The start of the FSU game on Saturday was foreshadowing in a bad way, as Pittsburgh freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel lit up the FSU defense on his two offensive possessions in his first career road start.
Heintschel finished the game 21 of 29 for 321 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also ran for 64 yards on 16 carries as the Panthers defeated the Noles 34-31.
To make matters worse, it was Mike Norvell’s birthday. How does a coach who’s in a must-win situation allow his team to play how they did on Saturday?
The defensive game plan was trash from the onset, yet the FSU offense had multiple opportunities to go up two possession in the game, and failed every single time, keeping the Panthers in the game.
FSU turned the ball over again in a crucial situation and had multiple penalties that killed offensive drives. FSU had eight penalties for 72 yards.
The crazy part was that, as bad as FSU played in the first half, they led 21-14 at halftime, but Pitt just seemed like they wanted the game more. Their coaches consistently exploited Florida State's weaknesses and outcoached the Seminoles.
This was a game FSU was supposed to win, but the loss probably sends this team in a downward spiral. The preseason expectations to win at least eight games is probably a pipe dream, and it's not unrealistic to ask if guys start laying down with nothing to play for over the next six games.
I've seen enough, and feel just like I did after the 2019 game against Miami. This isn't going to get better and it's time to make a change.