Josh Pate Drops the Hammer on Florida State for Scrapping Longtime CFB Tradition

Week 1 of college football just concluded on Monday, and with it, the Florida State Seminoles' once-promising season may already be fading.

After playing in Week Zero against fellow ACC opponent Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, the Seminoles fell to 0-2 on the season with Monday night's loss to Boston College (another ACC opponent). This also makes them winless in their own conference—the same conference they won last year.

The on-field play is becoming increasingly worse for the Seminoles, whether it be offensively or defensively. Florida State is one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to rushing. Offensively, they are ranked 103rd in the country, averaging 98 yards per game. Defensively, they are tied for 106th, allowing 190 yards per game.

The once No. 10 team in the country is now unranked. Losses are becoming an all too familiar theme in Tallahassee. Not only are losses accruing on the field and in the polls, but they are also happening with the Seminoles' long-standing traditions.

In Monday night's game against Boston College, there was a noticeable absence—besides, of course, the team showing up to play and defeat the Eagles. On third down, when usually the Florida State marching band, the "Marching Chiefs," would play their iconic War Chant, it was replaced by club-like music. This looks to be the new norm moving forward, according to the band's social media.

"The Marching Chiefs and the Athletic Department have enjoyed a relationship of mutual respect for decades," the post began. "We regularly meet with our colleagues in athletics to discuss all aspects of the game day experience. Our mutual goal, as it always has been, is to help the team on the field and provide the best environment in college football for the fans. This continues to this day.

"The Marching Chiefs agreed in 2023 with the football team's request to introduce new music during third down. We believe this was a reasonable request."

The third-down War Chant is one of the most iconic experiences about visiting Doak Campbell Stadium. It's something that has created an absolutely intimidating environment for opposing teams and is entirely unique to the team and school.

College football analyst Josh Pate recognized this as well, calling out this egregious decision on behalf of the team's request.

"There’s some really dumb stuff happening at FSU right now. Here’s one example," Pate wrote, referring to the band's post. "College Football requires people who love the sport & appreciate tradition making decisions."

"We have something totally unique we do on 3rd down like the war chant. Naturally, let’s scrap it and pipe in generic club music!" Pate added.

This has to be considered a huge loss, not just for the team's defense and team overall, but mostly for the fans in attendance at Florida State home games who would feed off the War Chant. Out of all the questionable decisions coming out of Florida State currently, this is somehow one of the more puzzling. The fact that it came at the request of the team is even more bizarre.

Pate spoke recently on his College Football Show about how the Florida State football program has seemingly lost itself and its brand recognition. This seems to only escalate that idea.