Looks like the 2024 kickoff is all about ‘How the turntables.’ After the Vanderbilt Commodores crushed the Alabama Crimson Tide on October 5, here we got to witness another surprise. Despite Mike Norvell and FSU’s all-time record against the Blue Devils, the Noles enter the week as a betting underdog. Florida State and Manny Diaz’s Duke Blue Devils faced off each other on October 18. And guess what? Moving into the halftime the Devils were at 17 while FSU landed in hot water and was stuck with a single-digit score, 6. There were some costly mistakes on Norvell and co.’s part which left Duke with an edge before the halftime. But this was enough to make the FSU fans question their choices.  

The Devils hosted the Seminoles at Wallace Wade Stadium. And hardly did Norvell’s crew have thought that walking into Week 8 would cost them hard. Already recovering from a fresh loss, Duke left no stone unturned to score their first victory in program history against FSU who are 22-0 in the all-time series. Not just this, the number game has also been strong. As analyst Dustin Lewis highlighted, “This is the first time Duke has ever led by double digits against Florida State. Thanks, ESPN. #Noles.”

Do you remember the last time they had a face-off? Let’s just brush up on the memory. Last season, the Blue Devils battled in Tallahassee. But ultimately, Norvell’s squad pulled away late in a 38-20 win and snagged the ACC Championship. This time around, some showstoppers left Diaz to take a chill pill!

Even though the Seminoles had a powerful start making a field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first quarter, it was short-lived. Then dropped in Duke DB Chandler Rivers who had an interception return for a touchdown. And BOOM! Blue Devils took a 7-3 lead. Not to forget Duke RB Star Thomas who rushed into the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown. This was enough for his program to extend their lead to 14-3 against Norvell and Co. It was only halftime but hate for FSU was already overpouring on social media.     

FSU fans in despair as Mike Norvell’s program spirals out of control

The FSU fans are probably looking for a place to hide their face. It took Norvell’s army one game to lose their fan base. So much has been the hate that a fan even wrote, “I’m FSU and they trash!” At the end of 2023, the College Football Poll chose to play an ugly role. They decided to exclude FSU from the playoff. Maybe the Seminoles are yet to recover from the trauma, and to a fan, this was the reason behind their substandard performance. “Did the CFP snub break Florida St? I can’t even imagine the pain coupled with absolute hopelessness, of FSU fans,” commented a concerned fan.

Besides the $18 million blunder, Norvell has almost emptied Seminoles’ pocket by paying $3 million in legal fees in its lawsuits against ACC. However, according to a fan this has been no less than a costly mistake, “FSU is looking pretty silly after spending a fortune in credibility suing the ACC because they’re so much better and deserve so much more $.  If they settled for an exit fee of $0 and an unencumbered return of media rights there option would be Big12 for less $ or major ind.” Walking 1-5 into Week 8, FSU’s season has been a complete disaster that made another FSU fan comment, “FSU is hurting themselves tonight.”

The FSU football team has been around since 1902, with an all-time record of 588–287–18. Now that they have reached the bottom, an inquisitive fan questions, “How did FSU turn into such a dumpster fire?” As the game is yet to hit the final lap, let’s just hope Mike Norvell and the Seminoles buckle up and overturn the fan narrative. 

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