Despite it being early in the college football season with most teams having played just one game, Florida State’s start couldn’t have been worse. The Noles, ranked No. 10 at the beginning of the season, are now 0-2 after losing to two unranked opponents.
The team has faced challenges despite a significant investment in their defensive line this year, with nearly $2 million allocated to their starting front. This investment is part of an NIL team budget of around $12 million, as reported by a source familiar with FSU’s NIL strategy to The Athletic this week.
On Monday night, FSU suffered a 28-13 defeat at home to Boston College, with the Eagles dominating the game and outrushing FSU significantly, gaining 263 yards compared to FSU’s 21 yards.
In contrast, in 2023, the Noles had a successful run through the ACC, going 13-0 and winning the conference title, only to be excluded from the Playoff. Since then, however, things have taken a turn for the worse for FSU.
Georgia handily defeated a struggling Noles team, 63-3, which saw 20 players opting out of the Orange Bowl in 2023. Coach Mike Norvell heavily utilized the transfer portal, bringing in 17 players in an attempt to replace the 10 draft picks. While Norvell had previously found success with portal acquisitions, this year has yielded disappointing results.
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One of the prominent additions to the Seminoles this season was former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred after FSU missed out on landing Washington State transfer Cam Ward, who opted for Miami.
Uiagalelei hasn’t had a smooth start for FSU, with the highly-rated recruit throwing just one touchdown and completing 58% of his passes for an average of 6.7 yards per attempt. A team that averaged 35 points per game last season has scored only 34 points in their first two games.
Surprisingly, the defense has also struggled in both games, with Boston College producing 10 runs of at least 10 yards against FSU.
FSU currently ranks 124th in the country in run defense, allowing an average of 227 yards per game on the ground. They led the country in sacks in 2023 with 46, but have only managed three in two games this season. While the team had to replace top draft picks like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, the defensive line was expected to remain strong with additions like Darrell Jackson and Marvin Jones Jr.
FSU’s struggles extend to both offense and defense. They rank last among ACC teams in third-down defense, allowing conversions 56% of the time. Their third-down conversion rate on offense is also poor, along with a low red zone touchdown percentage.
Norvell’s team has this weekend off to address these issues before facing Memphis on Sept. 14.
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