The Daily Nole

Down, Not Out: Does FSU Have What it Takes to Bounce Back from Louisville?

Jeff Romance/FSU athletucs

To say it got ugly at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on Saturday would be a huge understatement. At one point, 10th-ranked Louisville had scored 49 unanswered points against Florida State in a 63-20 victory over the Seminoles.

It’s been mentioned that the 63 points was the most ever scored against FSU and the 43-point loss was the worst under head coach Jimbo Fisher and the fourth worst in school-history. The Seminoles were dominated in every phase of the game, as the Cardinals were flat out faster, more physical and much better prepared.

The challenge now for Florida State is not letting one embarrassing loss become two or three. Seen as a legitimate national championship contender just last week, the Seminoles’ pride and probably their confidence took a big hit over the weekend. If there is a silver lining for FSU, it’s that it has always seemed to be able to bounce back under Fisher.

After dropping three straight early in 2011, the Seminoles sat at just 2-3 and their then second-year head coach was just 12-7 in his career as FSU’s top guy. Fisher’s Seminoles responded by winning seven of their final eight games to close the year with the only loss coming by a single point on a missed field goal. Florida State was able to beat both Miami and Florida before rallying to top Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl to finish the year in the top 25.

With big expectations in 2012, the Seminoles bounced back from a heartbreaking 17-16 loss to North Carolina State in which they blew a 16-0 lead to win the next five games and the ACC Atlantic. After blowing a fourth quarter lead and losing to rival Florida to close the regular season, Fisher’s team was able to circle the wagons and win the ACC for the first time in seven years and the Orange Bowl for the school’s first BCS bowl victory in 13 years.

Last season after what could be considered to be the most gut-wrenching loss under Fisher — a 22-16 defeat against Georgia Tech in which the Yellow Jackets blocked Roberto Aguayo’s game-winning field goal attempt and returned it for a score as time expired — the Seminoles rallied to win four of their final five regular season games and advance to a New Year’s Six bowl.

Most of the examples above however, came after hard-fought losses and mostly against good teams. The loss to Wake Forest in 2011 and last season at Georgia Tech are the exception in that case. Bouncing back from Saturday however, will be vastly different from a psyche standpoint.

[SLOCK]That’s not to say Florida State has taken some beatings under Fisher. The example that comes to mind for most fans is the 59-20 Rose Bowl loss to Oregon in a national semifinal to conclude the 2014 season, but in that case, it was to close the year and FSU had an entire offseason to recoup with a different roster and different mindset.

The only comparable regular season affair under Fisher might be the 47-17 loss at Oklahoma in 2010. That contest however, was only Fisher’s second game as head coach. Though the Seminoles were ranked, Florida State hadn’t won 10 games in seven years or the ACC in five and weren’t seen as legitimate national championship contenders or even favorites heading into Norman.

Bouncing back from Saturday’s beatdown might be one of the biggest challenges for Fisher in his seven years as head coach. All offseason and throughout the early parts of 2016, Florida State players listened to everyone in Tallahassee and most outside of it tell them how good they were.

Running back Dalvin Cook was seen as a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, the offensive line was supposed to be vastly improved and the secondary was seen as one of the nation’s deepest and most talented units.

On Saturday in Louisville, Cook was held in check, the Seminoles were dominated up front on both sides of the ball and the defense including the secondary didn’t seem to know its assignments on most plays. There wasn’t a single aspect of the game where FSU was better. Truth be told, there wasn’t a single aspect of the game where FSU wasn’t dominated.

With the College Football Playoff and even the ACC seeming like a long shot at this point for Florida State, it will be interesting to see how or if Fisher can motivate his team to play close to its potential the rest of the way. After being thoroughly dominated by a division rival with the whole world watching, can the Seminoles pick themselves up off the mat? How FSU answers that question this week and in the weeks to come will say a lot about its character and its head coach.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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