FSU last season broke the rock 13 times. Last night Boston College took hold of the hammer and broke FSU. As fans when you lose they will say this team is SO TALENTED BUT...And then the excuses come. The reality is this TEAM is not better than last year. That is not even debatable any longer. This was and has been a big concern of mine. When you look at FSU I said to Jason Staples on a podcast where is FSU better this year on offense then last year...QB: NO, RB: NO, WR: NO, TE: NO, OL - HELL NO. I won’t even go over the defense where both the loss of Jared Verse and Braden Fiske can’t be over stated. I want to say I TOLD YOU SO...But that is not me. ...so what next.

I have stated over and over again I am not a fan of the TRANSER PORTAL. Some will bring up the success FSU had. There are so many variables that go into that success....First off Mike Norvell was the first one or one of the first to attack the portal. With Covid which originally hurt MN helped. It allowed MN to keep veterans like Jordan Travis. Having 5 and 6 year players really benefited FSU. The Portal Giveth...Takes it away.

Add in a Transfer class in for 2024....

Shawn Murphy-LB, Cam Riley-LB, Omarion Cooper-CB, Jacob Rizy, Richie Leonard-OG, Roydell Williams-RB, TJ Ferguson, Sione Lololea-DE, Tomiwa Duriojaiye-DL, DJ Uigalelei-QB, Malik Benson-WR, Davonte Brown-DB, Jaylin Lucas-Ath, Grady Kelly-DT, Jalen Brown-WR, Marvin Jones JR-DE

That is 16 transfers....and after two games you could say they have gone at best 2 for 14. This group of transfers was my biggest concern all along with the portal. During this spring portal opening I spoke to one college coach who said to me "Fish this round of players is a bunch of backups...Do we really need to take other teams castoffs and backups and replace our backups with them". He was basically saying the transfer portal during the spring was not good. FSU needs heading into the spring transfer portal where another receiver, offensive tackle, a rush end and linebackers.....linebackers, linebackers. They did not get any of them. It may be time to adjust the thinking.

Analytics - Recruiting and Coaching.

First I will get into coaching....I have had this argument on 4th down and going for it in games. I get it the percentages in certain situations are in your favor to go for it. That being said I compare it to baseball where a manager has a choice. He has a pitcher who is the set up guy who comes in the 8th inning. On three straight pitches the set up guy gets all three batters out. Three up, three down. Analytics tell you as a manager it is time for you to go to your reliever. I think this is a flawed way of thinking. You are allowing a computer to tell you to go against your gut in this situation and the manager goes to the reliever and the next thing you know the team takes an L. I can't stand this. Why, because sometimes you have to go with your gut. Coach MN loves to go for it on 4th down. I get it. He has confidence in his team that they can get the first down. My gut tells me watching DJ and this offense not only last week but this week, I have zero faith in DJ getting it done. I feel until he does do it...PUNT THE BALL. I feel that coaches today take to many points off the board early and don’t kick field goals and field position in a game like last night is huge. You give BC a short field....Bad. I think this team is not built to take those chances at least not yet.

Now to the team....


QB - DJ Uiagalelei - Three plays over the first two weeks are a major concern for me. The corner route in the Tech game and the flea flicker and corner route in the BC game. These were three simple throws all which would have resulted in touchdowns. When FSU was in the market last year for a QB, I felt DJ was a decent bridge QB. Good kid....he looked much better at Oregon State and with MN coaching could be good enough to win 8-9 games. The downside was his inability to be accurate. That problem has reared his ugly head. DJ is a one read QB. He showed that on the flea flicker. #21 slipped by the DB and was wide open and DJ threw to Kyle Morlock. Bad decisions. I said before the season DJ is going to give you the BIG PLAYS....and he will also give you a lot of three and outs. I pegged DJ and so far it has been a disaster. 5 years ago....10 years ago I would have told you that DJ is a student athlete and deserves to run this team. These are paid professionals now and feelings be damned. This is not DJ's team. He was paid and very fairly. I would have benched him at halftime. Glenn and Kromenhoek are the future...Or they better be. Now is the time to go to them. You have two weeks now to get them ready for Memphis. This team is not responding to DJ. If he wants to leave and take a RS and play somewhere else next year, let him. MN held out for Cam Ward and now you see why. DJ - Great kid...but is just what it is...A MAJOR MISS.

