It looks like everything will be there at Kickoff 2024 “Like the record players.” After the Vanderbilt Commodores crushed the Alabama Crimson Tide on October 5th, here was another surprise. Despite Mike Norvell and FSU's record against the Blue Devils, the Noles enter the week as betting underdogs. Florida State and Manny Diaz The Duke Blue Devils competed on October 18th. And guess what? Entering the half, the Devils were tied at 17 while FSU was in trouble, stuck with a score of 6 in single digits. There were some costly mistakes from Norvell and Co. that gave Duke a lead before halftime. But that was enough to make FSU fans question their decisions.

The Devils hosted the Seminoles at Wallace Wade Stadium. And Norvell's crew little imagined it would cost them much to get to Week 8. Already bouncing back from another loss, Duke left no stone unturned to earn its first win in program history against FSU, which is 22-0 in the all-time series. Additionally, the numbers game was strong. As an analyst Dustin Lewis highlighted, “This is the first time Duke has led by double digits against Florida State. Thanks, ESPN. #Noles.”

Do you remember the last duel between them? Let's just refresh the memory. Last season, the Blue Devils struggled in Tallahassee. But ultimately, Norvell's team pulled away late with a 38-20 victory and secured the ACC Championship. This time some showstoppers left Diaz to take a tranquilizer!

Although the Seminoles got off to a strong start, taking a 3-0 lead with a field goal with 10 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter, it was short-lived. Then placed in Duke DB Chandler Rivers who had an interception return for a touchdown. And BOOM! The Blue Devils took a 7-3 lead. Not to mention Duke RB Star Thomas who stormed into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. This was enough for his program to extend the lead to 14:3 against Norvell and Co. It was only halftime, but hate for FSU was already spreading across social media.

FSU fans are distraught as Mike Norvell's program spins out of control

FSU fans are probably looking for a place to hide their faces. It took one game for Norvell's Army to lose its fan base. The hate was so great that one fan even wrote: “I’m FSU and they do trash!” At the end of 2023, the college football poll decided to take an ugly turn. They decided to exclude FSU from the playoffs. Perhaps the Seminoles still need to recover from the trauma, and for one fan, that was the reason for their subpar performance. “Did the CFP snub break Florida St? I can’t imagine the pain and absolute hopelessness of the FSU fans.” commented one concerned fan.

Aside from the $18 million error, Norvell has all but emptied the Seminoles' pocket by paying $3 million in legal fees in its lawsuits against ACC. However, according to a fan, this was nothing less than a costly mistake. “FSU looks pretty silly after spending a fortune on credibility to sue the ACC because they are so much better and deserve so many more dollars. If they settled for a $0 exit fee and an unencumbered return of media rights, the option would be Big12 for less $0 or a large industrial conglomerate.” Going 1-5 in Week 8, FSU's season was a complete disaster, prompting another FSU fan comment: “FSU is hurting itself tonight.”

The FSU football team has been around since 1902 with a record of 588–287–18. Now that they've hit rock bottom, a curious fan asks: “How did FSU become such a dumpster fire?” Since the game hasn't reached the final stretch yet, let's just hope that Mike Norvell and the Seminoles get their act together and turn the fan narrative on its head.

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