Frustration in Tallahassee?

The Seminoles' Struggles; What Went Wrong?

 

       FSU entered the season as a top ten team, and now they will be fighting to finish tenth, at best. They started out strong, taking down conference foe, Clemson. After Clemson, though, the flaws started to make their presence known.

 

        The Noles struggled against South Florida, but many thought that was a trap game and dismissed it as a fluke. The very next week they blew a 16 point lead and lost 17-16 to NC State. The frustration in Tallahassee after that game was at an all time high, since Bowden was forced out. Many fans called out Fisher, saying he needed an offensive coordinator. Fisher quickly fired back with, "it was a lack of focus and execution".  Then came Boston College, a game that looked like FSU had pulled itself back together and was ready for the rest of the season. They had their focus back. They looked confident on offense, but was that because of who they were playing?

 

      Florida State then traveled to Miami, where they struggled, again. The whispers started up again. The frustration was mounting, again. Was this the true identity of the team? Were their flaws just masked by their inferior opponents? Surely not, because this was the team that was destined to make a title run in 2012, right?

 

      Then came along Duke. Well, FSU did what they always do to Duke. A 48-7 thumping that seemed to calm fans down a bit. It's funny how a team can struggle one week and get all kinds of criticism, but then follow it up with a blow-out win over a team that they are supposed to beat and suddenly the criticism stops.

 

      Following the Duke win, FSU had a BYE week before playing at Virginia Tech on a Thursday night. The Seminoles should be focused, right? They've had almost two weeks to prepare for this game. The game should be perfect, right? There should be no signs of panic or distress, right? Well, it didn't help that is was a Thursday night game. FSU struggles on Thursday night games, no matter who they play. But this should've been different.....this team had plenty of time to prepare. The Noles escaped with a win. They scored on a last minute touchdown which gave them the edge. After this game, the whispers were no longer whispers. It was almost a full on riot. Some fans were calling for Fisher's job, while others were screaming for the hire of an offensive coordinator. Jimbo Fisher looked into the cameras and members of the media.......and simply said the media was being a little too hard on him. "We came into Blacksburg and got a win, that's something we should be very proud of". Really? We as Nole fans should be proud that our team looked horrible on national television against a team that had a losing record? Okay Coach Fisher, I will take that into consideration later in the season.......perhaps maybe when you make remarks on how you think the BCS isn't giving your team enough credit.

 

       Within two weeks of Fisher making remarks about the BCS, his team had to face Florida in Tallahassee. This was Florida State's chance to gain the respect from the haters in the media and the rest of the college football world. This was Jimbo Fisher's chance to silence his critics. This was the big stage that many fans were waiting for all season long. How would FSU respond? How would Fisher prepare his team?

 

       It was 13-3 at halftime. The Noles couldn't move the ball consistently. The defense had been on the field for more than a quarter in the first half. What more could FSU do wrong? Then the third quarter started, and FSU showed signs of life......or did they? Sure, they scored 20 straight points to take the lead, 20-13. But was that because Florida State turned the corner, or because Florida made some mistakes? From that point on, it became clear that FSU could only move the ball if Florida made mistakes. The final score was 37-26, thanks to a last second run by Manuel in which the Gators let him score. Say what you want about the game, but this was Florida State's game to lose and they found a way to lose it. Florida State turned the ball over FIVE times, but that should come with little surprise..... Florida State has fumbled 12+ times in a 4 game stretch. Their offense has turned the ball over almost 3 times a game this season. So I ask you, with all this talent at Florida State, who do we hold responsible for what is happening on the field? Is it the players? Maybe to an extent.....but in the end it has to be coaching. How the players perform on the field reflects the coaching they have received. There is a very real problem at Florida State. If the players aren't focused for a game, that's coaching. If the game plan doesn't work, that's coaching. If the talented players aren't performing to their potential, that's coaching.

 

      I have no doubt that Jimbo Fisher can run an offense.......as an offensive coordinator. But can he be the head coach too? Even Nick Saban, who prides himself as a defensive minded coach, has a defensive coordinator. Maybe it's not just the head coach responsibilities getting in the way of Fisher. Maybe there is something more that we don't know about. We can't speculate on what we don't know.....we have to go by what we know. And as of right now, we know that this Florida State team had all the talent in the country, and somehow, Fisher managed to lead his team to a 10-2 record. In a season in which the ACC is playing its worst football ever, Fisher managed to lose to a mediocre NC State team. Believe me..... If the Seminoles struggle against a 6-6 Georgia Tech team in the ACC Title game, Fisher had better start packing his bags.

 

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