For the fifth straight game, Florida State football players and head coach Mike Norvell insisted the team has not played its “best” or “A” game yet.
If that’s the case, it’s fair to question what this team’s best game looks like six weeks into the 2023 season.
What is the potential of the 2023 Seminoles’ team? Is it elite? One that will win its first ACC title since 2014 and be listed among the favorites in the College Football Playoff?
Or is it a very good team, aka TCU last season? One that can reach the CFP, but not threaten the teams on top.
No. 5 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) seemingly solved two issues Saturday that had plagued them: fixing the running game and getting off to a faster start in a 39-17 victory over Virginia Tech (2-4, 1-1) in front of a sold-out crowd of 79,560 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
FSU has scored 30-plus points in 11 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak in ACC history.
“That’s a good football team,” Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry said. “They’re fast, they’re big, they’re explosive. They’re a top-five team.”
But another issue still plagues the team. One which allowed the Hokies to get within one score in the third quarter.
It’s why questions about the team persist, even after its first 5-0 start for the program since 2015.
“We just got to you got to stay consistent,” FSU quarterback Jordan Travis said.
“I think that’s our main problem right now. We’re not consistent with everything. Protection, throwing the ball, receivers running the right route. All little things like that.”
Is Florida State among the elite?
Yes, even elite-level teams have hiccups and don’t always look their best on a given Saturday. Take a look at top-ranked Georgia’s close call on the road against Auburn last week.
At this point, it’s fair to say the Seminoles are a very good, but not elite team.
At least not yet.
They need to show on the field with their so-called “best” game.
Elite programs have a little more depth than this current FSU roster. The Seminoles have done a great job of rebuilding the program through the NCAA Transfer Portal, finding gems like Jared Verse, Johnny Wilson, Keon Coleman and Trey Benson, among others.
But programs like Georgia and Ohio State have utilized both the portal and high school recruiting – where FSU is lagging until the 2024 class – to build their programs.
That makes the margin of error smaller for the Seminoles and something like consistency even more important.
Consistency is why the Seminoles had a close call with an unimpressive victory over Boston College (3-3), which barely beat Army (2-3) Saturday, 27-24.
It’s why FSU needed overtime to beat Clemson.
“We’ve not been as good as we needed to be,” Norvell said postgame following the Virginia Tech game. “That first quarter was a great fast start. Now, [the] second quarter wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”
But there were glimpses of the potential.
Verse recorded his first two sacks of the season. It took only 11 carries for Benson to eclipse 200 yards rushing. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Patrick Payton showed continued growth since a poor performance in Boston with 1.5 tackles for loss. And freshman safety Conrad Hussey made big plays to show he deserves more snaps.
“[It] provides [an] opportunity for continued growth, but to see the defense pitch a shutout and have some big plays there offensively in the second half, that was a heck of a way to finish,” Norvell said.
More:Dalvin Cook believed Trey Benson, FSU football’s rushing game would come, Benson didn’t disappoint
Learning from Boston College
The trip to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, last month is something Seminoles players won’t soon forget.
FSU led 31-10 early in the second half but allowed 19 straight points to let the Eagles have an opportunity for a major early season upset.
Norvell said his team got too comfortable with the lead. FSU did not allow it to happen again Saturday.
“Our guys that played were playing with an edge. It wasn’t some of the things we saw earlier in the season,” Norvell said of the second-quarter woes for the Seminoles.
“There wasn’t a comfort level. They were playing hard. They were playing fast.”
Norvell specifically pointed to the first drive of the second quarter for the Hokies. On the second play of the drive, Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones threw a pass which was intercepted on a nice grab with a toe-tap to stay inbounds by cornerback Azareye’h Thomas.
The interception was negated by a personal foul penalty on defensive lineman Byron Turner Jr. for roughing Drones. Three plays later, Drones broke out for a 40-yard scramble and the Hokies eventually ended the drive with their first points of the game on a field goal.
Norvell was seen on ABC’s broadcast vehemently pleading his case to the referees, questioning the call during the ensuing media timeout.
“Because I was frustrated,” Norvell said of his reaction.
“Some of the things that showed up, I mean, I want an explanation, and so I voiced an opinion,” Norvell added.
To the players’ credit, they also acknowledged the situation and wanted to make sure they did not repeat what happened against Boston College.
“We actually said that on the sideline, ‘We can’t get comfortable because we know what happened last time we got comfortable,'” Benson said of the Boston College game. “We made sure that wasn’t a choice today.”
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FSU off to first 5-0 start since 2015
The last time the Seminoles got off to a 5-0 start was eight years ago. They actually started that season 6-0 before falling to Georgia Tech and finishing 10-3 and 6-2 in the ACC.
Since that season, they have started 3-2 (2016), 2-3 (2017), 3-2 (2018), 2-3 (2019), 2-3 (2020), 1-4 (2021) and 4-1 (2022).
It’s also the first 3-0 start in ACC play since 2015.
“I’d say I can speak for everybody as a Florida State fan, as a player, as a community when I say it means the world,” Verse said of the 5-0 start to a nodding Benson next to him.
“Florida State belongs on the top. We’re not some team that belongs in the middle of the country. We belong at the top echelon, we belong in the National Championship, we belong in the playoffs, we belong at the top. 5-0 is no surprise for us. It might be a surprise to other people.
“If you’re part of this community, it’s not a surprise.”
FSU players will be the first to admit they have a lot to work on. They’ll be the first to say the performance against Virginia Tech was not the standard that Norvell holds them to.
But they also appreciate how far they have come.
“Obviously we have so much room for improvement as a football team,” Travis said. “But when you can say you’re 5-0 in college football, you have to be proud of yourself and pat yourself on the back.
“But at the end of the day, we’re not done yet. We celebrate tonight, come back tomorrow, we’re getting ready to work. We have Syracuse next week, which is a very good team. We have to get better at the end of the day. [Syracuse] is a really special team. We know who we are as a football team.
“We just have to play a complete game.”
Now the Seminoles need to play the complete game, the “A” game, their “best” game. And prove they can actually reach that level they insist is possible.
Time to prove it exists.
“Today, I feel like we could’ve finished better than we did,” Travis said. “We can keep talking about it, but we’ve got to start doing it.”
GAME INFORMATION
Who: No. 5 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2)
When/where: Saturday, noon; Doak Campbell Stadium
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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