RB

Trey Benson loss and the addition of Roydell Williams...UGHHH...Roydell has zero burst. ZERO. I have no idea why Caziah Holmes even gets reps. Kam Davis is the guy. Twice he got the ball and dragged multiple defenders down the field. I really think if he gets 15-20 carries against Memphis the production for the offense will improve. He is the guy. I also think Danzy needs to be put in there. FSU needs more speed in the backfield. Right now the guys playing are 3-4-5 yard backs. With DJ, you need the guys who can go the distance. Davis-Danzy are those two. Danzy reminds me of a bigger Chris Thompson. Time to move on.

WR

As Rick Pitino once said coaching the Celtics, Larry Bird is not walking through those doors...Neither is Coleman or Johnny Wilson. Benson would have been the third option last year. This year he is the number one option. Once again outside of Poitier the WR recruiting until this past year has been subpar and now it is rearing its ugly head. I can't stay it enough FSU needs Hykeem Williams. He needs to be on the field against Memphis. He may not be fully ready but at least he gives someone the defense must respect on the outside. Hykeem HAS TO PLAY.

TE

When FSU took Morlock, I was against it. I took a ton of heat on this board. Said his ceiling was Caz P. At this point I would take Caz 10 out of 10 times over Morlock. He could at least block. Morlock is not a good blocker and as he showed last night there was a part of the game he was targeted 5 times and had zero catches. Some that were not contested. He was at the D2 level for a reason. Not saying you can't find gems down there but there is a reason why. KM, Courtney, West, Powers...You can't keep missing at a position and FSU has. I feel that Landen Thomas and the kid from Nebraska will change that issue but that is next season. FSU needed a TE out of the portal this off-season. Thomas got open last night but DJ could not hit him. He is a better athlete and looks like the future.

OL

I will say this if the OL Coach who is interning right now for Coach Atkins better have his resume ready. I don't like calling coaches out but the job of the OL has been the most disappointing aspect of this team. These guys are not good. I never understood the take of Richie Leonard. He is short (6'2), has short arms and can't push anyone off the ball. Ferguson penalty was terrible. I am sorry but Armella, Early and Simmons need to be given legit shots at playing. FSU needs to produce guys THEY RECRUITED from HS. The portal lineman from Beyers, Leonard and Ferguson are not good.

DE

Out of the gate PP made a tackle for loss....We did not see that last week and may have only seen it one other time last night. He has been a major disappointment for FSU this year. I won't even get into MJJ. He was downright terrible last night. Have this group gotten any sacks this year. I am not going to lie...MJJ may need to be benched as well. Cam Riley needs to move to the Christian Jones position. I think he can be good.

DT

Daniel Lyons and KJ Sampson...Next MEN UP. Darrell Jackson and Joshua Farmer took the money and ran. Guys show their character. These two wanted to stay, then wanted to leave, then stay....They were paid more to stay. I have been there with my business. When you get put in a pinch we don't always make great decisions. These two went to the public about their disgust about the portal. Well guess what those two leaders have done this year. NOTHING. Payton did the same thing. Moving forward Norvell needs to tell his team...You want to get paid come to me. Go out and make this public and your gone. I rather go with guys who want to be there. These guys held the program hostage. That loser mentality is against everything that MN preaches. The interior lineman need to reset the line of scrimmage. They do....constantly going backwards.

LB

I always talk about roster management....This position has been handled terribly. I know everyone wants to blame Randy. He is the easy target. This has been a problem for a while now. Coach MarvE was fired because of his recruiting and coaching. FSU has missed at this position for over a decade now. The only way to fix this is recruiting, recruiting and more recruiting and take BODIES. FSU needs to really re-evaluate the way they recruit this position. DJ Lundy is a major liability in pass coverage. I see enough of Nicholson that he will be fine in the next two years. Needs to hit the weight room. He gets into position to make plays but gets physically whipped. On BC td pass...Nichelson made the right read, he just could not get out there in time to make the play. Nichelson shows instincts. He reminds me of Dan Morgan. Former running back...struggled at times as a freshman and ended up very good. Crier played....he needs to get some more reps.

