Blowout loss in Orange Bowl not a referendum on 2023 season for FSU football

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Blowout loss in Orange Bowl not a referendum on 2023 season for FSU football | Kassim

Ehsan Kassim, Tallahassee Democrat · Tallahassee Democrat

Sun, Dec 31, 2023 ·

6 min read

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MIAMI GARDENS —Calling the Orange Bowl painful to watch from the Florida State football perspective is an understatement.

We watched the two-time defending national champion and arguably the best team in college football with a nearly full roster play the junior varsity team for the Seminoles on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The result, FSU football took its worst loss in program history , a 63-3 loss to a vengeful Georgia squad.

On one point, we need to be honest.

This was not the same Seminole team that took the field all season.

Nearly 30 players opted out or were injured. The Bulldogs on the other side did not have nearly the same attrition to core players, as FSU was without 14 starters in total.

So it's fair to say FSU finished 13-1 this season with a major asterisk next to the loss.

This wasn't a referendum on their season.

Saturday's loss does not mean the team did not belong in the College Football Playoff field.

That's ridiculous.

"This is a championship-level team," head coach Mike Norvell said. "You go back and watch 13 games and that's what you saw. I am fully confident in what the team did throughout this year and what they could have achieved.

"That was not the path that was set out for us, so obviously I'm proud of the guys that competed tonight and the way that they — how they've responded."

At the same time, it's fair to be embarrassed by the performance and separate it from the hurt of the opt-outs.

There is no sugarcoating the worst loss since a 59-10 loss to Clemson in 2018. There is no sugarcoating the fact the Seminoles gave up the most points in an Orange Bowl since Clemson gave up 70 points to West Virginia in 2012.

It's an embarrassing loss that does raise some questions about FSU, despite a 13-0 season and the ACC Championship. Even with the many opt-outs, FSU looked unprepared at times and that is unacceptable for Norvell and the standard he brings.

The four turnovers - two fumbles and two interceptions — gave the Bulldogs too many easy fields. Going 2 for 12 on third downs kept the offense off the field. Allowing 8.9 yards per play allowed too many explosive plays.

Most experts expected Georgia to beat FSU. But not to a historic level.

Norvell quickly took the blame for all of it.

"[Saturday], I didn't do a good enough job of being able to help showcase all of who they are, and I take full ownership for all things that happened there on that field tonight," Norvell said.

The last month and a half has been full of heartache for the Seminoles. On Nov. 18, Jordan Travis saw his season end against North Alabama due to a broken leg. The next week they beat rival Florida, but backup Tate Rodemaker suffered a concussion.

Then came the win over Louisville in the ACC Championship on Dec. 2 and the 'snub heard round the world the next day.' Recruiting for the 2024 class and the transfer portal took priority for the next week before bowl game prep took off.

The cherry on top came Christmas Day, Rodemaker opted out the week of the game.

"First off, tonight was a very difficult night. It's been a very difficult month, to be honest with you," Norvell said postgame of December.

"But I'm proud of this football team. I'm proud of the work they've put in, proud of what they've shown throughout the course of a season. To do some of the things that they were able to accomplish, they overcame a lot of adversity, they fought, they worked, they invested on and off the field.

"It's a special group. It's a group that will be remembered."

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart showed zero sympathy for the Seminoles on the field, as his Bulldogs looked to send a message to the committee, one that FSU fans likely would have liked to see their team send, as well.

But in his postgame press conference, Smart called what FSU went through wrong.

"People need to see what happened tonight and they need to fix this," Smart said. "It needs to be fixed. It's very unfortunate that [FSU], who has a good football team and a good football program, are in the position they're in.

"Everybody can say it's their fault and it's their own problem, all right, and everybody can say we had our guys and they didn't have our guys. I can listen to all that.

"But college football has got to decide what they want, and I know things are changing. I know things are going to change next year. You know what, there's going to still be bowl games outside of those. People got to decide what they want and what they really want to get out of it because it's really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline that had to play in that game that didn't have their full arsenal, and it affected the game 100%."

Brock Glenn shows flashes of potential

Florida State Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn (11) runs with the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half December 30, 2023, in the 2023 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Of all the players who were pressed into action for Saturday's game, perhaps no one was in a tougher spot than Brock Glenn.

He was making his second career start against a top-10 defense as a true freshman, one who missed significant time due to an injury as well.

Glenn struggled mightily against, completing 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards, was sacked four times and finished with a 12.8 QB rating in the ACC Championship Game.

He performed better against the Bulldogs, although the traditional stats may not suggest it. He completed 9 of 26 passes for 139 yards and threw no touchdown passes and two interceptions. He also fumbled the ball on the only sack he took.

But there were stretches where he completed passes, made a beautiful deep pass and got the offense moving, despite being down several of his top offensive weapons.

Overall, FSU fans should be encouraged by the freshman's poise. The best part, he showed up postgame to talk about his performance and he just gets it.

"In the ACC Championship, I had some mistakes, and I went back and I reflected, and I tried to — I did everything I could to go back and fix the things that I missed on or messed up on, tried to speed up my process," Glenn said.

"I think there's a lot to learn from in this game, as well, that I'm going to go back and reflect."

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).

No one covers the 'Noles like the Tallahassee Democrat. Subscribe using the link at the top of the page and never miss a moment.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football loss to Georgia in Orange Bowl not a referendum on season

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