Is FSU Football on fast track to playing annual neutral site game?

FSU football is scheduled to start the next two seasons in a neutral site game – so is that going to be the continuing trend for the Seminoles?

In a move that has become a common thing in college football among the top teams, the FSU football team is starting the 2019 season away from the friendly home of Doak Campbell Stadium – but not playing at the site of their foe, the Boise State Broncos, but instead in the middle of the road location…of Jacksonville, Florida.

It’s the first of two straight seasons that the Seminoles will start the year in a neutral site game (scheduled to play West Virginia in 2020 in Atlanta) and the fifth time over a seven year period, after starting 2014 against Oklahoma State in Texas, 2016 against Ole Miss in Orlando and 2017 against Alabama in Atlanta in a game we would all like to forget.

The growing love of neutral site games – a quick, one time payday against a power foe without having to go play at their home – is something the former staff and administration in Tallahassee loved. For current head coach Willie Taggart’s part, he told Chop Chat last June he is willing to play anyone at any place.

This past week, Georgia Tech announced they are moving one game a season from their home campus down to Mercedes Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta, site of last season’s Super Bowl and where the Noles and Mountaineers will play next season (and that infamous game against the Crimson Tide that, again, didn’t take place).

Florida State Seminoles Football

Such a move raises a question: could FSU football move one home game a year to a neutral site?

In the times of the dynasty era, the Seminoles benefited from having some ACC foes sell their games to the Sunshine State and giving the Noles essentially another home game – Duke in 1995 to Orlando and 1999 to Jacksonville, Wake Forest in 1996 to Orlando and Maryland in 1996 to what is now Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Where would the Seminoles move such a game if that becomes an option? The betting odds would be a place like Orlando – where the Noles praised everything after having the spring game there in 2016 – or back over the Jacksonville and their NFL stadium (since Tampa won’t likely be an option since USF wouldn’t wan’t FSU football playing a game on their home field).

Since they go to South Florida once every two seasons to play the Miami Hurricanes, the desire wouldn’t be as much for the Noles to head down there to play a team like Pittsburgh or Louisville.

What about possible foes? So far, Notre Dame and Florida are the only non-conference games scheduled starting in 2021. The Fighting Irish and Noles did play a Florida State “home” game in Orlando back in 1994. Maybe it could be an ACC game, like the Georgia Tech game scheduled in Tallahassee for the 2022 season.

In reality, it would be great if the Seminoles played all their home games inside their – wait for it – ACTUAL HOME STADIUM. College football is home and home series, which power programs like Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and others are starting to get back to.

FSU football has a history of home and home series against teams like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC and LSU among others – so while the occasional neutral site might be okay, it needs to be just that: occasional.