A year ago, FSU was undefeated in November for the first time since 2014 before going on to secure its first ACC Title since that year. The fan base was on top of the world, believing they had finally overcome the dreadful years between 2017-2021.
A month later, undefeated FSU got snubbed from the College Football Playoff, and two months later, Mike Norvell signed a huge contract extension after flirting with the Alabama job.
FSU assistant coaches had gotten raises in January, and all seemed well going into the offseason. After all, this same coaching staff had gone 23-4 over the past two years and were among the best at transfer portal evaluations while improving high school recruiting year over year.
FSU took a similar approach as the offseason before the 2022 season, taking talented guys with little experience or production from the transfer portal. Those transfer portal players from the 2022 recruiting cycle were largely responsible for FSU's quick turnaround.
However, a season-opening loss against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, shook the fan base. It was a weird game with limited possessions, and most chalked it up to a team with many new players, including quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
However, an embarrassing loss against Boston College, followed by a loss against Memphis, let the fan base know something was way off. The defense expected to have some dropoff and played well enough for FSU to win at least two of its first three games.
However, the offense was anemic, and little did FSU fans know the 21 points scored in game one would be the high for the season. A FSU offense that hasn't scored more than 21 points in 10 games. That's absurd, and it's one of the main reasons FSU has only won one game in 2024. How did it get this bad? I have some theories.