Jacksonville State

 Contrary to the opinion of some, I was not on campus basking in the glory of the Mudra or Larry Jones era. So, true Nole historians can justifiably argue that the zero for eleven campaign holds an unassailable spot in the annals of FSU lore. I can, however, bear witness to other valleys that we have all probably trudged through in the last 40 years. I was not looking for a candle to blow out through confetti when Wake shut us out at home in the lost decade. When Miami curb stomped us last year and I was not sure if we have to live with our Ringling clowncar full of coaches for any appreciable period, I google searched local cliffs. Thank goodness I live in Florida. And despite every fiber of me believing that we do now have the right coaches in place in the most beautiful tree-canopied city in the South, when these current kids roared out to a fourteen point deficit to an FCS team at home, I wondered if there was indeed a ditch below rock bottom. Remember, my garnet friends, in our historical pride pool, we have never lost to an FCS school.  Just 7 seasons ago, while we were coasting to a Natty, our friends in Gainesville were being thumped by an FCS team at home who did not even complete a pass that day. Phew, we still got that over em! 

Then, in an instant not unassociated with a QB change, it all evaporated. The negativity whisked away like a Utah snowfall, and five consecutive touchdown drives restored order to our universe. Receivers were making juggling catches, backs were spinning like oiled top and staying airborne until finally careening into the end zone. Offensive lineman were - okay I'll say it - blocking people. I don't care if these Gamecocks were not from Carolina, it was fun to watch any modicum of offensive success in our stadium for a change. The winning streak is up to one and counting!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and Jordan Travis can complete a forward pass. Seeing the roughly 400 smile-face emojis that his Nole great brother Devon kept posting on social media all Saturday afternoon, I think his family shares our joy at his arrival. His ability to actually run in the run pass option changed the ground game completely. The overmatched JSU ends had to respect him, and the backs found room. Speaking of room, is our OL conditioning regimen straight out of the Sumo handbook? Eat 74,200 calories a day, sleep, rock side to side, rest. Repeat. Because losing a lineman every series or two is getting old. I don't think it is a coincidence that when Mo Smith - who mysteriously sat out the first half - came in (I'm sure Tate is grateful for the suspension), everything started to click up front. For the third blog running, Toafili is a star, and the other two held their own as well. But, back to the original surprise discovery, Travis can throw! Forward! In the air and in the general direction of a guy on our team! This is exciting folks... His best play clearly was where he rolled out left and rather than take the 10 free yards in front, his head was (shock) looking downfield where he hit an even more wide open Pokey for a huge gain. That looked like a real, actual, football play - that was not scripted. The possibilities now are endless.

Included in these possibilities is the reality that our QB of the future has the same style as our QB of the present - only with better arm talent. That means that when the Chubba seat is sufficiently warm, all the offensive supporting cast will have an incredibly easier time adjusting to either of these two signal-callers.

On the other side of the ball, Fuller Mystery Theatre continues its solid run up the charts. Lining up more yards away than the other team needs to achieve to get a first down seems somewhat counterintuitive, but by golly we are going with it. Asking your boundary side corner to play press and never actually touch the WR to redirect the route seems crazy - but let's rock & roll. Having a Senior MLB who can be on the field 80% of the snaps and yet not show up in the box score. Nuts, right? Nope, all part of the plan. Asking a clearly injury-hampered safety to fill a weakside run fit from 15 yards back? We got this.

I apologize if my faith is waning, but the players on that side of the roster are not lacking. They are just not being put on the field and/or in a position to succeed. The Head Coach is going to have to split time in the next month to see if he can give our man some help. Dix is light years better than Warner. Now that he is healthy, you can see that Meiko Dotson is a big upgrade over Jones (who had his dome tore off by CMN after the stupidest special teams personal foul ever), and poor Jaiden simply does not have his pre-knee speed yet. Get the right kids on the field, and put them in a position to win. Why is Amari Gainer off the field on every 3rd down? Does he have to text his dad after second down to ask what great Nole players should do next? We clearly do not have any talent behind Kaindoh at DE, but for the second season is a row, we get to see Janarius Robinson being asked to drop back in coverage. He and our last QB must be slogging down Popeye spinach before every practice to fool these staffs on their supernatural abilities. 

Folks, the dark days are not behind us yet. We have conquered the Herculean task of winning a game this season (eat my dust Larry Jones and 1973!), but with Notre Dame and Carolina in our sights, there are not many without psychedelic help that believe we will not be 1-4. However. I say However in my best Foghorn Leghorn voice, these next two weeks will not be about wins (although that would be ducky), but about setting us up to blow through November as a better team.  And in a year when 250 students in Doak seems like a win, having the Noles go 3-1 to end the season seems like a miracle. Hang in there Noles!