DB

Kevin Knowles got a tackle for loss early on. You see AZ Thomas running around and making plays. I like Quindarrius Jones. I think he will still be very good. This unit is still pretty good. Shyheim Brown....There was a reason he was a 3 star who did not get much attention outside of FSU. He is really struggling. FSU really needs some guys to step up at safety. I think there are players here but some work needs to be done.

Final Thoughts: When FSU stepped on the field and the clock was not working that should have been a sign. This team never seem to show up. They sure as heck did not show up in time. When MN was hired I questioned it. Now, I am 100 percent behind MN. He took a program that was a mess and turned them into a 13-0 team. Now they were screwed for their excellent season but that should have zero impact on this team. That being said this team looks broken right now. It is still a long season. FSU needs to regroup. Coaching is great...but this team is not talented....And it is nowhere as talented as we were led to believe. Realize that Mike Norvell offered Thomas Costelanos. Now they passed but where is this team with that kid at QB. They sure as hell are not 0-2. He is Russell Wilson all over again. He is on a sub .500 team but he alone will help them be a bowl team. I don't know where this team is heading but it is time for the fans and boosters to get behind this team. They earned that respect last year with what they produced. I will say this....Recruiting has become that much more important. FSU really needs to restock this roster. One last thing...Guys like Louis Riddick kept bringing up the talent FSU has. I love guys like him and Mike Tannebaum who were bust as football personal guys judging what I can see with my own eyes...THIS TEAM IS NOT TALENTED.

Who’s the better ball coach and who would u rather have ?

I really like the translation of this film’s title in other languages. It’s “A stranger in the nest”.

Tonight was exactly that. I’ve never seen worse output from good players. It was just so off.

The OL and DL were MIA. Linebackers? Do we have any besides Lundy? Do they know how to play the position?

Was something wrong with the ball that our receivers were allergic to?

Honestly this was hot garbage. I haven’t seen anything this bad since WT’s opener.

I’ll need to rewatch this game, but it was pretty bad.

It’s not all on DJU. It was everyone.

My impression is bring on the sports psychologist. There are some mental issues. It’s two games with the “ah, mmmm, duh” mentality.

All in all, a strange weekend in sports. Many top seeds went down in the US Open.

I feel like I’m living in an alternate reality.

This was not FSU football, although one or two had some good moments. Not many though.

Osceola intern Justin Hood catches up with FSU left-hander Parker Messick, who has delivered an impressive few months at Double-A Akron in Cleveland's minor league system:

Mike Norvell is joined by Jeff Culhane to begin Monday night's show, Inside Seminole Football:

Norvell: The things that we see in practices have to show up on game day

Quarterback is far from the only problem on the FSU offense right now. And yet, it's undeniable that FSU hasn't gotten what it wanted from DJ Uiagalelei as a bridge QB.

Is this bye week the right time to make a move to the possible future in Brock Glenn?

There's no single reason why the Florida State football team has fallen off so hard this season. From the Seminoles' impressive transfer portal hit rate finally dropping to failing to win a number of elite high-school recruitments, there's plenty of blame to go around.

I examined three reasons why FSU has gone from 19 straight wins to three straight losses and an 0-2 start this season.

All of the places that were my temporary homes during my school years are no longer available, as in, all have been knocked down:

One year at Smith Hall
A year at the old ATO house, across Tennessee Street from the Business school
A year at Cash Hall, while the ATO house was being rebuilt after a fire
Back to the ATO house for my last year

FSU sports information:

The No. 18 Florida State volleyball team (7-2) fell to the No. 16 Florida Gators (7-2) in five sets (23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-25, 6-15) on Tuesday night in Gainesville.

The level of volleyball was high early on in set one as the two teams traded points, but FSU was able to build a slight lead and took a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. The Gators closed the gap to tie the set at 18. The teams then traded the next 10 points consecutively, but with the set tied at 23, Florida scored the final two points to take the set.

The Seminoles overcame a plethora of service errors in the second set to tie up the match. The two teams traded points once again for a large part of the set, but this time it was FSU who rallied late. With the set tied at 20, a kill from Taylor Head and an attack error by the Gators gave the Noles some separation at 22-20. The Gators cut the lead to one, but FSU scored the final three points to take the set.

