North Florida Sports Network Podcast
North Florida Sports Network Podcast
Florida State Beats Virginia Tech, Keeps Bowl Hopes Alive
Let me ask you one question.
SPEAKER_03:The North Florida sport North Florida sport north Florida North Florida sporting networks for net Florida sporting net sports.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna beat the shit out of the next hole.
SPEAKER_04:You gotta give us your shot, you know what you basic losing is over.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It is a five and five campaign.
SPEAKER_00:Five wins. We have more than doubled the win total from last season. That's right. Yeah. Two and five. Covered. We covered.
SPEAKER_02:Yep, made me some money. Good. Good. Florida State 34. Virginia Tech 14. That's your final score. And we have an instant reaction for you on hand. We're gonna go over what worked for FSU, what's the plan in the future? What are we gonna do? Looks like Mike saved his job. What's the hope? How can we get this thing turned around? We'll discuss some other college football. Yeah, a lot of things. A lot of things get on board the train, get on board the shuttle. You can uh we'll download the podcast at iTunes, iHeartRadio. Subscribe. You know what is mom Spotify?
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SPEAKER_02:Five and five, the gnolls with the big win. Little bit not interested in it, but watched it like what I saw. Uh team team fought, the running game. I feel like Virginia Tech could have ran the ball more.
SPEAKER_00:Right. I'll be honest, man. Biggest takeaway is that Virginia Tech sucks. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um but they had two wins in the conference. Right. Well, I mean, you did what you're supposed to do. You beat it, you beat a bad team. You did what you're supposed to do. And to see this team this the the past month or so, it's they haven't done what they're supposed to do. Well, I mean, after they did it twice. They did it against Wake, and they've done it now against Virginia Tech.
SPEAKER_00:After last week, we were kind of scratching our heads, wondering what we would see tonight. Six win dream's still alive. It is still alive.
SPEAKER_02:It's gonna be, but but you can't go to a bowl game unless you win a road game. You can't, you can't, and the last time this team won a road game. Won a road game. We were on the road. I was there credentialed. Rest fried. So yeah, my I mean maybe I should be there, man. Right. Maybe you should be there. It was 2023 pit. Yeah. Last time they won a conference road game. Well, that's what it's gonna take for FSU to make a bowl after they get the win and improve to five and five on the year. FSU was led by Tommy Castellanos, who had himself kind of a game.
SPEAKER_00:Kind of an okay game. Listen, man, the biggest takeaway from this, Virginia Tech is not a very good team.
SPEAKER_02:No, because he was 12 of 24 for 189 and a touchdown. Nothing nothing outstanding. No. What you didn't do is screw it up. He had two touchdowns on the round.
SPEAKER_00:You didn't turn the ball over.
SPEAKER_02:He didn't turn the ball over.
SPEAKER_00:And that's huge. You know, you got you got a turnover, which kept him from scoring. That's about all it did. Um but again, you know, this did listen. This was two bad teams going at it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, they still were able to run the ball, and you they had 238 yards.
SPEAKER_00:That's all yeah, they they they could run at will. Yeah, they couldn't. I don't know why they they started throwing the ball.
SPEAKER_02:I thought they could maybe there was third down efficiency, 7-11 on third down for Florida State. Yeah. Fourth down one on one. They did have 71 plays to the 59. So the job was done here. I think more what's interesting is how this factors into the future of the program. And does this weigh in on the decision or the comprehensive evaluation that's due at the end of this?
SPEAKER_00:Well, yeah, it it does because if if you lose this game, then I mean there's really no possible way that you can't fire. Right.
SPEAKER_02:So if you have this win, you can start playing this game. And this game is a the game of the what if game. And I hate this game, but you know what?
SPEAKER_01:That's what we're gonna do.
SPEAKER_02:Well, yeah, I mean you catch the ball. Right. What if you catch the ball, you win that Virginia game. You know, a lot of things happen. The defense of stuff. Tony White doesn't take a UCLA call and lose. Well, the the yeah, the it yeah. There's plenty of two games that I'm looking at in particular on this season, and one is the Virginia game and one is the Stanford game. And I believe those two games are games you should have won. Right. And if you turn those games into wins, you're seven and three.
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's like you said, man, the the the only two games where you have been pretty much just you actually might beat Pitt if you're waiting for a bad phone.
SPEAKER_02:Well, yeah, if you're gonna be. So you have to start looking at those three things.
SPEAKER_00:The the two games that you've been pushed around um or just just really not been in the game, um, you know, Miami, I I get it.
SPEAKER_02:The score was but that was the Miami.
SPEAKER_00:The score was closer than yeah, they beat you. Like it was 28 to 3.
