I woke up this morning and it seems like a dream. I still can't wrap my head around 0-3. From 1980 till Bobby's last year which FSU went 6-6, the Seminoles were the envy of college football. 6-6 and a Bowl Win against West Virginia seemed like hitting rock bottom. FSU fans used to get upset with a loss to Miami. They would get upset with the random loss to Virginia when Warrick Dunn seemed to get into the end-zone but came up a yard short. That one loss which derailed many of seasons from FSU winning another national title would seem to ruin WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. Bobby steps down and in comes Jimbo Fisher. A fan base that was spoiled from the Bowden years thought FSU football was dead. The questions were will FSU EVER RISE Again. Many fans were upset and felt Bobby was forced out. Another group of fans while sad about Bobby retiring were happy to see a new era of FSU Football. Being a Cowboy fan it reminded me of when Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys and Tom Landry was let go. There was some fans who were bitter and felt Bobby and Tom should leave on their own terms. Tough decisions are never easy ones but usually are the right ones. What Jimbo did was truly remarkable. He came in and followed a legend and went 7-1 against Miami and Florida. In a short amount of time he took FSU which had hit what most of us felt was rock bottom and won a national title. FSU fans the following year saw a team make it the playoffs in year one of the event but lose to Oregon. Fans were outraged...Many felt Jimbo had lost it. Those were the expectations. What we saw next is Jimbo saw the future before anyone else. FSU had fallen behind in the race to the top. He won FSU last national title under the OLD RULES.....HE SAW THE FUTURE. College football was changing and FSU had stayed behind. After he left there was a mess left behind. Whose FAULT....Does it matter anymore? In a panic move without doing a national search FSU did what many programs have done, hired the wrong coach Willie Taggart. He was the anti-jimbo....He was nice to the media, he was nice to fans, he was nice to the recruits. Well he was not nice to your mental health as FSU program went right into the tank. Taggart got fired before his 3rd season even ended....
WHAT NEXT. I am not going to lie, I wanted James Franklin who I have known for 20 years. I was a big fan of PJ Fleck. I had spoken to Fleck earlier that year and told him Taggart was going to get fired and he told me Fish, if they offer I would take the job. I passed his number along to someone in FSU administration and mentioned our conversation. I had a great relationship with Mark Stoops. He wanted the job. While FSU rumors were his brother was getting the HC job at FSU.....It was Mark that FSU was targeting. What happened next.....?
Mike Norvell....He was hired as the head coach at FSU. I met Mike for the first time at the coaching convention in Nashville. I always remember that because it was in the Opryland hotel. My friend who knew Mike at Arizona State introduced me to him as he was about to be announced as the new head coach at Memphis. Mike was so young at the time and my thought was wow....Someone this age is going to be a head coach in college football. He was super nice and very polite. Quite the opposite of what most head coaches are like. I never really dealt with Mike after that as Memphis never recruited Florida. So when the time came that Mike Norvell became the head coach I had serious doubts about him being named. It was nothing personal as I had met him years earlier as mentioned. My biggest fear was his lack of contacts in the state of Florida for recruiting. I got into some heating discussions about it. My friend who introduced us calmed some of the fears by telling me how the transfer market and juco route would help Mike turn FSU around quickly. He convinced me that Mike was the right guy for the job. Little by little he won me over....And now I am a supporter of Coach Mike Norvell. Going 10-3 and following that up with 13-0 whipped away any of those fears. My biggest concern was with the current college football landscape now was MAINTAINING. I did some podcast and said that fans in college football better learn how to deal with 12-1, 11-2, 10-3 and a 5-7 type team the following year. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that was possible with FSU.
FSU now sits in that chair...0-3....Yup, that is still hard to believe. I see FSU fans upset and rightfully so. I see some wondering if Mike can turn it around AGAIN. We don't know. This is not college football back in 91-and 92 where wide-right was not just an annual loss to Miami but National Title dreams were CRUSHED. One loss did that. Now the playoffs allow you to lose a game and still potentially win it all. 0-3 though....it means every box you check off before the season is now gone...PLAYOFFS-NO, New Years day bowl-NO, ACC Title Game-No....Now we have to wonder if this team can recover, go 6-6 and make a bowl game. That is the hard part. Where does FSU go now? I do feel that 10-3 and 12-0 give Mike the chance to answer that bell again. He is a good coach....That I believe. He now will need to self-evaluate which I think he will after seasons end and make the right choices.....FSU will rise again.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS……
Scoring Offense: 118th
Rushing Offense: 128th
Passing Offense: 62nd
Total Offense: 116th
Yards per Play: 107th
Scoring Defense: 98th
Rushing Defense: 123rd
Passing Defense: 20th
Total Defense: 83rd
Yards per Play: 99th
Passing: DJ Uiagalelei: 40-69 58% 465 Yards – 1 TD / 1 INT
Rushing Leader: 15-48 3.2 (AVG) 1 TD
Receiving Leader: Jakhi Douglas 8 Receptions-121 Yards and 0 TD
They are not pretty!!!! The numbers don’t lie....THEY U-G-L-Y.
