Defense (2024) 19th
Yards Per Play 54th

Interceptions (2024) 47th in the nation
Fumbles (2024) 84th in the nation
Sacks - (2024) 5oth in sacks

I am looking at Nebraska stats for 2024 and honestly it is quite depressing. There is nothing about this hire that I like. Will he be a head coach (Not sure I can Check this box). Coached in the ACC (Syracuse-Never the SEC). Have no idea what type of recruiter he is. His defenses at Nebraska this year did not create turnovers. If you are not creating turnovers it is a no go for me. They don't get sacks. So let me get this straight no pressure on the QB, no turnovers, average pass defense. May as well keep Adam Fuller. I think this hire would be questionable. I would rather wait and take a run at Purdue head coach who got fired. I rather take Jay Valai, I rather take the SMU coach. To many question marks IMHO.

Check the playoff and the QB position is NOT the weak link.

It's safe to say this Florida State football season has not gone according to plan. But the Seminoles will have the opportunity to put a sweet ending on a sour season Saturday night.

The Seminoles (2-9, 1-7 in ACC) close out their 2024 season tonight at Doak Campbell Stadium (7 p.m. on ESPN2) when they play host to rival Florida (6-5, 4-4 in SEC).

FSU has won the last two games over the Gators and is 14-14-1 in games vs. UF at Doak. However, the Gators lead the all-time series 37-28-2 and are heavily favored (16.5 points) to snap their skid against the Seminoles.

It's Senior Day at FSU and a large group of seniors playing their final games at Doak (including RB Lawrance Toafili, WR Ja'Khi Douglas, OL Darius Washington and Maurice Smith, among others) will be honored before the game begins.

We'll be monitoring if running back Roydell Williams indeed returns for the Florida game. The Alabama transfer has missed the last eight games since suffering an injury at practice the week of the Cal game over two months ago. Cornerback Fentrell Cypress II and defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. could also return to action after missing the Charleston Southern game.

The press box opens at 5 p.m. so expect updates from pregame warmups to start rolling in around then. We'll also be sharing live game updates here once the game gets underway.

The winter window for the NCAA transfer portal in football hasn't opened yet but there are already players announcing that they intend to enter the portal today. On this thread we will try to identify players entering the portal that FSU may have interest in, the player may have interest in or both parties share a mutual interest.

Transfer portal prospects that there is reported to be interest between FSU and the player:

Update 12-6: I am hearing that there is mutual interest between FSU and Liberty QB Kaidon Salter.
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BC QB Thomas Castellanos
Alabama LB Keanu Koht
Elon TE Cody Hardy
UVA QB Anthony Colandrea
NC State WR KC Concepcion
USC DT Bear Alexander
FAU RB/former Seminole CJ Campbell Jr. (reported an offer from FSU)
Western Carolina offensive lineman Derek Simmons (received an FSU offer)
Nebraska DL Princewill Umanmielan
Nebraska DL James Williams

Is there anything giving us a chance to reel him in?