Where does one begin to describe the reality of Florida State football in 2024?
A total operational and cultural failure that has resulted in a 1-6 record before the end of October, without any redeeming sign of hope as we advance in Tallahassee.
The ultimate culmination of the season came this past Friday night in a game where the Seminoles lost to the Duke Blue Devils for the first time in program history.
Florida State lost a football game in which they scored a special teams touchdown and held the opposing offense to 180 yards of total offense and 3/17 on third down.
We've seen a trend for several weeks: the defense has turned things around. Players were flying all over the field with relentless effort and sound fundamentals. You got a winning performance and effort from that side of the ball once again.
That's great and all, except when you lack any quantifiable pulse on the offensive side of the ball. Sure, many fans and pundits in the sport will flock to bash the players' performance, but when every single position group on one side of the ball looks poor, the blame falls on the coaching staff.
The Seminoles went 2/14 on third down, turned the ball over four times, and gave up six sacks to a Duke defense that totaled five sacks vs Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, UConn, and Northwestern.
Florida State turned the ball over on three consecutive plays: an interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble, and an interception. They are the first team in FBS history to turn the ball over on three consecutive snaps.
It is just an incompetent operation. The Seminoles could have won this game by a score of 7-6 if they had just punted on first down to start every offensive possession.
The offensive line can't block a bag of wind, the receivers can't catch a cold, and people thought a quarterback change from DJ Uiagelelei was going to fix everything.
Brock Glenn regressed to the player we saw in spot starts last season; he's not a very talented quarterback. He will showcase flashes of his dual-threat ability and occasionally deliver an on-time and accurate ball, but is the ball going to be caught?
True freshman Luke Kromenhoek entered the game near the end of the first half after Brock Glenn's third turnover in three plays. He looked like a true freshman seeing his first collegiate action.
His pocket presence was poor, although with the offensive line's performance, does it even matter? However, Kromenhoek delivered two of the best passes by a Seminole since the 2023 season; both were dropped.
The first one showcased the arm talent of the young signal caller, who dropped the ball right in the bread basket for six, and Malik Benson just outright dropped it.
The second was another ball fitted into a tight window, and Hykeem Williams let the ball hit the ground because he was scared of the impending hit the field safety was about to lay on him. Catch the ball.
Florida State fans must feel sorry for Lawrance Toafili, the only consistent offensive player to display any sense of talent and effort on a snap-to-snap basis. Unfortunately for him, he will make two great plays and then be sidelined for a drive, which makes zero sense.
One of the lone bright sides of the offensive performance was seeing a semblance of a run game. The FSU backs totaled 23 carries for 86 yards, with the longest rush of the night being a 31-yard scamper on a fake punt by tight end Kyle Morlock.
True freshman RB Kam Davis flashed his ability, recording 63 yards at 4.5 yards per carry; that's a young piece you can build around, assuming he doesn't exit the program in the offseason.
Similarly to the weeks of Florida State football under Willie Taggart, this program feels, looks, and tells you it's at rock bottom.
At the end of the day, what do losing teams do? They lose. When a team shows you who they are, trust them because they know better than anyone.
We won't discuss the future of this coaching staff here, but anyone with common sense understands that overhauling this staff is pivotal if Mike Norvell is to remain the head coach of the Garnet and Gold.
The $65 million buyout looks to be unpayable by the university, but you have to think, a one-win season in Tallahassee is going to see heads roll; for all we know, that could start at the man captaining the ship.
Florida State travels to Miami next week for an ACC matchup with the rival Hurricanes at 7 PM ET on ESPN.