Around College football...
THAT SEAT IS HOT: Billy Napier better hire a real-estate agent as UF will be hiring a new head coach. Will it be today, tomorrow, next week? We really don't know but what we do know yesterday’s embarrassing loss at home to Texas A&M was IT.....Billy has only himself to blame. He hired 100 plus staffers, hired two offensive line coaches and he and his staff said we know how to do it...we will do it alone. Well a lot of people are about to lose jobs. BILLY IS TOAST. Three losing seasons in Gainesville is not pretty.
Who do they choose...You will hear Lane Kiffin from their fan base. You will even hear some say Urban Meyer. Why not Spurrier himself. My top three: Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri Head Coach). The Tigers pulled one off yesterday but now sit at 3-0 in the SEC. He has proven to be a winner and Missouri is not an easy place to win. He has shown the ability to recruit 5 star talent (Luther Burden). Believe he has landed some five star defensive lineman. Eli is a no brainer but we have seen administrations before F--K it up. Next on the list should be James Franklin. I have seen some Gator fans say NO WAY....He is terrible. Can't win the BIG GAME. You know who they said that about in the past - Jimmy Johnson when he left Oklahoma State and went to Miami. Saban could not win the big one at Michigan State but did at LSU and Alabama. Georgia could never win the title but then came Kirby. Franklin He has won 11 games three times at Penn State. He won 10 games last year. He is 90-39 at Penn State. He beat Ohio State one time....Not many other programs in the Big 10 can claim that. Penn State does not have access to the same players of an Ohio State, a Florida, and an FSU. They don't have access to top five classes...Maybe 10 but mainly 15 in most years. College football now is about one thing and one thing only TALENT AQUISITION. LOOK AT MIAMI. Coaching matters....but TALENT IS MORE GLARING EVEN NOW. Franklin and Jajuan Seider would absolutely kill it recruiting at Florida. Gator fans want top five classes...HIRE FRANKLIN. It is not that hard.
Two other names - Jed Frisch -Washington Head coach / Jamey Chad well-Liberty. Frisch would have to pull a Willie Taggart and leave a program after one year and that is not a good look. Chad well comes from G5 which is where Billy came from. I feel he is the next great head coach in college football.
I AM IMPRESSED Curt Canetti - Indiana is 3-0. Yes, I said it-Indiana FOOTBALL IS 3-0. Curt Canetti is on pace to be named college football coach of the year. Indiana is one of the hardest schools in the country to recruit and win at. When his team was dismantling UCLA yesterday do you think the administration on the other side was thinking WHY THE F did we not hire this guy. I believe I mentioned this to Jerry one time and have others...HOW do administrators who get paid MILLIONS OF DOLLARS have such a hard time hiring GOOD COACHES. They are there....Most of the time RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. This guy can coach and win....If Ohio State finds a way to come up short this year....Curt is probably the guy. UF should consider taking a look at him. He is for real....
There is a saying or myth in football that having two quarterbacks means you really have NONE...LOL - Tell that to Texas. For those whose said Arch Manning is only rated a five star because of his last name. PLEASE....STOP EVALUATING TALENT. Arch is for real....9-12 for 223 yards and four touchdowns. FSU quarterback DJ...I can’t say his last name could not go 9 of 12 if he handed the ball to our receivers. Texas is going to play for and potentially win the National Title. They have two first round picks at QB....Texas is stacking talent like Kirby and Saban. REMEMBER WHAT I SAID...Talent Acquisition. Sark is not a great coach....Good-sure. Great -No....
THEY ARE BACK....Yes, Texas is back....So is Miami and Tennessee. The Vols and Hurricanes took forever to get there but they are for real. Miami put up over 730 yards of offense yesterday. Their QB is a front runner for the Heisman Trophy. ONCE AGAIN...TALENT AQUISITION. The game has changed....You better have talent. Coaching is great but ask the guy at Rice what matters more...COACHING or TALENT.
Rankings.....
1) Texas (3-0) vs. Louisiana Monroe – Texas is playing the best football in the country right now. They lose their starting QB Ewers and in comes Arch Manning and he lights up the score board. There may not be a team better suited to play a 12 team playoff than Texas.
