FSU football: Noles adding favorable games to future schedules

The way the 2014 season went down scarred FSU football. The team developed a habit of getting down big in the first half of games before roaring back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat the entire season.

FSU was king of the ACC Conference, but the fashion in how they won those games gave the perception the ACC was the weakest Power Five conference of all the major conferences.

For that reason, the defending national champions and undefeated FSU football team received a No. 3 seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff, where they would go on to lose against Oregon.

Football schedules are usually made years in advance. However, money and the perception a stronger schedule needed influenced how the FSU administration conducted business.

Enter the 2016 season opener in a neutral site game against Ole Miss. The 2017 season opener against Alabama and the 2019 season opener against Boise State.

All of those games took place because of the need to make money in high-profile matchups. FSU football hasn’t won a season opener since 2016, which has meant their season has been over before it has gotten started with multiple losses in the first month of the season.

Most of that is because FSU hasn’t been operating as an elite program for almost a decade. There’s no reason they should be losing to the likes of Virginia Tech, Boise State, and Georgia Tech the last three seasons. However, there’s no reason to continue to play tough schedules that reduce the chances of making a New Year’s Six Bowl or College Football Playoff.

I wrote about this two years ago regarding the schedules of national title contenders. It looks as though FSU has finally come to their senses with future games:

The 2022 game against Duquesne will likely be the first FSU football season-opening win since 2016. It would also provide an excellent practice of sorts to prepare for a showdown with LSU the following week in another neutral game that should bring lots of money for the program.

The game against North Alabama will likely take place the week before the Florida game, which would give the Noles a chance to prepare a bit more for the Gators instead of a conference game like Boston College in the 2021 season.

In 2019, FSU played North Alabama the week before Florida , which was a smart move but the only problem was the Noles were not a good program at the time.

It doesn’t take long for things to flip with the right coach and players, and scheduling smart can expedite that process.

Here’s to avoiding unnecessary risks in scheduling and providing home games to fans who in turn can help stimulate the local economy while the Noles stack some wins on their rise back to the top of college football.