Is Florida State’s season already over after Georgia Tech loss?

What does Florida State football have to play for after a bad Week 1 loss?

Florida State football’s Week 1 home loss to Georgia Tech football is about as bad as it gets.

Even though the Florida State Seminoles weren’t ranked for their ACC home opener vs. the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, everybody and their brother thought Mike Norvell would be 1-0 after his first game as head coach. Instead, his team got worked by Geoff Collins’, as the Seminoles embarrassed themselves in a brutal 16-13 loss to arguably the worst team in the ACC.

If Saturday wasn’t rock bottom for Florida State football, then what is it?

From leading the Memphis Tigers to an AAC Championship and a New Year’s Six berth, to falling at home a rebuilding Georgia Tech team is quite the fall from grace for Norvell. It was so bad that many Florida State fans were clamoring for him to be fired after one game. The in-state rival Miami Hurricanes could not have been happier at the Seminoles’ awful start.

While we can safely cross Florida State off the list of College Football Playoff contenders at this time, let’s be real, the Seminoles weren’t getting in this year anyway, not even without four FCS conferences playing ball this fall. However, Saturday can be seen as a moment of honest confrontation for Norvell and the Florida State program, to never be embarrassed like that again.

Before the global pandemic severely altered everyone’s lives, Florida State had the feel of a 7-5 team, maybe even an 8-4 team if everything went right for them in Norvell’s first year in Tallahassee. They were even a dark horse to get to Charlotte this year anyway. If any team out of the ACC Atlantic was going to stun Clemson, it was the Louisville Cardinals and not Florida State.

So with 10 games left, including nine in ACC play, it’s all about Norvell building positive momentum heading into 2021 for the Florida State program. Wins really are not that important this year. It’s about setting the tone and eradicating the unnecessary crap that has plagued Florida State football since 2015. Old habits die hard, but this Todd Graham disciple did win big at Memphis.

Of course, he inherited a program that was in great shape after Justin Fuente left the Tigers for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Now in his fifth year in Blacksburg, Fuente’s Hokies are one of four teams with a decent shot of losing to Clemson in the ACC title bout in Charlotte. Getting Florida State to at least that level is why Norvell was hired. Memphis is not Florida State historically.

As for what to look forward to in this rebuilding season for Florida State, they have three incredible players in defensive back Asante Samuel Jr., wide receiver Tamorrion Terry and defensive lineman Marvin Wilson. All three are drafted eligible after this season, as they’ll be valued commodities at the NFL level. But what Norvell really needs to do is get this Florida State offense to hum.

Though we understand that starting quarterback James Blackman is learning a new offense just about as frequently as Baker Mayfield has to with the Cleveland Browns, he’s too seasoned to be this sloppy in the passing game. Norvell will get Terry and the receivers going because that’s his position group and that’s what he’s best at, but Blackman has to play better at quarterback.

While it is a major check to the ego, Norvell and his team must look at themselves in the mirror and realize they are no better than 2019 Georgia Tech. There is a reason why Collins will get things right on The Flats in Atlanta. It was an arduous task to fix that antiquated triple-option program Paul Johnson ran into the ground, but Collins and the Yellow Jackets are on the rise in 2020.

As soon as Norvell’s team realizes it’s about the work, then Florida State will be worth watching.

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