2) Ole Miss (3-0) vs. Georgia Southern: Ole Miss is smoking everyone. I expect Georgia Southern to be next on the list of programs that gets lit up. You can’t argue with the success of Kiffin in 2024. He has a team ready to make a run at a playoff
.
3) UGA (3-0) BYE WEEK : UGA is a tough out, no question. That being said they have some questions on offense that need to be answered. I just feel that Texas and Ole Miss are playing better football right now.
4) Ohio State (2-0) vs. Marshall - Ohio State will be in the conversation for a National Title because of TALENT. They are loaded but can this team play tough man football in December and Jan. We are about to find out.
5) Miami-(3-0) UM has a very favorable schedule. They will be favored in every game the rest of the way. Can they avoid a slip up? If they do this will be the best Miami team since 2001-2002.
6) Tennessee-(3-0) at Oklahoma - Tennessee coach was fired at OU. The last person who had a grudge like this was Spurrier when other teams in the SEC passed on him as their coach. I think Josh H is about to open up a can of whoop ass next weekend. The Vols have a big road test in Norman...Will they pass it?
7-Alabama-(3-0) BYE-Alabama had a weird road game at Wisconsin. They went up there and basically showed Wisconsin fans and coaches how far they are away from being a real program.
8-Penn State-(2-0) vs. Kent State- the Lions have another cake walk next week. The real test comes when they face Ohio State. Win that game and they have a spot in the Big Ten title game.
9-Oregon-(3-0) BYE Week- Oregon finally got over the early season blues. They are going to get better each week.
10-USC-(2-0) at Michigan- Their real test comes next weekend in Michigan. Win that and the Trojans are for real. They will compete for a playoff spot and the Big Ten in year one.
11-Kansas State (3-0) at BYU- They are beatable but I do like Avery Johnson. They had a big win over an unbeaten Arizona team and they looked good doing it. Chris Kleiman is a good coach.
12-Missouri-(3-0) they should not have been ranked in the top ten RIGHT NOW. They did get a nice come from behind win against BC yesterday. I doubt they stay unbeaten very long.
13-Utah- (3-0) vs. Oklahoma State- This may be the best game of next week. Either Okie State or Utah will leave with a loss. I think these two programs have two of the best coaches in college football.
14-Oklahoma-(3-0) vs. Tennessee-I feel Tennessee is ahead of the talent acquisition part of the equation right now. OU is getting there. The Vols are rolling can OU stop them. Win and OU will shoot into the top ten. Lose and not look bad and OU will stay where they are.
15-Notre Dame (2-1)vs. Miami Ohio -ND had a bad loss last week but bounced back big against Purdue. This is a good team but you can't lose to NIU at home.
The best of the rest....
16-Oklahoma State-(3-0) vs. Utah
17-Nebraska (3-0) vs. Illinois
18-Louisville (3-0) vs. GT
19-LSU (2-1) vs. UCLA
20-UCF (3-0) BYE WEEK
21-Michigan (2-1) vs. USC
22-Washington State (3-0) San Jose State
23-Arizona State (3-0) vs. Texas Tech
24-Clemson (1-1) vs. NC State
25-Indiana (3-0) vs. Charlotte
WHAT NEXT. I am not going to lie, I wanted James Franklin who I have known for 20 years. I was a big fan of PJ Fleck. I had spoken to Fleck earlier that year and told him Taggart was going to get fired and he told me Fish, if they offer I would take the job. I passed his number along to someone in FSU administration and mentioned our conversation. I had a great relationship with Mark Stoops. He wanted the job. While FSU rumors were his brother was getting the HC job at FSU.....It was Mark that FSU was targeting. What happened next.....?
Mike Norvell....He was hired as the head coach at FSU. I met Mike for the first time at the coaching convention in Nashville. I always remember that because it was in the Opryland hotel. My friend who knew Mike at Arizona State introduced me to him as he was about to be announced as the new head coach at Memphis. Mike was so young at the time and my thought was wow....Someone this age is going to be a head coach in college football. He was super nice and very polite. Quite the opposite of what most head coaches are like. I never really dealt with Mike after that as Memphis never recruited Florida. So when the time came that Mike Norvell became the head coach I had serious doubts about him being named. It was nothing personal as I had met him years earlier as mentioned. My biggest fear was his lack of contacts in the state of Florida for recruiting. I got into some heating discussions about it. My friend who introduced us calmed some of the fears by telling me how the transfer market and juco route would help Mike turn FSU around quickly. He convinced me that Mike was the right guy for the job. Little by little he won me over....And now I am a supporter of Coach Mike Norvell. Going 10-3 and following that up with 13-0 whipped away any of those fears. My biggest concern was with the current college football landscape now was MAINTAINING. I did some podcast and said that fans in college football better learn how to deal with 12-1, 11-2, 10-3 and a 5-7 type team the following year. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that was possible with FSU.
