Florida State is already one of the biggest disappointments in recent Bowl Subdivision history.
Actually, disappointment is too mild a word. The Seminoles should be considered a complete disaster after losing 20-12 at home to No. 25 Memphis, which dropped the Seminoles to 0-3 after starting the year ranked No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Amid high expectations following last year’s ACC championship and an undefeated regular season, Florida State is the second team in the last 35 years to open the year in the top 10 during the poll era and lose its first three games, joining Penn State in 2020.
The Tigers are the top team in the Group of Five and currently the best bet for the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Seminoles could be there too – they just have to buy tickets like the rest of the country.
As with last week’s loss to Boston College, struggling Florida State’s offensive numbers were disastrous.
The Seminoles converted just two of 12 third-down attempts. They gained 37 yards on 24 attempts when counting sacks, an average of 1.5 yards per attempt. The offense lost the ball three times and failed to score a touchdown until midway through the third quarter.
The simplest explanation for Florida State’s sharp decline since last season may be tied to the transfer portal. Mike Norvell and his team have been more successful than most at signing, bringing in talent like future All-America defensive end Jared Verse, but this year’s haul hasn’t been enough to fill the spots on the second line and keep the program moving forward.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is the epitome of the Seminoles’ transfer woes. The senior was a bust from the start and quickly regressed to his Clemson era after a very solid year as a starter at Oregon State. Uiagalelei was successful on 16 of 30 attempts against Memphis for 201 yards and one interception. That means he has more interceptions (2) than touchdowns (1) after three games.
Meanwhile, Memphis senior Seth Henigan completed 65.7% of his throws for 272 yards and two touchdowns. In college football in 2024, you can only go as far as your quarterback can take you; while Henigan sets the Tigers up for the playoffs, Uiagalelei and FSU will fall on the list of the biggest college football flops of all time.
Florida State, Memphis and Alabama are the biggest winners and losers of week three:
winner
Memphis
Northern Illinois has been making waves. UNLV is 3-0 after beating Kansas on Friday night. Coastal Carolina is undefeated, but with a weak schedule. All other contenders can take a back seat: Memphis is the undisputed favorite for the Group of Five playoff spot. The preseason hype has paid off in full for the Tigers, who started last season with 10 wins and a bowl victory over Iowa State. While it won’t be easy to go undefeated in the American League, Memphis has the breathing room to lose once or even twice during the regular season and still remain in the 12-team field as long as they win the AAC crown.
Alabama
No. 4 Alabama had 407 yards of offense against Wisconsin but used almost every inch. They averaged 7.3 yards per play on 56 snaps and buried the underdog Badgers 42-10. That included another series of spectacular moments from quarterback Jalen Milroe, who completed 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards and three scores with a team-best 75 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. Two other trends have emerged in the first three games of the Kalen DeBoer era. One is the stunning play of true freshman Ryan Williams, a 17-year-old receiver who had 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. Williams already has 10 receptions for 285 yards (28.5 yards per grab) and four scores. The second is the performance of the Crimson Tide defense, which held Wisconsin in check, allowing just 3.4 yards per play.
Missouri
Whether the 27-21 win over Boston College ends up making any difference to the playoff selection committee won’t be clear until that group meets in early November. (It certainly can’t hurt, that’s for sure.) But a non-conference win against an opponent that made early noise and slowly edged its way to the door of the Top 25 has some good prospects. And there’s no question: Missouri could use the help. The Tigers play two top-ranked teams — on the road against Alabama and at home against No. 13 Oklahoma — but miss the SEC’s best of the best, so a win against the Eagles could significantly boost the team’s playoff hopes. The win featured another dynamic game from star wideout Luther Burden III, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown while continuing to make defenders look stupid in the open field.
Notre-Dame
Let’s not make too much of the win over helpless Purdue, even with so many style points: Notre Dame led 42-0 and had a staggering 278 rushing yards at halftime before marching to a 66-7 victory. But this comeback performance is the first step in getting over last week’s upset at home against Northern Illinois and making the most of a schedule that could still keep the Fighting Irish in the thick of the playoff hunt in November and December. The Irish finished the game with 362 rushing yards on 8.2 yards per carry and six touchdowns, the team’s most in a single game since six games against South Florida on Sept. 19, 2020.
Oregon
After two weeks of less-than-impressive wins over Idaho and Boise State to start, No. 6 Oregon looked good in a 49-14 victory over (now out-of-conference) Civil War rival Oregon State. The Ducks did it with a balanced attack, with 306 yards through the air and 240 yards on the ground, and while they gained all of those yards on 59 plays, they had just six third down attempts — and converted four of them. Rolling over the Beavers in Corvallis is a really positive sign considering how Oregon looked to start and what’s to come in the Big Ten, starting with familiar face UCLA on Sept. 28.
loser
Michigan
The No. 16 Wolverines beat Arkansas State 28-18 to start a new winning streak after last week’s emphatic loss to No. 3 Texas, but the offensive woes came to a head after another subpar performance from quarterback Davis Warren. The former walk-on had three interceptions without a touchdown and was replaced by backup Alex Orji, suggesting a quarterback change is in the near future. Will that make a difference? The offense is clearly a mess for new coach Sherrone Moore, making it increasingly difficult – if not impossible – to envision the defending champions cobbling together a playoff push.
Washington
Trailing 24-19 with just over a minute left and facing fourth down at the Cougars’ 1-yard line, Washington opted to use the option… and lost two. That was the start of the celebrations for Washington State, which fell behind as the Pac-12 disintegrated but got some revenge by beating Washington on the road. This smacks of the first of several losses for the re-formed Huskies, who are clearly in a rebuilding phase of sorts after reaching the national title game last year but enter this season with a new coach, new quarterback, new receivers, new linemen and only two returning starters.
West Virginia
A wild and crazy backyard brawl lived up to expectations with six lead changes, a fair amount of bitterness and a lead-off touchdown with 32 seconds left to send West Virginia into Big 12 play at a disheartening 1-2. Leading 34-24 with just under five minutes left, the Mountaineers let Pittsburgh score on a five-play drive, went out three times and then punted back to the Panthers, who went 77 yards in six plays to win. West Virginia coach Neal Brown received a very modest one-year contract extension in the offseason, but is quickly back in the firing line given the team’s slow start. Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi, on the other hand, is moving in the right direction after going 3-9 last year. He has found a real player in redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein, who transferred from Alabama in the offseason.
