The Daily Nole

FSU Football: Five Fun Bye Week Facts Under Fisher

Jeremy Esbrandt/FSU athletics

With Florida State on its bye week and no football game to discuss, we decided to look at the Seminoles’ recent history of bye weeks since Jimbo Fisher became head coach in 2010. The Seminoles will be in prime time next Saturday to take on No. 4 Clemson.

Here are five relatively interesting facts regarding bye weeks and FSU:

1. FSU is 8-1 before bye weeks, 6-2 after under Fisher
With Saturday’s 17-6 win over Wake Forest last Saturday, Florida State improved to 8-1 heading into bye weeks under Fisher. The lone loss came in 2011 as FSU fell at Clemson, 35-30. After bye weeks, the Seminoles are 6-2 under their current head coach. FSU lost to N.C. State 28-24 on a Thursday night following a bye in 2010 and to Wake Forest following a bye in 2011 by a score of 35-30. FSU however, has won six straight games out of a bye. The Seminoles beat Wake Forest last season in Winston-Salem, 24-16.

2. FSU is 2-0 at home under Fisher after a bye
Following a bye week, FSU may be 6-2 under Fisher, but the Seminoles are 2-0 at home. FSU beat Nevada 62-7 in its 2013 home-opener after a 12-day break and Clemson 23-17 in overtime in the 2014 ACC opener. Karlos Williams scored the game-winning touchdown for the Seminoles in that contest.

3. FSU is 2-0 against Clemson following a bye under Fisher
Following a bye week, the Seminoles have won both previous meetings against Clemson. In 2013, FSU blasted the third-ranked Tigers 51-14 in a match-up of top-5 teams. The following year, FSU won 23-17 in overtime against No. 22 Clemson. In the latter case, Clemson also had a bye before coming to Doak Campbell Stadium.

4. Under Fisher, FSU is 3-0 against ranked teams following a bye
Against ranked teams following a bye, FSU is 3-0 under Fisher. Aside from the two aforementioned contests against Clemson, the Seminoles also defeated No. 25 Louisville on a Thursday night in 2014. Led by quarterback Jameis Winston, FSU rallied from a 21-0 deficit to win 42-31 on the eve of Halloween.

5. Under Fisher, FSU is better before byes than after
Under Fisher, the Seminoles have been slightly better as a team before byes than after. Before byes, FSU is 36-6 — a winning percentage of .857. FSU is 37-10 in weeks following a bye — a .787 winning percentage. Since FSU had multiple byes in 2013 and 2014, we discounted its first bye each season since it came after just one week in 2013 and after two in 2014. If bowl games are excluded, FSU is 33-8 in the weeks following an open date. That’s an .805 winning percentage.

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

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