Seminoles chasing elusive home victory
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State senior linebacker Jacob Pugh’s description of the Seminoles’ lack of leadership from within and focus on individual goals offered a glimpse into a team struggling to cope with its disappointing season.
The Seminoles, who started with a preseason No. 3 ranking, are at a crossroads after the worst FSU start in 41 years. They are on the cusp of bowl ineligibility for the first time in 36 years and still looking for their first home victory of the season.
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher appreciates players like Pugh voicing their frustration, but he wants the Seminoles (2-5, 2-4 ACC) to play even more selfishly. He called it the “‘I’ in win” while meeting with media after Thursday’s practice before today’s game against Syracuse (4-4, 2-2) in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Fisher wants his players to be selfish and dominant at their positions in order to help their team win. If players are competing with the NFL draft in mind, Fisher wants them to play their hearts out to be noticed by scouts and executives, essentially playing well enough to help the Seminoles look better on the field as well.
“Guys are frustrated. They get frustrated — there ain’t no doubt,” Fisher said. “That’s part of not having success. But you’ve got to learn how to deal with it.”
The Seminoles are going on 11 months without a home victory, the last coming against Florida last season when team alpha-male personalities like former running back Dalvin Cook, former defensive end DeMarcus Walker and starting quarterback Deondre Francois stood on the brick ledges of the first row in Doak Campbell Stadium posing for photos to help remember the moment.
FSU rebounded from a 3-2 start last season to finish 10-3 with a thrilling victory in the Orange Bowl to foster an offseason of College Football Playoff aspirations only to play like one of the worst teams in the nation this season.
Fisher said he and coaching staff, which could see an overhaul at season’s end, have been “scratching our brains 100 ways” to find solutions.
But the players simply believe they need to stick together even more despite Pugh’s revelation earlier this week.
“We understand that we’re not playing up to par as players and we have to do a better job. Everybody just has to stay positive,” said Francois, who has been sidelined this season because of a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. “You can’t really have a negative attitude if situations are going bad like this. It’s not going to make them better.”
Florida State players have gradually become more demoralized as the losses have piled up, including season-opening losses to Alabama and NC State, last-minute defeats to Miami and Louisville and last week’s lackluster 35-3 loss at Boston College.
“It’s just disappointing because that’s not the standard we set,” leading receiver Auden Tate said.
“We’re a team that even if we do get hit in the mouth one time, we still have that counter punch. We always keep fighting. … But that game we did not throw no counter punches or nothing. We just took a beating.”
A win against Syracuse could do some slight wonders for the Seminoles, who would improve to 3-5 this season.
After facing the Orange, FSU will have three games left during the regular season: at Clemson, at home versus Delaware State and at Florida. The school also could reschedule its canceled game against Louisiana-Monroe for Dec. 2, giving FSU four chances to reach six wins for bowl eligibility.
The Seminoles could also accept a bowl game invite with five wins and ideal APR scores.
“I feel like it would give us momentum, and give the fans what they deserve,” kicker Ricky Aguayo said of a potential FSU victory over Syracuse. “It would help us.”
It could also help ease, even for a week, the frustration the Seminoles have experienced.
“It’s like a nightmare — for real, for real. I’ve never lost this much,” Pugh said. “This is something we’re not used to, but we’re a team. We’re not going to give up.”