NC State

Sad. That was the emotion following Pitt and replicated today as I come home a loser from the Triangle again. Like many of my friends that share this blather, I am a product of the Robert Clecker Bowden years and changing coaches was not a consideration. At the very end of the 2000's, when it was obvious to everyone except he and his son that we were sliding into a place none of us recognized, I was not happy, but I supported what was deemed at the time a mutually agreeable transition. It was not painful so much as pragmatic and since we were the only successful Coach in Waiting situation that actually worked, it just made sense. Clearly, two years into Jimbo, we knew something special was brewing and validation with the best team in the history of College Football followed after that. Jimbo left us as we all know; not the other way around. Although with hindsight, we might have felt a helluva lot better if we had kicked him to the curb during one of his dalliances with SEC power wanna be's. But, again, this ending was his choice and the search was exciting and damning. We made a ridiculously bad decision which I personally hated immediately and as the entire program burned to a crisp in two seasons, this was the first time in my 40 years of fandom that I enthusiastically endorsed a change. It was an odd feeling and I didn't love it. I also did not verbalize it much out of close company.

When we hired Mike, one of the enduring traits that set him apart from the vast field of hired gun coaches across the landscape was his sincere love for what he had in Florida State. From day one to the current pyre he is captaining, he truly understands what it means to represent the Tribe, the fans and the tradition that makes us who we are. If you think that is replicable, you are probably mistaken. As many of you know, this is also partly personal in that it was Coach Norvell who chose to listen to a message from an idiot booster pleading with him to bring back a meaningful pregame tradition and he brought The Good, the Bad and The Ugly back into being. But, all of this and the fact that he truly is a passionate good man is not enough in the end if the on field product is not happening. And the on field product is a chasm away from good enough right now which brings me back to the current emotional state I find myself in. Choosing to change here is tough, as we will be spending $80 million to have 13 guys not coach us. I would guess I am just like the administration in looking to exhaust any other $80 million dollar answer before you have to pull the trigger. Many of the angered fanbase thinks that after $400 million in new football facilities, the money tree just regenerates. It does not. So, we might get to tweak and bitch and ultimately support where we are for a while longer. 

Let's start with the comedy that is our special teams. Again, this is a point of pride for Coach and he was convinced that this unit would be a difference maker in Tallahassee. He was right, but wow was he wrong. The first helmet ricochet was so comically redonk that you had to just laugh at our road luck, but then we decided to fart on a grease fire and fumble the next one. So, after missing two field goals and knowing that our onside kick effort is a tick less fruitful that a Sahara sand castle, it was touchdown or bust for the offense, because we bring out a kicker and we are instantly Boy George in a beauty contest. 

I don't know if television showed how horrific the throw was in the first quarter that resulted in a pick was. Lawayne McCoy before he was illegally destroyed as a defenseless receiver; was going to dominate the game. The Pack safeties were hot garbage and he was in the slot literally wide open on every pass attempt. TC saw him here and decided to roll forward, slide his feet sideways in his shortstop stance and throw it three quarters 10 yards over a wide open number seven. This was another away game march down the field gathering all kinds of resume yards for the OC and resulting in a bagel. Another promising drive stumbled out of the bar into a lightpole when we went 70 yards and then had back to back preventable penalties before running the ball on 1st and 2nd and long and whiffing on a kick. We continue to shuttle in backs like they are bringing in the plays, and the fact that we are 11 games in and none of them have an established role is an indictment on the visor. And will someone please explain why when we go super hurry up in the middle of a drive, we always, and I mean always run the ball up the middle. We may not know this, but opposing teams have the ability to roll film and this Mensa move gains nothing almost every time. Maybe take a beat after a first down and run something that can deliver anything but a second and ten. Scoring 11 against the second worst defense in the conference (after 13 against the worst) is not a recipe to break a streak. 

Defensively, we continue to improve every game. I loved the fact that we ran out of a base four man line this week and it is either pathetic or exciting that our two three star freshman twins might be the best trench players on the roster. Mandrell leads the line in every meaningful stat and the effort is off the charts. We are also logging valuable minutes for some non shaving defensive backs, and Arnoux got robbed with the DPI called late. The receiver had his hand inside our guys helmet and somehow we get flagged. Should have been 3rd and goal from the 20, but you know we are in the triangle and we aint gonna win that battle or any of the replay old home calls.  

 A scene from the road…It was in the 4th quarter and we were tucked in the corner of Carter Finley Stadium in our normal away game seats just above the player families. The visitors were down 14-3 but were driving. Two rows below us, two guests of the Noles sponsorship team starting tag teaming insults at the Head Coach. The normal super intelligent banalities..."You suck" and "FU Norvell". This was going on as we were marching down the field and shaving the lead to 14-11. It was incessant and honestly unbelievable considering where we were sitting and who we were sitting with. Well, most of you know my wife well enough that this was not going to stand with her. They had a gentle tete a tete where these neanderthals let her know that they were neither season ticket holders nor boosters but that jerk on the field had to go even though when challenged, they had no solutions for the financial trauma or whom the next head man should be. This was real life what we have been witnessing over the past two months as the vocal minority goes apoplectic about the HC and yet offers little in the way of realistic solutions. 

Very few give as much time and emotional energy as we do to this program every year. Losing when you travel makes these weekends tough. Losing for eleven trips in a row is asparagus and brussel sprouts for breakfast. But, we are not Stanford with billions in donors lining up to bid on naming the pool. We are not Clemson who pours so much into football that every other program on campus suffers. We are not yet in the Big two where every year, we have $40 million more in mad money. We are FSU, and this damn football program will not be down very long. Somehow, we have to suck it up with whatever decision is made in Moore and support the men on the sideline. That continues this week in the most magical place on earth where I will continue my tradition of spending not one peso inside Alachua County. See you soon friends...maybe at a Bowl?