Thoughts From the Morning After: FSU 42 Louisville 31

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Oct 30, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston (5) walks off the field after defeating the Louisville Cardinals 42-31 at Papa John

Last night it was FSU 42 Louisville 31, here are ChopChat Editor Patrik Nohe’s thoughts from the morning after.

If Florida State wasn’t the most reviled school in college football the narrative around this 2014 team would be a lot different.

Nobody would be using words like unimpressive. It wouldn’t be a race to point out FSU’s flaws. It would be a story about a team that is struggling to find itself — a team that hasn’t turned in the kind of performance it’s capable of all year — but one that still had enough talent and experience on its off days to fight for win after win anyway.

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FSU is literally winning in spite of itself at times right now.

That’s frustrating, but it’s also a testament to how much depth and talent is on this team too.

Last night FSU essentially spotted Louisville 21 points — the Seminoles went down 21-0 following Jameis Winston’s second interception — then went on a 42-10 run and won by 11 points.

And keep in mind Louisville had the top-ranked defense in the nation.

Before the game that’s all anyone could talk about, Louisville had the kind of defense that could make Florida State pay. It looked that way for most of the first half too. Then FSU exploded for 380 second half yards and hung 35 second half points– more than Louisville was giving up on average in a whole game.

This isn’t even the first time FSU has done this. FSU fell down 24-7 — just as it was early in the second half on Thursday — against NC State in Raleigh last month. The Seminoles won that game by 15.

FSU has been down by 17 on the road twice this season and came back to win both games by double digit margins.

That’s absurd. FSU has been down by 17 on the road twice this season and came back to win both games by double digit margins. Counting the national championship game when FSU trailed by 18 at one point, that’s three times FSU has come back from at least 17 down to win a game in just the last calendar year.

No, this team isn’t firing on all cylinders yet. But it’s battle-tested. It’s played tough games against ranked opponents (Clemson, Notre Dame, Louisville) and slugged it out and come away with tough victories. This team doesn’t back down. It’s never out of games. It knows how to win.

If this team were from the SEC that’s all you would hear about.

But it’s not. It’s Florida State.

So don’t expect to hear about any of that– at least not from the national media.

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