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NIL & Defensive Production, Oil and Water at Florida State
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- NIL & Defensive Production, Oil and Water at Florida State
(David Leong/Imagn Images)
The Florida State Seminoles ' descent into the seventh circle of college football hell continued on Saturday with their loss to then 10th-ranked Alabama 50-36. The Seminoles led the Crimson Tide 21-6 in the second quarter of that game. But the Seminoles' defense failed them again in the second half, allowing 220 rushing yards and 24 points in the final 30 minutes.
The Seminoles defense, historically one of the most feared in all of college football, has grown timid over the past two seasons. After three games this season, here are the national defensive rankings for the Seminoles defense:
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No. 135 total defense (490 yards/game)
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No. 137 pass defense (340 yards/game)
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No. 90 rush defense (149 yards/game)
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No. 116 scoring defense (31.3 points/game)
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No. 95 sacks (4 in three games)
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No. 90 tackles for loss (14 in three games)
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No. 68 turnovers (0.0 margin)
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No. 129 opponents' 3rd down conversions (51.36 percent)
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No. 89 opponents' red zone conversions (44.44 percent)
For the second consecutive game, the Florida State defense surrendered over 500 yards of total offense. Against the Crimson Tide, the Seminoles gave up 567 total yards.
On Saturday against the Crimson Tide, the Seminoles gave up passing plays of 21, 46, 40, and 21 yards, and rushing plays of 57 yards, 20 yards, 29 yards, and 20 yards.
In addition, Florida State is last in the ACC in opponents' long scrimmage plays. They have given up 54 plays of 10+yards, 18 plays of 20 yards or more, and four plays of 50+ yards.
What happened to that "wanting to hurt someone when they hit you" during fall camp? What happened to that arriving at the football with a violence of action? Florida State has paid a lot of money in NIL funds to build a defense that cannot tackle , cannot cover, and cannot stop the explosive plays.
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For example, coach Mike Norvell and the Seminoles got fleeced for over $1.5 million by defensive linemen and twin brothers, Mandrell and Darryl Desir. After flirting with the transfer portal after their freshman seasons, the Desir twins negotiated a much better NIL deal to stay on at Florida State.
Three games into this season, the twins have combined for just eight total tackles, no sacks, and no tackles for loss. That has to be the worst return on investment in the history of worst returns on investments.
The top seven tacklers on the team this season are linebackers and defensive backs, the second and third levels of the defense. Mandrell Desir is the leading tackler on the defensive line with just six total tackles.
The remainder of the schedule, deemed the toughest of any team in the ACC, only gets harder down the road. After hosting FCS Central Arkansas next Saturday, the Seminoles will face off against three ranked opponents, including No. 16 Louisville (2-1) and No. 6 Miami (3-0) on the road in back-to-back weeks, and No. 21 Florida (3-0) at the end of the season. The remainder of the Seminoles' Power 4 schedule combined has posted an 18-6 record so far this season.
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A leadership change is needed within the Florida State football program, because the current regime is not getting the job done, from Norvell on down to defensive coordinator Tony White. This defense is too talented to rank in the bottom third of the FBS in every defensive category.
When you also have talented defensive players who, for all intents and purposes, have taken NIL money for services that definitely haven't been rendered, it is a bad look and shows that money really is the root of all evil.