It was a set of runs in set three as the Noles used a 6-2 run to jump out to a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. The Gators stormed back on a 10-3 run to take a 20-18 lead, but the Seminoles used a strong block to use a huge 7-1 rally to take the set 25-21.

The Gators rallied back and dominated set four from start to finish to send the match into a fifth set and carried that momentum into the fifth set and ran away with the set 15-6.

Khori Louis continued her terrific play with a career-high 18 kills while hitting .630. Koenig added 13 kills while Head had 10 kills.

FSU will be back in action on Saturday as they head to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. First serve is set for 3 p.m. and can be seen live on SECN+.

I would really like to know what the percentage is of each team who goes for it on 4th down. Last night Texas State was up 21-7. They were starting to take control of their game vs. Arizona State. They give up a touchdown and now are up 21-14 with about 3 minutes left in the half. They have a 4th and six from ASU 40. Instead of punting after ASU scored on their last drive their coach goes for it. Less than a minute later ASU scores and makes it 21-21. WHY.....WHY.....WHY....Not just punt it. You are doing well. Maybe just maybe you get another stop and get the ball back but going into the half with the lead and not tied at 21 when you were up five minutes earlier by two scores means something.

The Dolphins game....Dolphins HC who I actually really like and think is a very good play caller. Bills are up 17-7. You are still in the game. NO....Gotta go for it on 4th down from the Bills 40. They get the stop and the Bills score to go up 24-7 and basically the game is over. These coaches treat 4th down now like it is just another call. I get it...Play the percentages but some teams are just not good at converting 4th down. Punt the gosh damn ball and live another down. These caoches basically take away chances at winning games. I am against the 4th down calls in the 1st and early 2nd quarters.

This team is not good

IMO, the guy should have been gone after that loss.. Thats the post..

FSU sports information:

The Florida State women’s tennis team has four student-athletes traveling to Cary, N.C., for the ITA All-American Championships beginning this Saturday.
Juniors Millie Bissett, Kristyna Lavickova, Tina Li, and senior Maria Juliana Parra Romero have been selected to compete this weekend. All four will compete in singles, while the 34th-ranked duo of Bissett and Parra Romero will also be competing in doubles.
Lavickova enters this weekend as the 98th-ranked singles player in the nation. Parra Romero and Bissett are also ranked in singles with Parra Romero ranked No. 113 and Bissett No. 120 in the ITA rankings.
Bissett accumulated 30 wins last spring and was named All-ACC in doubles with Vic Allen. Lavickova secured 14 wins in the spring of 2024, which included a nine-match win streak.
Parra Romero and Li are in their first season with the Seminoles. Parra Romero spent her first three years at Liberty where she collected 73 wins and earned first-team All-Conference USA recognition in 2024. Li totaled 33 wins in her two seasons with BYU and earned All-WCC Honors in doubles in 2023.
The ITA All-American Championships begin Sept. 21 and run through Sept. 29.

FSU has 85 players on scholarship at this time. The limit is going to go up to 105 in the spring. They have 13 players committed in the 2025 class

They will lose:
1-Ja'Khi Douglas-WR
2-Kentron Poitier-WR
3-DJ Uiagaleli-QB
4-Deuce Spann-WR
5-Lawrance Toafili-RB
6-Malik Benson-WR-
7-Sione Lolohea-DL
8-Cam Riley-LB
9-Darion Williamson-WR
10-Davonte Brown-DB
11-Roydell Williams
12-Alex Mastromanno-P
13-Robert Scott-OT
14-Maurice Smith-C
15-Jeremiah Byers-OL
16-Jacob Rizy-C
17-Richie Leonard-OG
18-Keiondre Jones-OL
19-Darius Washington-OL
20-Kyle Morlock-TE
21-Ryan Fitzgerald-K
22-Kevin Knowles-DB
23-DJ Lundy-LB

FSU loses 23 players who are graduating. Now there are other players who could or most likely will enter the NFL Draft.....

