FSU Football: Was 2016 a Success?

10 wins. Three losses. No conference championship. Orange Bowl victory. Victories over two main rivals. Injured superstars. Surprising arrivals.

Every segment up there is linked with the Florida State’s 2016 season. The high of winning an Orange Bowl was something not even the most optimistic of FSU fans could’ve predicted after the Oct. 1 loss to North Carolina. Fortunately for them, the team rallied, and rattled off a string of victories to put themselves in prime position to face Michigan. Thanks to some timely losses by Louisville, the Seminoles were heading down to Miami for a second time in the same year.

But the end of season success can only cover up what was once a season hyped up as a potential national championship year. Before the season kicked off, The Daily Nole staff gave predictions for how the season would play it out. Not many of the expectations were met. While a couple were fairly close to the actual results, many fans are left wondering how to feel about the 2016 season. Was it disappointing? Was it an accomplishment? What can it tell us for the future?

Interestingly enough, one tidbit came up in multiple player interviews when talking about the season as a whole.

Senior quarterback Sean Maguire is a player who has “seen it all” so to speak. While he only played one snap in the Orange Bowl, his impact on the team for the past three years is commendable. A redshirt freshman on the 2013 team that won a national championship, Maguire certainly thinks 2016 qualifies as a success.

“Of course, obviously playoffs is the ultimate goal…but you know its college football and there’s a lot more to play for,” Maguire said. “As (head coach Jimbo) Fisher always says…to go 10-3, beat Florida, beat Miami, win the Orange Bowl, yeah it’s a successful season.”

Fullback Freddie Stevenson provided a more “redemption” type of feeling with the victory.

“We didn’t start off the year the way we wanted to, and everyone counted us out, counted us out of this game too,” the senior said. “People were sending me articles all week saying we were big underdogs and didn’t have a chance. But hey, we got that W and at the end of the day we took care of business.”

Near the end of the interview sessions, we caught up with former classmate N’namdi Green. Green is currently a scout team member, and he gave perhaps one of the more interesting views on the season.

“We hadn’t reached our full potential yet, and even tonight we haven’t reached our full potential as a team,” Green said. “We know we can be a lot better, and that’s just what Coach Fisher was trying to push to everybody…Season was definitely successful, 100 percent, but we obviously know we can do more, we have more in store; that’s one thing for the fans to look forward to…we’re not done yet…hopefully we can get to the playoffs and win a national championship.”

In all three of the above interviews, the players each mentioned that there was something bigger in mind. Whether it was playoffs or even just more wins, the team knew it could be better. Most other programs would consider 10-3 with an Orange Bowl victory as their ceiling. Florida State considers it the minimum to be “successful”.

Ultimately, it’s hard to consider the 2016 a disappointment. How it should be seen is this: a successful season that could have been even more. Perhaps 2016 will be used as another learning moment for the team. That there’s certain expectations at FSU, and 10 wins still might not satisfy them. If they take that lesson to heart, expect an angry and determined Seminoles team in 2017.

Mike Ferguson, editor

The euphoria of winning five straight games to close 2016, beating Michigan in the Orange Bowl and probably finishing in the top 10 has Florida State fans excited about the possibilities in 2017. After a 5-3 start, the Seminoles looked dead in the water with nothing to play for, but head coach Jimbo Fisher and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly found a way to get the players to circle the wagons and salvage the season. Following FSU’s 37-34 loss to Clemson on Oct. 29, I said that no matter what happened from there on out, the 2016 season would be the most disappointing under Fisher. I’m backing off that ledge a little bit, but can we really consider it a success? I say no.

10 wins, a New Year’s Bowl victory and a top-10 finish being labeled as a failure is pretty jaw-dropping, but it shows how high FSU’s floor really is. Coming into the season, Florida State was supposed to get to the College Football Playoff and perhaps win a national championship. There’s no way to measure how immense the loss of safety Derwin James was, but those dreams were dead on Oct. 1. 2016 obviously had its magic. Dalvin Cook broke his own single-season FSU rushing record and became the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. DeMarcus Walker led a resurgent defense that probably saved Kelly’s job. Deondre Francois was ACC Rookie of the Year. The FSU senior class became the first to go a combined 8-0 against Miami and Florida. Heck, at this moment in time, I’d venture to say that the Seminoles are one of the five best teams in America, but that’s not decided over just the final month.

When you look at the complete body of work however, this was a team that saw the nation’s longest home winning streak snapped by a North Carolina team that went on to lose five games. It allowed a school-record 63 points in a 43-point loss against a Louisville team that would go on to lose four games. FSU finished third in its division. Granted, both FSU and Louisville were different teams by season’s end, but given the total body of work, I can’t spin 2016 into a success. I’m not saying I’d consider it a failure, but if that’s what not labeling it a success is, there are a lot of teams out there that would love to fail.

Robert Blackburn, contributor

Finishing the season 10-3 with a 33-32 Orange Bowl victory over a very good Michigan team was a fitting end to what I would call a successful season. The experience this young Florida State team got this season is almost a success story in itself. FSU started the season with its eyes on the College Football Playoff; those dreams disappeared with a 63-20 loss to Louisville and a stunner at home to North Carolina. A team full of youth learned what it feels like to lose, and more importantly what it takes to rebound and save what could have been a disaster of a season. With a ton of talent returning, I think the 2016 season will be a major stepping stone in building not only the next College Football Playoff run but also another shot at a national championship.

T.J. Pittinger, contributor

I’m going to have to say this season was not a success. I wear garnet and gold glasses and am usually a pretty big homer. But, three losses (and one being by 40-plus points) doesn’t really constitute a successful season in my book. The expectation was to get to the playoff. FSU got nowhere near that. Sure, it rebounded and left us with good thoughts of how the season ended. But, the Seminoles took too long to figure things out and that ultimately cost them a chance at seriously contending. Beating Miami, Florida, and Michigan are nice consolations, though.