FSU now sits in that chair...0-3....Yup, that is still hard to believe. I see FSU fans upset and rightfully so. I see some wondering if Mike can turn it around AGAIN. We don't know. This is not college football back in 91-and 92 where wide-right was not just an annual loss to Miami but National Title dreams were CRUSHED. One loss did that. Now the playoffs allow you to lose a game and still potentially win it all. 0-3 though....it means every box you check off before the season is now gone...PLAYOFFS-NO, New Years day bowl-NO, ACC Title Game-No....Now we have to wonder if this team can recover, go 6-6 and make a bowl game. That is the hard part. Where does FSU go now? I do feel that 10-3 and 12-0 give Mike the chance to answer that bell again. He is a good coach....That I believe. He now will need to self-evaluate which I think he will after seasons end and make the right choices.....FSU will rise again.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS……
Scoring Offense: 118th
Rushing Offense: 128th
Passing Offense: 62nd
Total Offense: 116th
Yards per Play: 107th
Scoring Defense: 98th
Rushing Defense: 123rd
Passing Defense: 20th
Total Defense: 83rd
Yards per Play: 99th
Passing: DJ Uiagalelei: 40-69 58% 465 Yards – 1 TD / 1 INT
Rushing Leader: 15-48 3.2 (AVG) 1 TD
Receiving Leader: Jakhi Douglas 8 Receptions-121 Yards and 0 TD
They are not pretty!!!! The numbers don’t lie....THEY U-G-L-Y.
Around College football...
THAT SEAT IS HOT: Billy Napier better hire a real-estate agent as UF will be hiring a new head coach. Will it be today, tomorrow, next week? We really don't know but what we do know yesterday’s embarrassing loss at home to Texas A&M was IT.....Billy has only himself to blame. He hired 100 plus staffers, hired two offensive line coaches and he and his staff said we know how to do it...we will do it alone. Well a lot of people are about to lose jobs. BILLY IS TOAST. Three losing seasons in Gainesville is not pretty.
Who do they choose...You will hear Lane Kiffin from their fan base. You will even hear some say Urban Meyer. Why not Spurrier himself. My top three: Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri Head Coach). The Tigers pulled one off yesterday but now sit at 3-0 in the SEC. He has proven to be a winner and Missouri is not an easy place to win. He has shown the ability to recruit 5 star talent (Luther Burden). Believe he has landed some five star defensive lineman. Eli is a no brainer but we have seen administrations before F--K it up. Next on the list should be James Franklin. I have seen some Gator fans say NO WAY....He is terrible. Can't win the BIG GAME. You know who they said that about in the past - Jimmy Johnson when he left Oklahoma State and went to Miami. Saban could not win the big one at Michigan State but did at LSU and Alabama. Georgia could never win the title but then came Kirby. Franklin He has won 11 games three times at Penn State. He won 10 games last year. He is 90-39 at Penn State. He beat Ohio State one time....Not many other programs in the Big 10 can claim that. Penn State does not have access to the same players of an Ohio State, a Florida, and an FSU. They don't have access to top five classes...Maybe 10 but mainly 15 in most years. College football now is about one thing and one thing only TALENT AQUISITION. LOOK AT MIAMI. Coaching matters....but TALENT IS MORE GLARING EVEN NOW. Franklin and Jajuan Seider would absolutely kill it recruiting at Florida. Gator fans want top five classes...HIRE FRANKLIN. It is not that hard.
Two other names - Jed Frisch -Washington Head coach / Jamey Chad well-Liberty. Frisch would have to pull a Willie Taggart and leave a program after one year and that is not a good look. Chad well comes from G5 which is where Billy came from. I feel he is the next great head coach in college football.
I AM IMPRESSED Curt Canetti - Indiana is 3-0. Yes, I said it-Indiana FOOTBALL IS 3-0. Curt Canetti is on pace to be named college football coach of the year. Indiana is one of the hardest schools in the country to recruit and win at. When his team was dismantling UCLA yesterday do you think the administration on the other side was thinking WHY THE F did we not hire this guy. I believe I mentioned this to Jerry one time and have others...HOW do administrators who get paid MILLIONS OF DOLLARS have such a hard time hiring GOOD COACHES. They are there....Most of the time RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. This guy can coach and win....If Ohio State finds a way to come up short this year....Curt is probably the guy. UF should consider taking a look at him. He is for real....
