Fallout from the Florida State Seminoles Blowout Loss to BC
Grant White
Host · Writer
We knew they wouldn’t be as good as last year. But no one could have predicted the Florida State Seminoles would be this bad.
After getting stunned in Ireland versus the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Week 0, the Seminoles followed up with an even more disastrous loss versus the Boston College Eagles on Monday. Sifting through the wreckage of defeat, there is no shortage of consequences impacting Florida State moving forward.
Bettors and fans are left asking the same question: what comes next for the Florida State Seminoles?
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Florida State’s Playoff Hopes Are Dashed
Most prominently, the Florida State’s playoff hopes are dashed.
Foolishly, the Seminoles opened the season with two conference games. A loss in either, and there was still a chance of making the ACC Championship Game and an automatic berth in the postseason. But a loss in both all but guarantees the Seminoles will be left watching the College Football Playoff from their homes.
Look no further than the betting odds for validation of such. After opening near the top of the futures board at +1600, Florida State’s National Championship odds have plummeted to +60000.
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Florida State’s Unwinnable Quarterback Situation
This offseason, the Seminoles landed highly-regarded transfer DJ Uiagalelei. The senior quarterback landed in Tallahassee following his 2023 campaign with the Oregon State Beaver. Before that, Uiagalelei had the keys to the Clemson Tigers’ offense. He’s enjoyed intermittent success with both previous programs, but as we’re seeing, Uiagalelei has proven utterly inept at operating the Seminoles’ offense. Worse, the 0-2 squad doesn’t have a backup capable of stepping in and righting the ship.
Uiagalelei has completed just 40 of 69 pass attempts for a 58.0% completion percentage and a combined 465 passing yards through two starts. His rushing ability was once a saving grace, but that’s also fallen apart with Florida State. The four-star transfer has mustered just two rushing yards on 14 attempts. Those efforts underscore some of the concerns from last season, in which he completed only 57.1% of his pass attempts while guiding the Beavers to an 8-5 record, including 5-4 in conference play.
The alternatives look bleak. True freshman Luke Kromenhoek was a late-bloomer in high school and wouldn’t be an upgrade at quarterback. Likewise, redshirt freshman Brock Glenn completed 19 of 51 pass attempts in mop-up duty last year for a laughable 37.1% completion percentage.
Consequently, all the Seminoles can do is hope that Uiagalelei figures things out quickly.
Seminoles’ Challenges With Recruiting and Transfers
Just last year, the Seminoles could boast about their undefeated regular season and the bevy of NFL prospects they developed. That performance allowed them to poach some of the most highly regarded transfers and stack their recruiting 2024 recruiting class. Those prospects could start to vanish after their start to the 2024 season.
The NCAA’s new transfer guidelines permit players to move freely during the offseason. As such, some of their underclassmen could elect to switch programs rather than go down with the Seminoles sinking ship. Moreover, the Seminoles risk losing some of their upcoming recruits to more promising programs.
That could force Florida State to make a coaching change and start rebuilding its football program from scratch.
Final Thoughts – Florida State’s Outlook is Bleak
All of this is without even considering the Seminoles’ upcoming schedule against the cream of the ACC crop. Florida State still has games against the Clemson Tigers, Miami (FL) Hurricanes, and, to a lesser extent, the North Carolina Tar Heels. With showdowns against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Florida Gators at the end of conference play. At this point, none of those contests look like winnable games.
Regression was inevitable. But no one could have seen it coming this hard or this quickly. Florida State Seminoles fans should prepare for the worst as their beloved program tries to salvage what’s left of the college football season.
That bitter taste from last year’s playoff snub will only taste worse this year.
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