Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 OCT. 10, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN In the 13 seasons from 1987-99, Florida State set the NCAA record for most consecutive finishes in the As- sociated Press top four, highlighted by national titles in 1993 — despite losing 31-24 to No. 2 Notre Dame in November — and 1999. The Semi- noles also posted a remarkable 11-2 bowl record during that time, with all but one a major. In 2000, FSU finished "only" No. 5, but then the slippage began to really show from 2001-09 under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bowden. They never finished in the AP top 10 his last nine seasons, and were 7-6, 7-6, 9-4 and 7-6 his final four campaigns (2006-09) before he stepped down at age 80. Enter Jimbo Fisher, who in his third season in 2012 guided the Seminoles to their first ACC title in seven years (which had once been an automatic) en route to a 29-game winning streak. It was highlighted by the 2013 na- tional title (14-0), followed by a 13-0 start in 2014 with Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston at quarter- back, before losing to Oregon in the College Football Playoff. It became a top-five program again — yet here we are in October 2020 with the Seminoles 18-22 in their last 40 games, notably a 52-10 shel- lacking at Miami on Sept. 26. Even prior to that debacle versus the Hur- ricanes, FOX college football analyst Urban Meyer, a three-time national champion at Florida (2006 and 2008) and Ohio State (2014), prophesied immense hardships for first-year Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell because of the fracture within. It began with a 16-13 loss at home to Georgia Tech, which finished 3-9 last season and was projected for last place in 2020 in the 15-team ACC. It was the fourth straight year the Sem- inoles dropped their home opener. "The Florida State I remember, [it was] Bobby Bowden with all those first-round draft picks," Meyer said. "It would be unthinkable to not win 11 games. … [Norvell] is in quick- sand right now. I hope he gets him- self out, because if it keeps going in reverse, they won't win five games." If that rough debut was not enough, Norvell then tested positive for COVID-19, which shelved him against Miami. In the preseason, we described the Seminoles' current infrastructure as a "grease fire." It reared itself again when potential first-round defensive tackle Marvin Wilson called out Nor- vell on social media after the head coach told The Athletic that he had engaged in conversations with his new team about racial injustice. "Man this [poop emoji] did not happen, mane [sic]," Wilson tweeted. "We got a generated text that was sent to everybody. There was no one- on-one talk between us and coach. This is a lie and me and my team- mates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until fur- ther notice." After watching the first half of their game at Miami, the grease fire would appear to be three levels higher. Miami scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions while building a 38-3 halftime lead with 333 yards of total offense en route to a 52-10 victory. In that first half, FSU also yielded nine tackles for loss, including five sacks, and had eight penalties for 78 yards (finished with "only" 12 for 113). Right now, though, this Seminoles team appears to be as broken as the 2007 Irish unit that finished 3-9, al- though FSU's recruiting was much better, at least on paper. That brings us to … BEYOND RECRUITING DATA If one goes strictly by recruiting rankings, only Clemson has a more talented roster on the 2020 Fighting Irish regular-season slate. The last four Seminole classes, from 2017-20, were ranked No. 5, No. 10, No. 17 and No. 20, respectively, by Rivals. In comparison, Notre Dame's classes over that time were No. 13, No. 11, No. 14 and No. 22, but the discipline and steadiness with the Irish have been a huge difference. You can't win without talent … but you can lose with it frequently if the culture of the program is un- healthy. That's been the case the past several years. The Seminoles are on their third head coach in four years with Mike Norvell after Jimbo Fisher bolted and Willie Taggart (2018-19) was bought out for $18 million while producing a 9-12 ledger. Last year after FSU's 27-10 loss at home to Miami, ESPN/ABC col- lege football analyst Kirk Herbstreit ripped the entire operation for its showboating identity without having anything to back it up. "I hate the way they repre- sent themselves," Herbstreit said. "They're the most undisciplined team you're going to watch. And they're a terrible team. They need to focus more on execution and less on chirping. All they do is chirp." Following the 52-10 loss to Miami this year, Norvell also noted how the attitude between the ears probably is more concerning than physical talent. "The thing I'm as disappointed in as anything else is just some of the emotional responses that are not up to the standard of what it takes to play winning football," Norvell said. Part of discipline and culture is also reflected in the classroom. Over the past four years, including this spring, Florida State was the lowest- rated Power Five (65 schools) pro- gram in multi-year Academic Prog- ress Report with a 942 score. GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE Top STorylineS Head coach Mike Norvell has had a difficult debut at Florida State, opening 0-2 while dealing with player unrest and being sidelined for a game after testing positive for COVID-19. PHOTO BY DON JUAN MOORE/COURTESY ACC MEDIA