There is a saying or myth in football that having two quarterbacks means you really have NONE...LOL - Tell that to Texas. For those whose said Arch Manning is only rated a five star because of his last name. PLEASE....STOP EVALUATING TALENT. Arch is for real....9-12 for 223 yards and four touchdowns. FSU quarterback DJ...I can’t say his last name could not go 9 of 12 if he handed the ball to our receivers. Texas is going to play for and potentially win the National Title. They have two first round picks at QB....Texas is stacking talent like Kirby and Saban. REMEMBER WHAT I SAID...Talent Acquisition. Sark is not a great coach....Good-sure. Great -No....
THEY ARE BACK....Yes, Texas is back....So is Miami and Tennessee. The Vols and Hurricanes took forever to get there but they are for real. Miami put up over 730 yards of offense yesterday. Their QB is a front runner for the Heisman Trophy. ONCE AGAIN...TALENT AQUISITION. The game has changed....You better have talent. Coaching is great but ask the guy at Rice what matters more...COACHING or TALENT.
Rankings.....
1) Texas (3-0) vs. Louisiana Monroe – Texas is playing the best football in the country right now. They lose their starting QB Ewers and in comes Arch Manning and he lights up the score board. There may not be a team better suited to play a 12 team playoff than Texas.
2) Ole Miss (3-0) vs. Georgia Southern: Ole Miss is smoking everyone. I expect Georgia Southern to be next on the list of programs that gets lit up. You can’t argue with the success of Kiffin in 2024. He has a team ready to make a run at a playoff
.
3) UGA (3-0) BYE WEEK : UGA is a tough out, no question. That being said they have some questions on offense that need to be answered. I just feel that Texas and Ole Miss are playing better football right now.
4) Ohio State (2-0) vs. Marshall - Ohio State will be in the conversation for a National Title because of TALENT. They are loaded but can this team play tough man football in December and Jan. We are about to find out.
5) Miami-(3-0) UM has a very favorable schedule. They will be favored in every game the rest of the way. Can they avoid a slip up? If they do this will be the best Miami team since 2001-2002.
6) Tennessee-(3-0) at Oklahoma - Tennessee coach was fired at OU. The last person who had a grudge like this was Spurrier when other teams in the SEC passed on him as their coach. I think Josh H is about to open up a can of whoop ass next weekend. The Vols have a big road test in Norman...Will they pass it?
7-Alabama-(3-0) BYE-Alabama had a weird road game at Wisconsin. They went up there and basically showed Wisconsin fans and coaches how far they are away from being a real program.
8-Penn State-(2-0) vs. Kent State- the Lions have another cake walk next week. The real test comes when they face Ohio State. Win that game and they have a spot in the Big Ten title game.
9-Oregon-(3-0) BYE Week- Oregon finally got over the early season blues. They are going to get better each week.
10-USC-(2-0) at Michigan- Their real test comes next weekend in Michigan. Win that and the Trojans are for real. They will compete for a playoff spot and the Big Ten in year one.
11-Kansas State (3-0) at BYU- They are beatable but I do like Avery Johnson. They had a big win over an unbeaten Arizona team and they looked good doing it. Chris Kleiman is a good coach.
12-Missouri-(3-0) they should not have been ranked in the top ten RIGHT NOW. They did get a nice come from behind win against BC yesterday. I doubt they stay unbeaten very long.
13-Utah- (3-0) vs. Oklahoma State- This may be the best game of next week. Either Okie State or Utah will leave with a loss. I think these two programs have two of the best coaches in college football.
14-Oklahoma-(3-0) vs. Tennessee-I feel Tennessee is ahead of the talent acquisition part of the equation right now. OU is getting there. The Vols are rolling can OU stop them. Win and OU will shoot into the top ten. Lose and not look bad and OU will stay where they are.
15-Notre Dame (2-1)vs. Miami Ohio -ND had a bad loss last week but bounced back big against Purdue. This is a good team but you can't lose to NIU at home.
The best of the rest....
16-Oklahoma State-(3-0) vs. Utah
17-Nebraska (3-0) vs. Illinois
18-Louisville (3-0) vs. GT
19-LSU (2-1) vs. UCLA
20-UCF (3-0) BYE WEEK
21-Michigan (2-1) vs. USC
22-Washington State (3-0) San Jose State
23-Arizona State (3-0) vs. Texas Tech
24-Clemson (1-1) vs. NC State
25-Indiana (3-0) vs. Charlotte
