FSU Football: Will this team quit on Jimbo Fisher after Miami loss?
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football has never been (1-3) or lost to Miami under Jimbo Fisher and both are reality now.
FSU football has had an outstanding track record under Jimbo Fisher since he became head coach in 2010. The first years dealt with a lot of inconsistencies as Fisher looked to restock the cupboard with elite talent and coaches who could maximize said talent.
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It was a quick turnaround as FSU made the ACC Championship game and lost to Virginia Tech.
The 2017 version was thought to be the most talented roster in the Jimbo Fisher era, more talented than the 2013 team who’ll go down as arguably the greatest team of all time.
Yet, here we are with a (1-3) record after four games. Starting quarterback Deondre Francois was lost for the season and true freshman James Blackman took over that spot.
Familiar Territory
A lot of the things we’ve seen before and this season is eerily similar to the 2011 season when EJ Manuel was injured in the third game of the season against Oklahoma.
Florida State Seminoles Football
The ‘Noles lost that game and proceeded to lose the next two with redshirt freshman Clint Trickett under center. That season the (2-3) ‘Noles team traveled to Durham, NC, to take on the Duke Blue Devils and whip them 41-16.
That win propelled the ‘Noles to five straight wins before an inexplicable loss at home to Virginia. Ultimately, the ‘Noles beat Florida and Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl to finish (9-4) and No. 23 in the final polls.
The ‘Noles travel to Durham Saturday to take on the Duke Blue Devils where they opened as single digit betting favorites.
However, this game follows a last second loss to hated rival Miami, the first loss to Miami in the Fisher era.
There is uncertainty regarding coaches being at FSU next year. All of the team goals are no longer attainable and several players will head to the NFL next year.
Is that recipe ripe?
Now, let me be the first to say that this team has absolutely NOT laid down in any of the games they have lost this year. In fact, they could have done so after multiple consecutive turnovers against Alabama in the opener.
They fought back against NC State, Wake Forest and Miami after getting down late in their last outing.
The effort has been there, mostly the problems are lack of execution or poor play calling and tactics.
Duke is a team this team should roll, but we said the same thing against Wake Forest where the ‘Noles had to come from behind to win.
Can FSU football eliminate the clutter and finally put it together in all three phases? Special team have played much better since their collapse in the Alabama game.
The offense looked elite in their final three drives against Miami, and the defense looked elite in the first half as they didn’t allow them to cross mid-field.
Fisher has gotten his teams to respond historically after bad losses. They rolled Boston College the week after losing to NC State in 2012. The ‘Noles beat Florida a week after the home loss to Virginia in 2011.
They rolled Syracuse after losing to Georgia Tech in 2015.
Will they quit on Jimbo Fisher?
However, all of these teams were different with different chemistry. What’s the makeup of this 2017 team?
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So far they’ve shown a lot of fight under some tough circumstances. Will they rise to the occasion against Duke, or will they finally wilt under the pressure and quit on Jimbo Fisher with all of its team goals virtually gone?