Florida State football's season has been bad. Here's how it can get worse (and better)
Some will say the Florida State football's (1-5, 1-4) season is over, while others are holding out hope.
Coming off a bye week, FSU had an ACC road game against the Duke Blue Devils (5-1) Friday at 7 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium.
It doesn't get any easier.
The following week, the Seminoles are back on the road against in-state rival, the Miami Hurricanes, before returning to Doak Campbell Stadium to face North Carolina.
Not to mention dealing with Notre Dame and Florida in the final two games.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Given how the season has turned for the Seminoles, what are the odds that FSU could turn its season around and somehow finish above .500?
Here are the best and worst-case scenarios for the Seminoles in the second half of the season.
What is FSU football's best-case scenario for the remainder of the season?
The best-case scenario for FSU football is the offense could finally turn on the switch led by redshirt freshman Brock Glenn. The Seminoles could go on a winning streak and finish the regular season with at least six wins.
I highly doubt the Seminoles will pull that off, let alone win six straight games and finish 7-5.
Given how the season has been for FSU, it may sound delusional. But optimistically, winning five of the next six games, ending the regular season with a 6-6 record, and getting a bowl bid will be a tremendous turnaround for the Seminoles.
A bowl game may not seem like an appealing postseason play, especially when some of Mike Norvell's top players could skip it and focus on the NFL Draft or enter the transfer portal.
However, this is another way for Norvell to identify his potential starters for next season and evaluate what position he needs to address in the offseason.
What is FSU football's worst-case scenario for the remainder of the season?
The worst-case scenario for the Seminoles is they could go down in history as one of the program's worst teams.
No matter what happens, the season is a failure in Norvell's fifth year. It is arguably his worst season throughout his tenure because the expectations weren't met after going 13-1 last year.
Despite changing the lineup, the offense couldn't figure it out.
The Seminoles averaged 14.8 points in six games, ranking them 128th out of 134 FBS teams. They also can't establish a run game, averaging only 2.2 yards a carry, which puts them second to last in the country.
The defense has also struggled due to poor communication, poor tackling, and too many big plays. The defense allowed an average of 25.8 points a game.
If the Seminoles end up not winning for the rest of the year, it will be the first time in 50 years that FSU finished the season with one win. It'll also be the first time since 1974 that FSU finished the season with three wins or less.
A losing season could affect the Seminoles in recruiting high school players, acquiring players from the transfer portal.
Norvell must address what went wrong, make sound decisions, and determine how to return to its winning ways next year.
FSU football schedule 2024: TV channels, dates and start times
Saturday, Aug. 24: vs. Georgia Tech* (Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Lost 24-21
Monday, Sept. 2: vs. Boston College* | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo) Lost 28-13
Saturday, Sept. 7: Bye
Saturday, Sept. 14: vs. Memphis | Noon | ESPN (Fubo) Lost 20-12
Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Cal* | 7 p.m.| ESPN2 (Fubo) Won 14-9
Saturday, Sept. 28: at SMU* | 8 p.m. EST | ACC Network Lost 42-16
Saturday, Oct. 5: vs. No. 15 Clemson* | 7 p.m.| ESPN (Fubo) Lost 29-13
Saturday, Oct. 12: Bye
Saturday, Oct. 26: at No. 8 Miami*
Saturday, Nov. 2: vs. North Carolina*
Saturday, Nov. 9: at No. 14 Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC (Fubo, Peacock)
Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. Charleston Southern
Saturday, Nov. 30: vs. Florida
Saturday, Dec. 6: ACC championship game (Charlotte, N.C)
All times Eastern
* = ACC
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football's worst-case scenario for remainder of 2024 season
