When you thought things couldn't get worse, FSU hit a new rock bottom. When it rains, it pours, they say. For the third time in school history and the second time in three years, FSU is 0-3. Last Saturday, FSU lost to Memphis in a humiliating fashion. Memphis was Mike Norvell's previous school, which he left to come and coach Florida State. To make matters even worse, FSU paid Memphis $1.3 million to play them. Embarrassing on all levels, the Florida State Seminoles have become the first team to be 0-3 this season. FSU even had a bye before this game, so they had almost two weeks to prepare for a team the head coach used to coach. Even the head coach for Memphis was Mike Norvell's assistant before he got the job. Florida State has become a laughing stock again, and they have no one else to blame but themselves.
What to do at Quarterback
The fans have been clamoring for a QB change since the season's first game ended. They'll have to keep waiting because DJ Uiagalelei is going nowhere. Reporters have questioned Norvell about the quarterback situation two weeks in a row on whether there will be a switch. Norvell has deflected the question two weeks in a row, and Uiagalelei has yet to be benched. The offense under DJ had another horrific performance against a below-average Memphis defense. The offense scored twelve points and only one touchdown. Uiagalelei finished with 201 yards passing and an interception while completing 53% of his passes. Uiagalelei had some nice throws, including a pass to Malik Benson that went 67 yards, but other than that, it was bleak.
DJ missed a lot of open passes and failed to find the open man many times. He also ended with negative sixteen yards rushing. Most of that came from sacks, but whenever he did run, he looked like his feet were stuck in the mud. Not all the blame can be thrown on DJ. The wide receivers aren't the best, and at many times, they struggled to get open or dropped the ball. The offensive line has also been disgusting this season. The line has constantly allowed pressure on passing plays, giving no time for the quarterback and being unable to provide any holes in the run game. The lack of offensive success will always go on the shoulders of the quarterback, but if you're this bad on offense, it's not one person's fault.
In their home stadium, the boo birds sang for the Noles. Chants from the student section cried, "We want Brock, We want Brock." Brock Glenn is the redshirt freshman backup quarterback for FSU. He started in two games last season and put in a total of 194 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and a completion percentage of 36%. Those are pretty awful numbers, but not as bad if you consider the circumstances they were under. He was thrown into both those games as an emergency quarterback and, in the last game of the season, played against Georgia, who played all of their starters while FSU's all opted out. Based on what we've seen out of him and what we've heard from his performance in practice, it's safe to say that Glenn starting wouldn't flip the team over and make them a playoff-caliber squad again. However, throwing him out there may be worth a shot to get a young guy's experience. Glenn is also a decent runner with some athletic upside that could spice up this offense, especially the run game. All in all, you really can't go wrong by just letting him play because the season is already lost.
The Worst Rushing Team in the Country
FSU rushed for thirty-seven yards against Memphis. This performance has put them at dead last in the country for rushing yards per game. Of the 132 teams that have played three games this season, FSU is dead last, averaging only 52 yards per game. The running game is terrible at all levels. There's no blocking, the running backs won't break tackles, and the quarterback can't rush the ball. The Florida State offensive line was considered one of the best groups in college football this year, and those expectations have fallen flat. The five starting linemen for Florida State have all started at least three years of college football, and most have started at FSU at least three years. FSU was down two tackles on Saturday. Darius Washington, arguably their best lineman, went down with an injury during warm-ups, and another tackle, Jeremiah Byers, hasn't played in two games. Regardless of the injuries, no one can get any push on the line of scrimmage. By the time the running back gets the ball, they're met in the backfield for a loss or stuffed for no gain.
Though I am critical of the offensive line, I should mention that it's not entirely their fault. There have been times when the line blocks well, and there is an open hole to run through. Whenever that happens, the running backs mess up. A running back has often taken the wrong hole or just fell down after first contact. There have been very few broken tackles by this group of backs, which can't happen for a team this caliber. On the first play of the game against Memphis, FSU had a surprisingly good run. Roydell Williams followed his blocks and took the ball eight yards. Then, on the next play, Williams had another big hole to run in, but he fumbled. From then on, FSU couldn't rush well for the rest of the game. This crappy running game is one of the main reasons DJ struggles so much. He needs a solid rushing attack to succeed as a quarterback. It also doesn't help that DJ hasn't run the ball well. While at Clemson, he had a season of over 500 rushing yards, but that's not going to be the case this season. DJ Uiagalelei has accumulated a total of -14 yards through three games here. A pitiful amount leads to fans and analysts suggesting that the 'Noles roll with one of their more mobile backups.
Is Mike Norvell on the Hot Seat?
After going 13-0 a season ago, winning multiple coach of the year awards, and signing a massive contract extension, people call for Norvell's job three games into the following season. It is an absolute nightmare situation. If you had told me this would happen back in July, I would have called you crazy. However, all of this begs the question of what's going on with FSU and if Mike Norvell is to blame. The answer, in short, is yes. This is Mike Norvell's team, and he's now been at the head of the ship for five years, so everything good and bad going is directly because of him. The next question is, can he fix this? I think he can. He was just in this situation three years ago and followed it by having two highly successful years, including a nineteen-game win streak. It's proven that he can coach at this level and succeed at Florida State. His work evaluating players in the transfer portal made those two teams so successful. Players like Jared Verse, Johnny Wilson, Keon Coleman, Braden Fiske, and Trey Benson were all transfers under Mike Norvell, and they excelled. This year, they dropped the ball in the portal, and the guys they brought in missed. They also missed out on a lot more guys than they used to.
Florida State was a transfer portal pioneer. After colleges saw the success of FSU's transfer portal talent, they followed their strategy. Now, every college is trying to recruit transfer portal players just as much as they are high school recruits. This makes it much harder for FSU to get transfer portal players. However, the big glaring issue with FSU is their lack of high school recruiting. Despite the success of FSU, they have still not put together a recruiting class that has cracked the top 10 in the country. They're lucky if they get in the top 15. This glaring issue is why the team is not playing well right now. They need to be better in high school recruiting because it's been proven that you cannot sustain a team by only getting yearly transfers. Sometimes, you don't get Jared Verse or Keon Coleman, and then you're left with guys who aren't very good. A coach is only as good as his players are.
Mike Norvell needs to recruit better. However, he'll have to make tough decisions to improve his recruiting. Norvell must let go of some assistant coaches who aren't pulling their weight in the recruiting cycle. It'll be challenging, but I know Mike Norvell wants to win and will do anything to improve. Norvell's whole philosophy is built around "response." If he can respond to being awful four years ago, I think he can do it again.
UP Next: California
Cal comes to Tallahassee this weekend in what will probably be another loss. Cal is undefeated and has already pulled off an upset by beating Auburn. FSU's hope is at an all-time low, and Norvell has already announced that DJ Uiagalelei will be the starting quarterback for this game. Looking at the depth chart for Cal, there has been absolutely zero change at any position. Due to this lack of change, I expect the same results from the first three games. Be prepared for the worst this weekend because the 'Noles are ready to give it to you.
Final Score: Memphis 20, Florida State 12
Bastable's Three Stars
1st Star: Ryan Fitzgerald (2/2 FGs)
2nd Star: Alex Mastromano (4 Punts 49.5 Yard Avg)
3rd Star: Juice Cryer (5 Tackles, 1 Int)
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