Florida State (1-6, 1-5 ACC), after another embarrassing and error-filled performance, saw its first loss to Duke in football… ever.

Fans swear they’ve had it bad in the Willie Taggart era and Mike Norvell would like them to hold his beer as FSU continues its worst start since a 1-10 season in 1974. The Seminoles are poorly coached, give little effort and veterans continue to make the mistakes you’d expect from a true freshman at spring ball.

As we always do after every Florida State game, the Tomahawk Nation tackled the task of breaking down the matchup with five answers to five questions.

What was the most annoying mistake of the night, whether coach or player?

Matt Minnick: No, I can’t limit it to just one. Mike called a timeout on a punt from midfield with an All-American punter, which sent my insides into a frenzy. Kentron dropped a dime off a TD pass and Benson killed our fake punt momentum with an easy drop, was very frustrating, but unfortunately expected for this wide receiver room. For Mike to let Brock do anything other than hand the play to Toafili after the second turnover was mind-numbing. But the worst part for me was Jalen Brown giving about 2% effort at pick 6. He doesn’t make any effort to break up the pass or get an OPI or anything. And then doesn’t try to tackle him. He’s lucky to play for coaches who don’t seem inclined to hold kids accountable because if it were me, he’d be done for good, while the last NIL check would bounce back.

Tim: Matt isn’t wrong, so much happened in this game that was the definition of infuriating. For me it was the Kentron drop. That was a drop in Kro’s bucket that would have made a huge difference. Not just for the game, but possibly for the young quarterback as well. At this point, FSU needs to look at what it has in their young wide receivers like McCoy, Moore, etc. They can’t be worse, can they?

Evenflow58: I don’t know if the tenth time I got kicked in the balls was much different than the ninth time. There’s not much more to say. You can argue about playing against the younger guys, and I don’t disagree, but they aren’t ready to play yet and by and large aren’t getting the coaching they need to get there. It’s just a total failure.

NoleThruandThru: Why do we still see experienced players being abused or making unforced errors? Oh, because this staff continues to run them there and refuses to play underclassmen at spots they NEED to evaluate for the future. We should never see guys like Rob Scott or Kentron Poitier in the non-garbage era again. I bet as soon as they realized who the target was, the majority of FSU fans knew Poitier was going to drop that touchdown pass. This receiving corps is awful.

Jon Loesche: Kentron Poitier dropped what should have been the best TD pass to an FSU QB since Jameis. That one piece managed to encapsulate so much of what has gone wrong this year.

Was this the lowest point of the season for FSU?

Matt Minnick: Absolute. You just lost to a terrible Duke team despite holding them to 185 yards of total offense, marking the first loss for this historic doormat program in school history. And your head coach just gives the same old “must be better” coaching line. This is worse than Jax State.

Evenflow58: No, because I expected this. I’d say the Boston College game was the low point because that’s when it became clear to even the most positive fans that they were being sold a bill of goods. Duke isn’t good and is probably the worst 6-1 team in the country, but they are 6-1.

NoleThruandThru: Absolutely, because we still see a coaching staff making play calls in the bush league and experienced players making unnecessary mistakes. No adjustments. No progress. The bye week made no difference. You’d almost think FSU voluntarily gave away the game tonight. Mike Norvell has now made history as the only FSU head coach to lose to Duke. Just when I think things can’t get any worse, Clark Griswold says we’re on the threshold of hell.

Jon Loesche: Not even close. SMU and Memphis were worse. Not to mention the possible 30+ loss to Miami next week or loss to Florida in front of the smallest crowd for a UF game since the 70’s.

With FSU all but assured of a losing season, what changes can Mike Norvell make this season?

Evenflow58: I believe we are just playing with Norvell. He has shown that recruiting is not enough of a priority for him and that he is unwilling to take on coaches who don’t deliver. Ultimately, that attitude trickles down to the team. They covered it with the portal, but the rot is in the walls. He either has to get lucky in the portal AND recruit and develop better, or he’s done. Given that FSU has missed a bowl in half of Norvell’s tenure, and the fact that he hasn’t made any changes after last year, I’m not sure he’s willing to make the changes he needs to make. It’s a cutthroat business and Norvell isn’t.

