Week 0 Overreaction
Estimated 2 minute read
In my hot takes article with Kyle, I said that SMU would beat Florida State. Now? I’m almost 100% certain my hot take is more like a mildly spicy take.
Anybody who actually watched that game in Ireland knows that the game was not as close as it was in the box score. This was a Florida State team struggling against an equally struggling Georgia Tech team. I’d argue that the Seminoles looked like the lesser of the two. 98 rushing yards? I’m supposed to be scared about you coming into my stadium if I’m an ACC team? That combined with the 5/12 on third down efficiency combined with a 70% completion rate through the air just makes the picture painted by the stat lines even worse. This team looked terrible.
To me, the worst was the body language. The team looked defeated after that kick went through. I can’t speak to what happened in their locker room post-game, but on the field they looked unconfident and shocked.
Looking at the Seminoles’ schedule, I have my doubts this is going to turnout to be a back-to-back playoff aspirational season. After that first performance, let’s take a look at the rest of the schedule.
Optimistic: I think 7-5 would be a great season for this team as it stands right now from what I’ve seen. That is with me giving them the SMU game, which I am confident they will lose. Best case scenario? I’m going to give them all their easy wins against weaker teams AND give them a win over Florida at the end of the season on top of that. That gives me an 8-4 final record for the ‘Noles.
If I’m being honest: I’d say 6-6 is more likely. I think the Gators are sneaky good this year. They have such a tough schedule that they’ll probably come into that Florida State game a little bit underrated and slept on with their record being as bad as it will look. I do have confidence they can beat this Florida State team though. To repeat again as well, this team WILL lose to SMU in a month from now on the road in Dallas.
Panic Mode: If this team drops a game they should win on top of all the loses they’ll take against ranked opponents, they won’t even be bowl eligible. I don’t think it’s out of the question to think that either. From the highs of highs last seasons, to the very lows of the lows. We’ve seen it happen before with other powerhouse teams in the process of a steep slide downward.
