Does anyone know if “irony” is a component of the English 101 curriculum at Florida State University?
If it is, it is a safe bet that the FSU student-athletes — more specifically the football-playing ones — would ace that portion of the exam, especially after what has happened to the Seminoles in the past 365 days.
A year ago, FSU was still smarting from being left out of the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles and their passionate fan base had every right to be enraged as the committee chose to put in Alabama over the undefeated champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The argument was that FSU wasn’t the same team without senior quarterback and leader Jordan Travis, whose season ended due to a leg injury. The powers-to-be opted to put in Alabama after it upset two-time defending national champion Georgia in the SEC Championship over FSU.
As expected, FSU was none too happy — and rightfully so I might add — and head coach Mike Norvell expressed his displeasure by saying, “I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today…”
That controversial snub was the last straw for FSU.
In the aftermath, the university became the first school to legally challenge the Grant of Rights of an athletic conference. The FSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to file suit against the Atlantic Coast Conference, intending to make it easier for them to bolt the ACC.
In the lawsuit, FSU took some shots at incoming members — in particular, Southern Methodist University.
“The ACC also tapped SMU, which has never been a member of a Power Five (soon to be Power Four) Conference and which the Big 12 had been passing on for years.
“Simply stated, rather than improve its football media profile, the ACC consciously chose to diminish it, along with undermining the ACC’s ‘strength of schedule’ potential.”
A year later, SMU went 8-0 in ACC play before losing in the title game to Clemson, and then earned the No. 11 seed in the new 12-team expanded playoffs, taking the final spot over Alabama.
FSU meanwhile went 2-10 and 1-7 in the ACC and lost 42-16 to SMU as the Seminoles suffered their worst season in modern history.
The irony of it all.
FSU’s staggering fall from grace began after that playoff snub.
The news of the lawsuit and not wanting to pay the $572 million buyout to leave early turned the public against them. No one likes greedy whiners — and that was the perception, rightfully or wrongfully. That was followed with an embarrassing 63-3 blowout loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl in which multiple Seminoles opted out of the game.
Yet, despite all the negativity from the suit and 10 players selected in the NFL Draft, FSU was still expected to be good in 2024. There was supposed to be a drop-off and the Seminoles probably wouldn’t make the 12-team playoff, but they were supposed to be competitive.
FSU reportedly spent an estimated $12 million on NIL deals this offseason, which helped them poach several players out of the portal. Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and multiple players from Alabama — apparently, there was a buy one get one offer on Tide players // transferred to Tallahassee.
Yet, all that money didn’t buy impact players or even starters.
Uiagalelei was a massive disappointment, throwing for barely 1,000 yards and having more interceptions than touchdowns before an injury ended his season.
Whether it was lack of playing time, health, or simply not being good enough, the Alabama players did not pay off. Linebacker Shawn Murphy had 13 tackles in four games, wide receiver Malik Benson had 311 yards and one touchdown, and running back Roydell Williams had 53 yards in four games.
The best transfer addition was Georgia defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. who had four sacks in 11 games. This week he jumped back into the portal.
Utilizing NIL money to purchase the services of players from the team that took your spot in the playoffs, for them to only be awful is ironic.
FSU started this season 1-8, which was the worst nine-game start by an AP Preseason Top 10 team in college football history. The Seminoles lost 10 of 11 games by 23 points or more, had 10 consecutive games scoring 21 points or fewer, which is the longest streak for the program since the early 1970s, and lost double-digit games for only the third time in history and the first since the 1970s.
A slew of ineptitude records predating the arrival of the late and legendary Bobby Bowden who made FSU into a national powerhouse.
Then there was the firing of offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller after a 49-point loss to Notre Dame — a game in which they were 26-point underdog — the largest role in 50 years.
FSU finished in 17th place in the revamped ACC, spent more NIL money than anyone else, and had to watch SMU make the playoff.
That’s irony, isn’t it?
FSU also lost to Duke for the first time in program history and to both in-state rivals Miami and Florida, the latter ended with Norvell grabbing a Gators flag out of a player’s hand who tried to plant it at midfield at Doak Campbell Stadium. — the same location where FSU’s mascot throws the flaming spear into the ground.
Irony yet again.
There were plenty of massive disappointments this season.
Utah was a trendy national title pick or at least a playoff pick, but the Utes suffered its first losing season since 2013. With 20 starters returning, Oklahoma State looked primed to win the revamped Big 12. Instead, Mike Gundy’s team went 3-9.
Neither one of those programs has ever been on the same level that FSU has been since the 1980s. The Seminoles may not be a blue blood but they are that next tier.
Can Norvell — who was given a $10 million extension through 2031 — turn things around?
It doesn’t look promising.
The Seminoles lost half a dozen commitments before National Signing Day, including five-star offensive lineman Solomon Thomas who flipped to LSU and four-star quarterback Tramell Jones who flipped to Florida.
The signing class did not feature a single five-star and not a single high school prospect in 247Sports Top 15 in the state of Florida. Missouri, Oregon, and Alabama signed two each, with Texas inking three.
FSU could go hit the portal hard again and hope they strike gold this time around like they did in 2022-23 cycles when they brought in wide receivers Johnny Wilson (Arizona State) and Keon Coleman (Michigan State), edge rusher Jared Verse (Albany), and defensive tackle Braden Fiske (Western Michigan).
But those players ended up pairing well with the veteran leadership and play of quarterback Travis. After years of mediocre and inconsistent performances at Louisville and FSU, he broke through and played like an elite college quarterback.
The likelihood of that happening again is not good.
But if it did, wouldn’t that be ironic?
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3 & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.