24-Shyheim Brown-DB-RJR
25-Joshua Farmer-DL-RJR
26-Darrell Jackson-DL-RJR
27-Marvin Jones Jr-DE-JR
28-AZ Thomas-DB-JR
29-Pat Payton-DE-RJR
30-Jaylin Lucas-RB-JR
31-Fentrell Cypress-DB-RJR
32-TJ Ferguson-OL

Potential Transfer Players
33-Brock Glenn -QB (If Kromenhoek or a transfer QB is needed does he leave?)
34-Shawn Murphy-LB (He needs to play better then what we saw in the spring game)
35-Sam Singleton-RB (Does he get passed over?)
36-Jaden Jones-DE (Came in injured/has not played a ton of college football, not mentioned this year)
37-Jackson West-TE-(Needs to stay healthy and make a move)
38-Jaylen Early-OT (Needs to get playing time in 2024 and be a true option in 2025)
39-Byron Turner-DE (RJR and these ships are valuable. He has not played much)
40-Julian Armella-OL (Needs to get playing time in 2024 and be a true option in 2025)
41-Bryson Estes OL (Must start in 2025 or he moves on imho)
42-Brian Courtney-TE- (Buried on depth chart)
43-Jerrale Powers-TE (Never mentioned and was passed up by Landen Thomas)

FSU could have as many 40-plus players move on. With only 13 players committed that would leave potentially 27 more openings after the season to get to 85. They could need more if the number moves to 105. Do you keep guys now who may not play and are on the roster? This is a question that will need to be answered. FSU can't go into the portal to try and get to 105 if they have 40-50 openings after the season.

OPTIONS IN RECRUITING

1. RB Byron Louis - American Heritage Plantation - This recruitment has leaned FSU during the entire recruiting process. If there is a sure thing in recruiting this is as close to one as you will get. I am leaning towards the Seminoles. FSU needs to get him in the boat sooner rather than later.

2. RB Ousmane Kromah - Lee County - I have never really been convinced that he would be a Seminole. He is making a decision before Louis. Auburn and Georgia are both teams that FSU has to beat out for Kromah. It just seems like these types of kids go elsewhere. FSU has gotten him on campus a few times. FSU needs some momentum in recruiting and this kid would give it to them.

3. OL Daniel Pierre Louis - Seminole Ridge - FSU went from potentially landing Ziyare Addison and Josh Petty along with Peyton Joseph. Pierre is an under-the-radar prospect who right now is on FSU's radar. Do they save this spot for the portal? As we stated that 105 limit is going to force you to take more players like this come NSD.

4. OL Sean Poret (Riverwood 6-5, 270) - FSU needs tackles and Poret is the best on their board. He is committed to USF. The Seminoles need tackles. Losing Petty was huge.

5. DL Jalen Wiggins (Tallahassee Rickards, 6-4, 255) - I still feel FSU will land Wiggins. The local star is committed to UF but this one is unstable as far as commitments go. Wiggins is someone FSU can recruit throughout the process and see how the season goes for UF.

6. WR Joshua Moore (West Broward, 6-4, 200) - From what I was told, Moore is still keeping his options open. I feel that he is someone FSU must stay on as CJ Wiley, while committed, is still talking to other programs. Moore is not to the level of CJ but is a very good insurance policy just in case you have to break the glass.

7. LB TJ Alford - Vero Beach, 6-2, 210 - Alford is committed to Ohio State. I still feel FSU has a legit shot at flipping him. He is a player at a position of need.

8 LB Ty Jackson - Seminole Ridge, 6-2, 200 - This will go down as one of the weirdest recruitments in modern history. He does not take visits. He does not go to camps. He did not go to any combines this spring. Jackson is not easy to get a hold of. He has kept his recruitment in the dark.

9. LB Tavion Wallace - Wayne County, 6-2, 215 - He committed to an Arkansas program that is going to end up hiring a new coach come week 4-5. Will he stay committed to the Hogs?

10. CB Onis Konanbanny - Heathwood - 6-1, 190 - This is another two-team battle - Tennessee vs. FSU. Onis is a four-star so the value of his NIL should not be big. He is an underrated prospect, one who should probably be ranked higher.

11. DB Ladarian Clardy - Pensacola Escambia, 5-11, 175 - Clardy is one of the highest-rated recruits left on FSU board. Turn on his film and this kid is a playmaker. Look for Clardy to make an impact early in his college career. One of the better athletes you will watch on film.