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FSU football is having its worst season since 1974. Seminoles look back on struggles
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- FSU football is having its worst season since 1974. Seminoles look back on struggles
While it was a different era in college football 50 years ago, Mike Shumann can relate to Florida State's historic struggles this season.
At 1-8, FSU is suffering through its worst season since the 1974 Seminoles finished 1-10 under first-year coach Darrell Mudra. Shumann, signed from Leon High, was a sophomore receiver on the 1974 team that entered with far different expectations compared to this year's Seminoles .
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Yet, there is a common thread.
"Getting your butt kicked on a football field every day and losing wasn't any fun," Shumann said from his California home. "It was a battle to just say motivated. You just kept working on your game. It was so different then … college football has been turned upside down."
FSU and fourth-year coach Mike Norvell haven't had much to smile about this season. They have three regular-season games remaining starting Saturday at No. 8 Notre Dame, where they enter as a 25.5-point underdog.
The Seminoles finish with home games against Charleston Southern (1-8) and state rival Florida (4-4), which announced this week embattled coach Billy Napier would continue as the Gators coach in 2025.
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FSU's football historic dive this season to lead to changes
After coming off a 13-0 regular season in 2023 and entering this season ranked 10th nationally, FSU's sudden dive has been difficult for alumni, boosters and fans to accept.
On Thursday, FSU athletics and Seminole Boosters, Inc., - the fundraising arm of athletics - released a joint statement to season-ticket holders and fans thanking them for their support this season. They also expressed confidence in the program's future, saying, "While this season has been discouraging, it doesn't change the proven fact that we have what it takes to rise again - and quickly."
Norvell also acknowledged earlier this week that changes will be made within the program. Norvell has talked often about how the team he saw in practices was different from the one that played in games. While FSU has a combined record of 23-4 the previous two seasons, there appears to be recruiting, development and chemistry issues in the program.
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"I can tell you that there's going to be a change in what we've seen from this year to this next year coming up..." Norvell said.
"I am aware of where we are, the things that have happened, some of the things that I'm evaluating throughout the course of the season, evaluating over the course of the last few years of, one, why did this happen. Why have we come up short. And then what are the issues and what can be done, changed, addressed. All of it, that's going to allow us to take a monumental step here this next year and for the future of the program."
FSU team in 1974 nearly upset defending champion Alabama
The 1974 Seminoles were a young team, one that didn't know to expect since the program was coming off an 0-11 season. Larry Jones resigned after three years as coach and was replaced by Mudra, who coached the team from the press box.
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The Seminoles lost five of 11 games by 10 points or less, including an 8-7 decision to defending national champion Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They lost to No. 15 Florida 24-14 and No. 5 Auburn 38-6 in consecutive weeks and earned its lone win at Miami (21-14) in November. FSU averaged 11.8 points per game.
As a comparison, the team's lone win this season was against visiting Cal, 14-9. The Seminoles have scored as many as 21 points in a game just once, in its season-opening defeat in Ireland against Georgia Tech, 24-21. They are averaging 14.8 points per game to rank 132nd out of 133 Division I teams (Air Force is averaging 13.8 points per game).
Offensive line coach Larry Pendleton, a former FSU player (1965-68) who also spent 18 years in the Seminoles' athletic department starting in 1980, remembered the challenges the '74 team faced.
"We were really young and many players weren't ready (to play)," Pendleton said. "You just have to put your best foot forward. (Losing) didn't stop us from coaching. You coached every day to get the best out of the kids."
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Both Shumann and Pendleton also pointed to the drastic changes to college football within the last decade, specifically the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
While Norvell had enjoyed success in the portal - 10 of his 26 portal additions from 2022-23 earned at least honorable-mention all-ACC honors - this year's additions have struggled to contribute. Some of the blue-chip prep players he signed have also delivered mediocre production.
"We were all recruited (out of high school) so you all grow up together," said Shumann, who played in the NFL. "We kept an eye on each other. I think (this) Florida State team might be the first (college football) portal failure. Mike caught his finger in the portal jar too often and it's starting to show on the field. You watch this team and it's like they (players) don't know each other."
Many elite teams among college football are also thought to be the biggest spenders in NIL. Pendleton is among those who believe NIL money can reduce players' motivation and hurt development. FSU had an estimated $10-plus million NIL budget this season, according to the NCAA .
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"I think there is frustration because you know you are better than what you are showing on the field," said Pendleton, a Tallahassee resident who also served as the CEO and President of the Florida Sports Foundation. "You have some athletes with talent but it's not showing up on the field, and that has to be tough on them (coaches).
"I also think the problem with it (college football) now is (NIL) money has made athletes more complacent, too."
Players on FSU's 1974 team obviously didn't have the options available to current players. While it was five decades ago, Shumann - on FSU teams that won just four games from 1973-75 - still embraces the lessons learned and close friendships from that era.
"I've never been closer to a group of players - high school, college or in the pros - than I was at Florida State because of what we went through together," Shumann said.
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Where to watch FSU vs Notre Dame: Time, TV channel, streaming
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When:7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 9
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Where:Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Indiana)
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TV:NBC
Florida State vs. Notre Dame will broadcast nationally on NBC in Week 11 of the 2024 college football season. Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge will call the game from the booth at Notre Dame Stadium, with Kathryn Tappen reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include Peacock , NBC's subscription streaming service, and Fubo , which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State football: Players on 1-10 1974 team on current Seminoles
