Louisville

I should have known when half my magnets just flew off the rental car on the way to the game that we were not going to show up whole.

Complete system failure. Reboot.

Please understand that we were not the second ranked team in the land by mistake. Only Ohio State and Alabama have recruited at FSU's level for the past five seasons. Coaches and writers all over the country know the talent that this team has, and so the assumption that all these great players will...I don't know ummm...play great; is not surprising. In the last three seasons, it has been bemusing to laugh at our pattern of ridiculously bad first halves, because "adjustments" are made and second half comebacks erase the inadaquacies of preparation. But the laughing stopped this week and the stark reality that we are grossly undercoached on defense sunk in. Charles Kelly is like the master chef that has his troop of five star chefs work overtime for a week on an incredible steak and smoked brisket medley, only to find out when the guests sit down that they are all vegans. Since the start of the 2014 season, we have gone into almost every game grossly unready for what the other team does. Honest to Bowden, I have absolutely no idea what this group of coaches does all week…We have the personnel to take away the one thing that the other team does well, and in this particular case with 46 runs - it was to stop #8 from running like Laura Ingalls Wilder through a field.

Obviously, we were missing Derwin the entire game, and for most of the snaps, we were without Josh Sweat and Matthew Thomas. Yes, that is a five star at every level sitting on the bench, but like tequila in Mexico, there is a quality killer at the next bar ready to attack. Our starting defense yesterday minus Sweat and James averaged 4.2 stars. The pros think we have 6 draft picks and Louisville hung 56 on 'em. I have to say that quite a bit, because I still can not properly process it.

This is not sour grapes, but this Heisman QB candidate we just faced is not a good passer of the football; at all (thank goodness!). He flat out missed about 5 throws by a wide margin. Louisville completed 13 passes in this rout. Thirteen. Only the people wearing red or garnet in the stadium knew that this team was going to run read option about 80% of the plays, so after a week of rigorous prep, our plan for this was our base 4-2-5 with our 5 DB's about 12 yards off the line so that literally every down was an eight on six battle in the trenches. I don't care if Derwin's mama had quadruplets overnight and they all amazingly were eligible and suited up with 3b 3c and 3d on their jerseys, those odds are going to get you whipped at the line. That is not coaching, and it is a disservice to the kids wearing our colors. Unfortunately, that is the story every single week, covered up by overwhelmingly superior athletes, or enough offense to force the opponent to throw on every down.  Listen, both head coaches would begrudgingly admit that Louisville has about 4 guys on their roster that have a chance at starting at FSU (and the QB is not one of them), yet we did not lose due to unique circumstances, bad officiating or turnovers. We were whipped in every single phase of the game. Tough reality for the HC and the Showtime cameras who took a 4th quarter Jimbo forearm shiver on the sideline.

Speaking of our sleepless leader, he may not have time to cauterize his underlings after flagellating himself. The Cards had a magnificent plan for the freshman hurler. Stack the box with extra bodies to stop the gap runs, and zone blitz from every angle imaginable. The game is moving at REM speed for Deandre right now, and like every freshman not named Jameis, it is tough to make decisions quick enough to keep pace when wildebeests and zebras are running at breakneck speed across your face and you have to stop…solve a rubrics cube…and make your arm do what your brain is telling you. But, it is Jimbo's job to make these decisions easier for him, and Saturday that did not happen. We should have thrown 20 balls to Ryan Izzo and hard inside slanting hot read big body wideouts. This would have counteracted any blitz and eventually freed up some running room for Dalvin. Instead, we called glacial downfield patterns that just gave him no shot. I would not trade Jimbo as a play caller for many, but this was not his day.

Speaking of Dalvin, having seen him in person for 3 weeks now, I think he is intentionally cautious in deference to that repaired "minor" shoulder injury. He is not running through contact and is more tentative than he was even with the hamstring last season. He is hurt. If Auden Tate can get just 1/3 of the playbook memorized, he can be our next Kelvin. But, he drives Coach Dawsey nuts with his missed assignments and broken patterns. The line…whoa…this veteran line with a new RT and true freshman RG, is a mess. They are not any more veteran than our Republican candidate, yet the coachspeak narrative is anything but.

Maybe our strength coach (who probably visited many of the same stops on the Bourbon Trail that I did this week) is way more important than I thought. Because this entire team right now is the curse word to any football junkie - they are soft. They are not physical in any phase, are letting the opponent dictate tempo and attitude and have forgotten that the spear on the helmet means something. Maybe Vic coming back will bring some of that lost fire back. The Cardinal offensive line came over to our huddled defense when they were up by a Lincolnian four scores and broke in the gaggle of Nole geese and taunted us - and we did...nothing. At that point, take a few 15 yarders and man up.

Jimbo has to find leaders. He has to find tough guys. And, he has to make some tough decisions about his defensive staff. It better happen quickly, or our dyslexic cousins from Tampa (who are playing the game of their forever at home this week…recurring theme) will pile on.

If I am writing next week about the best Seminole on the field being Logan Taylor again, the blog will be going the way of Charles Kelly.