Fisher: 1-3 start won’t affect how Noles play
TALLAHASSEE — With Florida State off to its worst start in 41 years, coach Jimbo Fisher is doing something he could hardly fathom two months ago.
He is fielding questions about what is left to play for the rest of the season.
The Seminoles go into Saturday’s game at Duke with a 1-3 record, including 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. That was hardly what anyone expected when the Seminoles ranked third in the preseason Associated Press poll and were considered the conference favorites.
This is the worst start by a preseason top-three team since 1984, when thirdranked Pittsburgh dropped its first four games. Florida State fell out of the rankings following its loss to North Carolina State on Sept. 23. This week’s poll is the first time since 2011 that Fisher’s program did not receive a vote.
“No matter what your record is, you play,” Fisher said. “We’ve got everything to play for. What if you’re a junior-eligible draft guy or senior-eligible draft guy? What’s the NFL looking at?”
Fisher is also dealing with increased scrutiny as the Seminoles are headed for their second straight disappointing season. They finished 5-3 in the ACC last season and 10-3 overall. Instead of contending for a conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Seminoles find themselves barely above .500 in their past 15 ACC games (8-7). They have also dropped their first two home games for the first time since 1974.
Last Saturday’s 24-20 loss to Miami marked the third time in a year that the Seminoles have been unable to hold a fourth-quarter lead at home, a span in which FSU is 3-4 at Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU gave up two 75-yard touchdown drives to Miami in the fourth quarter, which has ratcheted up the pressure on defensive coordinator Charles Kelly for the second straight season.
Fisher said Monday that he has “extreme confidence” in Kelly, who is in his fourth season as coordinator.
“We’ll continue with Charles being our coordinator, and go through this year, and hope to finish the year very strong,” Fisher said.
A big problem for the defense has been third down. The Seminoles allowed Alabama to convert just 3 of 16 opportunities in the opener but since then opponents are 16 of 43.
The offense has been scaled back since freshman quarterback James Blackman (Glades Central) took over after Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending knee injury against Alabama. Florida State is averaging 327 yards per game, which is sixth worst among Power Five programs.
Blackman has struggled early in all three of his starts before finding his rhythm. He was 9 of 10 for 110 yards with two touchdowns during the final 15 minutes against Miami, but he threw two interceptions early in the game.
“The thing that excites me most about him is his ability to learn and learn on the run. He doesn’t make a lot of the same mistakes twice,” Fisher said.
Florida State has never lost to Duke (4-2, 1-2) in 19 meetings, but with FSU facing games against Louisville (Oct. 21), Clemson (Nov. 11) and Florida (Nov. 25), there are concerns whether the Seminoles can keep alive their string of 35 straight bowl appearances. Even at 6-5, one of those wins likely would be against FCS member Delaware State on Nov. 18, which is why school officials are considering rescheduling the game vs. Louisiana-Monroe to Dec. 2. The game was originally set for Sept. 9 but was canceled because of Hurricane Irma.
“We had such high expectations at the beginning of the year. We’ve had some really rough patches,” tight end Ryan Izzo said. “We’ve got seven or eight more games, so we’ve just got to make the school and everybody proud.”