Florida Football needs to show no mercy and put FSU out of their misery

This time last year, the narratives for Florida and FSU when it came to football could not have been more different than they are now. The Seminoles were riding high with an 11-0 season but were having to overcome the loss of Jordan Travis. The Gators were in the midst of a four-game losing streak and were also having to turn to their backup QB after losing Graham Mertz.

FSU won the game and went on to win the ACC title, and to say things have changed since that moment would be just a bit of an understatement.

FSU has been so bad in 2024 that one almost feels sorry for them.

But then one remembers the offseason pity party they threw for themselves, and one is reminded that Florida's neighbors to the west deserve no one's mercy this Saturday.

Florida Football: Double fries, no wins

Last year, when FSU was left out of the playoffs, Seminole fans couldn't comprehend why a 13-0 record wasn't good enough. The common belief is that the injury to Travis knocked them out, but we also noted how FSU stumbled and bumbled through the 2023 season even with Travis:

• Beat 6-6 Boston College by two points after the Eagles took 18 penalties, the last of which was a facemask on a third down stop that would have given BC a chance to drive a kick a field goal to win the game.
• Beat 8-4 Clemson in overtime after the Tigers missed a 29-yard field goal at the end of the game from a backup kicker who was supposed to be working a desk job but was called up as a walk-on for the week.
• Was trailing 7-5 Duke in the fourth quarter before Blue Devils starting QB Riley Leonard left the game with an injury.
• Was only up three points at halftime to 3-9 Pitt
• Beat 7-5 Miami by seven points, where the Hurricanes had a chance on their final drive to tie it up before stalling out at midfield.
• Fell behind North Alabama 13-0 prior to Travis getting injured.

In 2023, FSU was the student who earned an A- in a remedial math class and thought it made them superior to the student who earned a B in an AP Calculus class.

After their month-long pity party was over, FSU went out and had to face that student who made a B in AP Calculus and lost 63-3 in the Orange Bowl.

Seminole fans desperately tried to write off the loss as no big deal, but as we wrote at the time:

"And one could write off Saturday's performance as "Well, that team didn't represent who the Seminoles truly were in 2023," and one would be correct.

Um, question though. All the players that opted out were players that weren't going to return in 2024 anyway. But, if the players that did take the field in garnet and gold on Saturday are not the 2024 Seminoles either, then who is?

If FSU had lost by something like 35-3 or 45-10, no one would have blinked. 63-3 is FSU wasting any opportunity it had to get the players that will make up their 2024 squad better. 63-3 is FSU throwing a month long pity party and winding up with a less productive bowl month than Florida.

63-3 is a sign that 2023 was built on smoke and mirrors by a team that got away with having zero depth by playing in a weak conference."

Sinking Ship

For as bad as Florida has been at times this season, it doesn't come close to the wasteland that has been Tallahassee in 2024. After going to Ireland and losing to Georgia Tech, and coming back home and losing to Boston College and Memphis, it was obvious this FSU team was broken.

DJ Uiagalelei was a bigger flop than Crystal Pepsi, FSU's "vaunted" defensive line rolled over and played dead, and Mike Norvell leveraged FSU for an eight-year contract worth $84 million that Seminole fans already have buyer remorse on.

FSU is so bad in 2024 that Florida could win by 30, and it won't actually prove anything about the Gators.

But all last year, we had to hear about how great FSU was and endure all the Sunbelt Billy jokes from people in garnett and gold.

Saturday is at least a chance at catharsis for those in orange and blue.