SPEAKER_02:You dropped the ball.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you blew it. You blew it, but you there's no excuse there, they beat you. Outside of those games, you can make an argument that they should have won all the other ones. Right. And if they they they and when you have millions and millions of dollars writing on it, if you're a guy that has to write it, or a girl that has to write a check to pay for the buyout, right? I just you're you're finding ways to justify you know what that's just guy with numbers.
SPEAKER_02:The team still tried. Yeah. And I'm looking at that and buy-in. And what I'm looking at next week is something I really want to see is a road win. Right. And go ahead and get bowl eligibility before you go. You have to go to Gainesville.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that would be nice. It would be a good one. Wouldn't it be nice?
SPEAKER_02:It would be nice to be able to do it. Wouldn't it be nice to go ahead and get a conference win in Raleigh after the season you just had the last two years? Go you know what it's been a nightmare for.
SPEAKER_01:Go on the road, get the W, get Bull eligible. Have a little victory.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And and play with some confidence down in Gainesville and get a win over your rival.
SPEAKER_00:Mess around and go seven and five?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Win out. Right. After two they won two games last year, you win seven.
SPEAKER_02:That's what I'm trying to do. That would be nice. It would be nice. It would be nice. And it's something that I I think can happen. There's well, it can.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, NC State's no no world beater.
SPEAKER_02:They got dominated by dominated. Dominated. It's gonna be at home, but it's a game you should win. Yeah. And then it's gonna come down to a rivalry game. But you know, you take care of business. Florida's not good. But if you take care of business Friday night, you get your six-win dream. Short week, you get that six-win dream. You got two chances for a six-win dream. That's right. And what I say at the beginning of the year, I said six wins, you get another shot. Nah, man. You win six for me, you get another shot next year.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:But it's got two chances.
SPEAKER_00:Somebody very, very smart, very articulate, said six wins before the season started.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00:That was you. Dude, that's that that is tripling your win total from last season. As ugly as it's looked, as as many chances as you've blown, it's still six and six. Yeah. And you're going to a bowl game. Right.
SPEAKER_02:It's about getting recruits to sign on. Well, yeah, sure. And with the early signing period, though, every week matters. And you have to have things going in the right direction.
SPEAKER_00:Right. And you and you start thinking, like, i if you make a coaching change, who is it that you're going to hire? And there's nobody.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:There's nobody. James Franklin? No. No, let me tell you something about this. No.
SPEAKER_02:Coaches, coaches are more and more meaningless in the terms of the. It's players.
SPEAKER_00:It's players. It's not about and it's about attracting players. Right. That's what has to change at Florida State. So your general manager, Derek Ray, you can go ahead and just take your ass somewhere.
SPEAKER_02:He wasn't here a couple years ago when we had roster full.
SPEAKER_00:No, he wasn't. He wasn't. He was here when we signed Braden Fisk and when we signed Keon Coleman, but that was more about Jordan Travis and Jared Verse.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I believe that.
SPEAKER_00:That was nothing about going and identifying the two top transfer targets in the portal overall. That's not evaluation. All right. You look at guys like Fabian Lubett. You look at guys like Jarian Jones. You look at the transfers like Jared Verse that came into the program when we were, you know, coming off a losing season.
SPEAKER_02:He wasn't there.
SPEAKER_00:No, he wasn't here. That wasn't him evaluating those guys. That wasn't him going and scouting the Syracuse game and being like, who's this defensive end from Albany that's running down Sean Tucker? Like who is that kid? Because as soon as he hits the portal, we're going to offer him.
SPEAKER_02:Anything you saw tonight that made you think that I hear a little bit of change in tone here. Like that. I know you're not, I know you still think we should fire Mike Norvell, but I think there's a little bit of realization here that you just don't think there's any better solution out there.
SPEAKER_00:I I I you know I don't think that they are going to find a guy to throw millions of dollars at that is that is worth it right now. You you can't miss either. Right. So you might as well hold. You know, if I thought that they could lure somebody like John Summerall at Tulane, he's not. And he he's holding out for the Auburn job. You know, I don't think they can get him. I don't think they can get Lane Kiffin. You know, I don't I don't think they can get him a Marcus Freeman type of guy. You're not gonna get anybody big like that.
SPEAKER_02:So you have to you have to look assess it and you have to try to evaluate what's and I like what you said there, what's worked in the past under Norvell and what hasn't. And go back to what worked. Yeah. You just have to find the guys that nobody else wants.
SPEAKER_00:Well, dude, you just you gotta accept you're not you're not going to the playoffs next year. You're not going to playoffs this year, obviously. You're not going next year. You know, so what what are you better off paying the guy that you already have under contract or going and and and hiring somebody else that you're gonna be locked into for four more years? And I mean it did happen.
SPEAKER_02:He did go undefeated, and it was a freak injury to Jordan Travis, and it was a bullcrap decision, right? But he wasn't allowed to ever have a chance to play for a championship. And I and it's whatever, and that sucks, but he did it. Yeah, and I think you have to factor that in, and so that has to factor in so like he can do it again.
