Florida State Seminoles QB DJ Uiagalelei has fallen prey to a domino effect. The program is yet to recover from the trauma against SMU. And now, their QB is bearing some hard after-shocks of the game. But that should not have been the case. After all, Uiagalelei had hit the high notes before the 2024 kickoff. Much before the QB had hit the gridiron, his EA Sports rankings did the talking for him. But not anymore. While amidst the chaos, his EA Sports fame served as a ray of hope, there too things have taken an ugly turn. It’s not just the Uiagalelei who has been in the hot seat. The QB is sharing it with their HC Mike Norvell who is walking on thin ice with his $10 million job. 

With College Football 25 making a return after almost a decade, the craze has been real. So much so that EA Sports has performed beyond expectations garnering some 6.5 million unique players. With five weeks of the season, it’s time for them to refresh their rankings. And poor FSU! It just took them one refresh and 11 of their players’ ratings declined. That’s natural for a program that has started 1-4. On October 2, On3 Sports dropped their rankings titled “Notable Player Ratings Update.”

Well, Uiagalelei did find himself a place, however, it clearly showed his fall. While Colorado Buffaloes dual-threat Travis Hunter led the list with a 97 overall rating among the QBs, the FSU star got himself the lowest-tier seat. The QB with the highest rank was Miami Hurricanes’ Cam Ward with a 91 overall rating followed by Tennessee Volunteers’ phenom QB Nico Iamaleava with an 88 overall ranking. 

But what made Uiagalelei’s ranks drop from 86 to 84? FSU rushed into this season pinning all their hopes for the QB. Sadly, he failed! During the FSU vs. Boston College Eagles face-off, Uiagalelei made 27 passing attempts, out of which he only recorded 11 completions. Not just this, he missed three consecutive shots to the end zone. It took one gameplay for the Seminoles fans to chuck out Uiagalelei as their favorite and root for backup QB Brock Glenn. But going by the situation, HC Norvell is in a deeper soup. 

Mike Norvell’s desperate gamble on DJ Uiagalelei falls short

The FSU fans have hit the rock bottom of their patience level. Legends like Shannon Sharpe also did not leave a chance to strip off Novell’s program, “I’m upset it makes me sick as a resident of the State of Florida I’m embarrassed.” Like most programs’ HCs, Norvell too sought Uiagalelei as his last resort to keep his job afloat. But the QB’s lackluster performance in all three losses that FSU faced has now questioned Norvell’s talents too.

Plus, as the Seminoles became the first preseason top-10 team to start 0-3, fans already made up their minds to get rid of their HC. And guess what? The desperation to kick Norvell out got so real, that FSU is all ready to give away their fortunes in the hope of better days. The Seminoles signed Mike Norvell for a six-year contract in 2019 worth $26.5 million, which was later extended to $84 million for another 10 years.

But is FSU willing to wait? Definitely not. As per the sources, they have already arranged for the $65 million buyout to bid farewell to their HC at the earliest. But is DJ Uiagalelei responsible for his situation? Maybe or maybe not. Mike Norvell’s $18 million misstep to boost NIL appeared to be backfire!