NoleThruandThru: Commit fully to the youth movement, provide meaningful playing representation for as many freshmen and sophomores as possible, and begin evaluating assistant coaches and recruiting staff to hire. I don’t care if you combine it with season-ending injuries or whatever, there are plenty of upperclassmen on this roster who should never see the field again. The same goes for some assistant coaches.

Matt Minnick: He needs to fire someone. I’m dead serious. Mike Norvell needs to show his coaches and players that not fixing mistakes will cost you your job. A guy like Jalen Brown needs to be benched Von Wafer style. (Ham stopped playing altogether halfway through his sophomore year). A guy like Jackson West who makes a stupid penalty when we receive the ball should be sent to the practice squad. And with a guy like Alex Atkins, “offensive coordinator” should be removed from his title and duties. There must be consequences for underperforming players, game after game after game. That’s called earning your $10 million salary.

Jon Loesche: Going all-in for the youth movement. It feels like we’ve been saying this since the Memphis game, but we’re really starting to see it and it needs to continue. As others have said, he also needs serious changes in staff, both up and down.

Should Norvell have left Luke Kromenhoeck in the game or was returning to Brock Glenn the right choice?

Evenflow58: I think so, but does it matter? It wasn’t like Kromenhoeck lit it. Yes, he didn’t commit a turnover, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t. I’m letting Brock sit for a while to cool him down and give him a chance to collect himself, so I understand putting Kromenhoeck in, but the team is so bad it doesn’t really matter who the quarterback is. It’s a failure on all levels.

NoleThruandThru: I’m glad they both saw the field, but is wildcat just not a thing this year? Are we really not going to try it with Kam Davis, Deuce Spann, Toafili, Bueller? Bueller?

Tim: I’m not sure there is a right answer here as neither quarterback excelled. I think staying with Luke might be the best choice. The game seemed a step fast for him, but he seemed to make the right decisions. Does he catch up to the speed of the game if he gets the whole second half? Is FSU still only scoring three with him at QB? I think I would have taken the chance. Ultimately, if the two dropped passes are caught, I doubt there will be any discussion at all.

Matt Minnick: I agree with Tim: If Hykeem Williams wasn’t afraid of contact (in an era where defenders aren’t even allowed to hit receivers that hard, no less), then this probably isn’t even a question. But what about this: Toa in wildcat? Did that stay in Charlotte? We may not have the defense of 2023, but the D shut down Duke’s pathetic offense. Maybe Toa wildcat mixed with some Luke runs and short passes will get it done?

Jon Loesche: I understand why Mike did it. Luke made some mean shots and ultimately you don’t want Brock’s confidence to be completely crushed because he’s the only other option at QB the rest of the way. That said, I would have kept Luke in.

What positives, if any, can we take from this loss?

Evenflow58: My daughter’s school had a Halloween festival tonight. We had very good weather and were able to get in and out quite quickly. I was able to park in an area where we avoided having to use the overworked shuttle.

Matt Minnick: There aren’t any. I appreciated seeing Graham continue to improve at LB. I appreciated seeing FSU’s DB turn and finding the football. But at the end of the day, the defense forced zero turnovers and the team lost to Duke. There are no positive points in that.

NoleThruandThru: It was nice to finally see Luke K play some meaningful snaps and see him swing a few times. FSU still has the best punter/kicker duo in the country. Otherwise zero.

Tim: The defense was the best it looked all year. Hard to say how much Duke’s offense was versus how much the defense was, but they definitely played better. Linebackers got to the right spots more often than not, the corners played excellently, and the defensive tackles consistently collapsed the line.

Jon Loesche: Luke throws a really nice ball, even though FSU doesn’t have a single WR to catch it.

FSU is now preparing for Miami, which is great because that would be the first time they have prepared for anything this year.