SPEAKER_00:Maybe. But I listen the the the the long-term outlook for Mike Norvell here at Florida State, uh I still believe that it's not a matter of of if, but only when. Like when when you're finally gonna pull the plug on it. Well, yeah. Well, it's hey, yeah. Keep winning. You keep winning, and maybe maybe somebody else what maybe somebody else wants him. Uh yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe he maybe he moves on and because right now there right now there's a job opening in Arkansas. There are plenty of job openings. And if you were able to finish strong here and have the the resume that you've done, be like, hey, I've done it before. There's there's some openings that might not have been.
SPEAKER_00:There might be a school that was willing to hire you and get free. There's places that might not even have an opening yet. You know, I I look at Baylor that is gonna be looking for a new athletic director. They're probably gonna be looking for a new coach. You know, the the season's not over yet, but they keep losing. You know, that's a guy. Mike Norvell is a guy that's from Texas. Yeah. You know, Michael Alfred is a is an athletic director that is just go over there. Right, right. Like you never know what's gonna happen there. But it for me, the idea that he's going to recapture what he had in that brief little window. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. No. This isn't, you know, like the days of Bobby Balden having good seasons when he got here and then having a little bit of turmoil and then turning around. Like that that's that's not gonna lack.
SPEAKER_02:Is the red flag for me.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_02:It's just like so.
SPEAKER_00:If you're just every the elephant in the room is recruiting.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's recruiting, man.
SPEAKER_00:You can't win if you can't recruit. Right.
SPEAKER_02:And there's there's regardless, there's that is a baseline here that you have to have. Well, the expect that baseline, yeah, boom.
SPEAKER_00:Out of here. Out of here. The expectation at Florida State needs to be you know, if if if you cannot bring in a top ten class ever, we can't win.
SPEAKER_02:We can't we can't work with it. If you're gonna claim that you're gonna win national championships, right? And if you're gonna claim that you're in contention for it, it's data now that has proven what it takes, pretty much, and you've proven that too by what you put out. Right. So you not only have other data, you have your own data, you have to look at that and you have to be like, well, if we're gonna invest this, we have to make a change. Yeah. But you won another week, and you No, you you won another game. Look, and and I think that and you went and you win the next two games. Guess what? There's gonna be a what if on the end of the year. There's gonna be, and you could actually have people talking, man, uh things a couple breaks go the other way. This team could have actually made it.
SPEAKER_00:Right, and they won two and they won two games last year. Exactly. This guy wins seven six, seven games. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I think that's just so I think that's just the way the sport is right now.
SPEAKER_00:And it's and and this, you know, it's unless you're Ohio State. It's Georgia. It's fifty-four million dollars owed to this guy or Texas to go away. Like that that's what we're talking about. Like, like you, you gotta pay this guy. Yeah, we're not LSU. We're not gonna sit here and try to, you know. Not Penn State. Right. We're not gonna juke this guy out of his money. So he's owed that money one way or the other, whether it was a bad deal to begin with, like you're gonna have to pay this guy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So it it's not, you know, it's not crazy that they're looking at reasons to keep him. Just man.
SPEAKER_02:You know, you just Virginia State. They get the win. Other results in college.
SPEAKER_00:You know what's crazy, man? It's 26 years ago, these two teams played for a national title.
SPEAKER_02:It was. It is insane.
SPEAKER_00:Now they have a combined record in the ACC.
SPEAKER_02:Alabama lost its first SEC game today. 23 to 21 to Brent Venables and Burnt Vegetables. He got him. He got him. Yeah, man. Alabama doubled their yardage, but the key turnovers of pick Oklahoma. Bro, that defense, man. Key timely defense, too. It's kind of like timely hitting in baseball. Like when you have to like nut up, have the right calls, they do it. And just right position. And uh Simpson was inaccurate on some. He's the best defensive coordinator. Because I think Alabama, I think that was a great game. Oklahoma went from probably not making it to they're probably gonna win the next two games. They went out, dude. And they're in that position now where they don't have to, they're probably not gonna go to the SEC championship. That's the best position to be in. So, like, what if you're AM? Do you even want to go to that game?
unknown:It just feels like a lot of shit.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Do you want? I mean, yeah, you do, but it's it's becoming more and more clear that that game's gonna be more of a game means absolutely nothing. Yeah. You're gonna increase the dude. You're talking you're what you want to do is increase the schedules, I guess, of conference games, but you're gonna have to eventually get rid of if you want to increase the playoffs, you gotta get rid of these conference championships.
SPEAKER_00:Right. You're talking about a conference championship game in a conference that's gonna have five teams in the fucking playoff. Like, who cares?
unknown:I know.
SPEAKER_02:I know, right?
SPEAKER_00:Who gives a shit?
