LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Has any Grade A college football program become chum faster than Florida State, the team the University of Louisville will play Saturday?
Only five years ago, the Seminoles strolled into Cardinal Stadium Hollywood-style.
They were surrounded by cameras from the Showtime Network, which produced a season-long series driven by the Florida State brand. There were five-star recruits every direction you looked.
FSU was ranked No. 2. Louisville was No. 10. The Seminoles were a slight favorite. ESPN’s College GameDay hunkered down in Louisville.
Lamar Jackson ran wild in a 63-20 U of L victory, and I’m not sure we heard from Florida State again. Jimbo Fisher bolted for Texas A&M after going 5-6 in 2017. Florida State has lost every ounce of mojo.
In 2021, the Seminoles are the last winless team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They took a three-touchdown noogie from Wake Forest last weekend.
I expect some people will nominate Nebraska, but the decline of the Cornhuskers started long ago. And Nebraska is not parked in the middle of elite recruiting real estate.
I see some of you waving Tennessee flags. I expected that. Tennessee has tumbled, but at their best, the Vols were not as powerful as FSU from 1987-2016, when the Seminoles won 10 or more games in 21 of 30 seasons.
Miami? Another reasonable call. The Hurricanes have more national titles and access to even better recruits than FSU. But Miami did not lose back-to-back games to Jacksonville State and Wake Forest — at least not yet.
Put me down for Florida State, where there are whispers that third-year coach Mike Norvell is in as much trouble as Willie Taggart was in early in his career.
Taggart got 21 games in Tallahassee and was bounced with a winning percentage of .429 after going 9-12.
Norvell has led the Seminoles for 12 games and has delivered a winning percentage of .250, winning three of a dozen. If FSU loses to the Cards on Saturday, it will be the Seminoles’ first 0-4 start since 1974.
That was pre-Bobby Bowden. That was Darrell Mudra, a coach FSU fired after he went 4-18 in only two seasons.
Everybody is piling on the Seminoles. As expected, Paul Finebaum, the voice of the SEC Network, went first.
“I swear, I feel like I’m watching the Willie Taggart movie, Part 2,” Finebaum said. “I didn’t think, and I don’t think anyone thought we would. Because Mike Norvell has a really good reputation. Taggart did too.
“I thought he was pretty close to getting this program back, but when you start off like this, there’s nowhere to go. You’re a laughingstock. You’re a joke. That doesn’t only affect you on the field. That affects you in recruiting.
“The Florida State Seminoles, one of the greatest brands in modern college football history, (have) lost at home to Jacksonville State and beaten soundly on the road to Wake Forest.
“Yes, you heard me. I’m not making something up to see if I can get a reaction out of you. There is no explanation, and that’s why Norvell’s lost all credibility. I don’t care what you were. I care what you are.”
Next up? Former Florida State quarterback Danny Kannell. Long a sharp critic of other programs, Kannell made his comments about FSU on the Cover 3 Podcast.
"It's disappointing to see the types of mistakes that showed up,” Kannell said. “Those were the things I was hoping to have corrected. The emphasis of them and all of the things we're trying to do to get that eliminated, for it not to apply is just disappointing.
“There are positives within the program. There are positives within the growth of individuals. It's just, in the moment, we've got to do a better job of applying that on game day.
“I'll go back and watch the film. I thought there were some positives that showed up in the heart, resiliency in certain situations, the attitude of guys. It wasn't everybody, and we've got to continue to coach and correct all. We're going to get it right.”
How bad are the Seminoles?
They’re last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing offense at 179.0 yards per game. Their quarterbacks, including former U of L quarterback Jordan Travis, have thrown seven interceptions and five touchdowns.
Against Wake Forest, FSU ran for 92 yards, while the Demon Deacons powered through 225 rushing yards. Wake Forest out-toughed Florida State.
Florida State is tied with Kentucky and West Virginia for the worst turnover margin in the nation, running a minus-two per game.
But, remember this: The Seminoles were a snap or two from beating No. 12 Notre Dame as well as a snap from beating Jacksonville State, as embarrassing as that sounds.
Win those two, and nobody is talking about whether Norvell is worse than Taggart or if Deion Sanders would be the answer to FSU’s considerable questions.
Louisville started Florida State on its slide to mediocrity five seasons ago. The Cards have their shot to push the Seminoles deeper into irrelevance Saturday in Tallahassee.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