SPEAKER_02:I know.
SPEAKER_00:All right, you might get a championship.
SPEAKER_02:Conference championship.
SPEAKER_00:Right, you'll get a bye. You'll get a buy.
SPEAKER_02:It's only for the the group of five. Right. It's only for the mid-major. For ACC. Yeah, where they the ACT Big 12, and then the Well, the ACC shouldn't do it either.
SPEAKER_01:Because I'll tell you right now, Miami's the best job the ACC has.
SPEAKER_00:They're not they're not going. Unless they make the ACC title game, they're not going.
SPEAKER_02:And they're not. No, they're not. Georgia Tech and uh Virginia have the inside track there. Georgia Tech with the the scary last minute win over BC. Virginia beats Duke. Miami handles NC State very easily. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And that's that's the thing. Georgia Tech, like you gotta skate by Pitt next week.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. That's a big game. So Georgia Tech Pitt next week. Winner, I think winner goes to Charlotte, pretty much.
SPEAKER_00:I think Pitt has a chance to win out.
SPEAKER_02:But Georgia Tech wins against Pitt. They're in Charlotte. Virginia has Virginia Tech. Virginia wins against Virginia Tech. They're in Charlotte. So those are the teams that control their destiny. And SMU. SMU beats Louisville.
SPEAKER_00:They got an outside shot.
SPEAKER_02:SMU has a chance over Miami because they beat them. So there you go, Miami. You're gonna need Louisville to beat SMU.
SPEAKER_00:You're gonna need Virginia Tech to beat Virginia.
SPEAKER_02:You're gonna need Port or Pitt or Pitt to beat Georgia Tech, then you beat Pitt.
SPEAKER_00:Right. You got to win out.
SPEAKER_02:But I think Miami's what they need to do is just what they did today. Just take care of business and win.
SPEAKER_00:It's not gonna matter if you don't make the ACC title game. Right.
SPEAKER_02:Um Well, because you got in the Big Ten, you got USC who beat uh came back to beat Iowa at home, a tough Iowa team, but they Iowa covered. Um but that was a big win for them. They're 8-2. It doesn't matter. You got Michigan. What if Michigan beats Ohio State?
SPEAKER_00:That's fine. That's a they're both going. Well that yeah, and that's just stealing a spot from the SEC. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Because right now you got Oklahoma, Georgia, Tech, not Texas, not Texas. Not Texas.
SPEAKER_00:No, you got Oklahoma, Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas AM, and Alabama. Yeah. And that, like, it that's it. Yep. Well, I mean, you you got five from the SEC, three from the fucking Big Ten. One from the ACC, one from the Big 12, one from the AAC, and then Notre Dame.
SPEAKER_02:Well, we gotta get on out of here. All right, here. But you're right. Hoops though. FSU is signed. Number five recruiting class already.
SPEAKER_00:They've got inked, signed, sign, seal, delivered. I'm really looking forward to these guys. They signed three guys. They got another one coming. Hopefully. Brandon Bass Jr. Yeah, Brandon Bass Jr.
SPEAKER_02:Big Man.
SPEAKER_00:Marcisse Ponder.
SPEAKER_02:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:Oh man, I can't remember the other guy's name. Jason Lopez is the football player that is also signed as a point guard. I mean, it, dude, for a team that has not been recruiting anywhere near the top 20-30 the last couple of years, for Luke Laux to come in and do that, it's pretty impressive.
SPEAKER_02:I love the big guy, man.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Ponder, I'm a big fan of this.
SPEAKER_02:I love you got called you got Colin Paul.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's it, Colin Paul. And that's what he did. He went, he got kids from the state of Florida. And that's that's that's what he's gonna do.
SPEAKER_02:Um I like what I've seen from the Hoop squad. Looking forward to watching them as they continue their out-of-conference schedule, which includes the likes of number one Houston, as they will be playing as well as other formidable opponents as Dayton. They're going up to Dayton to play. Oh, we're going up to 937. Yeah, man. Old company. Old stomping grounds.
SPEAKER_00:There we go, baby. Let's get it. All right, we'll be right back.
SPEAKER_02:Right down the street from Miami Valley. Back to 500 for the Knowles. We got NFL tomorrow. Uh the Dolphins will be kicking it off in Madrid early. Yeah. Niners will be losing tomorrow. Yeah, big game in the NFC West.
SPEAKER_00:I don't give a shit about James. Yeah, that's that's the only thing I care about. Jameis makes his return to starting tomorrow. That's the only thing I care about, dude. They gotta win. And he balls out. I don't. Yeah. We get into the shot.
SPEAKER_02:He's gonna get that shot. We're gonna watch it. And we're gonna react to it. And we're gonna talk to you next time. Yes, we are. Right here on the North Florida Sports Network.
SPEAKER_04:You understand that? I'm gonna break the shit out of him.
