By Rock Westfall
One of the most enjoyable characteristics of sports is that it makes people irrational. And one of the reasons why college football is God’s Game is that it makes fans more insanely deranged than any other sport. This trait leads to Deion Sanders , Mike Norvell , and the Florida State Seminoles .
Deion Sanders is the ultimate love/hate lightning rod. He is also box office and clicks. Fans and detractors can’t get enough of Coach Prime. Sanders, a Florida native, played his college ball at Florida State, where he became a national sensation. Sanders has deep ties to the Sunshine State and remains well-connected there.
Last week, Sanders led his Colorado Buffaloes to a 48-21 win in Orlando against the Central Florida Knights. This was a game where the wrong team was favored by double-digits. It was a reminder of how Coach Prime can mold players from Florida into winners. Florida State fans are taking notice.
Conversely, Mike Norvell is having to endure a season from hell . Things have not been the same for the Florida State head coach since his program was snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee in favor of Alabama last December. Norvell’s players deserted him afterward, and the Georgia Bulldogs obliterated the stripped-down version of the Seminoles in a farce of a bowl game. The carry-over effect has been profound for FSU in 2024.
Meanwhile, Florida State as an institution has had to gulp down a heaping helping of humble pie. After incessantly bitching and complaining about how the ACC was not good enough for them, the Noles appear to be crawling back home with a potentially restructured revenue deal after being laughed out of the room by the Big Ten and SEC.
This has the potential to create a perfect storm that could alter the futures of Sanders, Norvell, and Florida State.
Deion Sanders may end up as Florida State’s head coach faster than anyone can imagine.
Sanders Confounds Critics with Impressive Start
For all of the criticism, including from yours truly , directed at Deion Sanders, his Colorado Buffaloes are 4-1 and looking like a serious threat to contend for the Big 12 championship.
Colorado’s decimation of UCF as 11.5-point road dogs forced the critics to take a second look. The Buffs boast two first-round NFL draft picks in QB Shedeur Sanders and two-way sensation (WR/DB) Travis Hunter . The defense has gone from horrible to merely below average, which has proven to be enough for success.
Colorado can’t run the ball to save its life, yet Sanders and his talented receiving corps rank 9 th in the nation for passing yardage. In a Big 12 Conference that lacks a dominant team, Colorado is in the mix. At worst, it should get the additional two wins necessary to gain a bowl berth, a solid accomplishment.
Despite Deion’s denials, he is not long for the Colorado job, especially with his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders joining Hunter out the door after the season. If Coach Prime produces a bowl berth, he will draw plenty of interest from other schools, especially his alma mater. The timing will be perfect for a clean break.
There is Irrationally Unhinged - Then There is Florida State
The Florida State Seminoles learned the hard way that they have no appeal to college football’s superpower leagues (Big Ten and SEC). Wanting to leave the ACC but with nowhere to go, the Seminoles are likely stuck returning to the slum they came from.
During its perpetual tantrum and efforts to escape the ACC, Florida State blew millions on legal fees and countless hours of focus and energy for a pipe dream it should have known was impossible. At the same time, its administration and fans talked smack, only to have to eat every word.
Additionally, it was an unproductive offseason for Norvell, who was heavily reliant upon the transfer portal for last year’s success. Now, fans believe that the emperor has no clothes, let alone quality players. Norvell is in his fifth season, and it is fair to ask why he has failed at recruiting a better roster that can sustain turnover, as true power programs must.
Meanwhile, the Seminoles are off to a 1-4 start and will host the resurgent, rampaging Clemson Tigers on Saturday in what is another probable ugly loss.
After bloviating that they were too good for the ACC, Florida State has already lost to middle-of-the-road Georgia Tech, Boston College, and SMU, along with an embarrassing loss to Norvell’s old team, Memphis, from the Group of Five.
SMU’s win over Florida State was the ultimate in schadenfreude. While FSU believes itself to be above the ACC, SMU agreed not to take any revenue-sharing payments to get into the league. Florida State voted against SMU's admission and was mercilessly trolled in its loss to the Mustangs.
After extending Mike Norvell following the 2023 season, FSU would seem unlikely to eat a $65 million buyout . But one must get to know Florida State. Few schools combine an administration and fan base that is so preposterous. In fact, enraged fans were calling for Norvell’s head after the Week Zero loss to Georgia Tech, and the screams are getting louder.
Next, combine the humiliation of not being wanted by the Superpower Two leagues with the school’s favorite son working wonders in Boulder, and you have a potential college football tsunami.
If Colorado keeps winning and Florida State’s freefall continues, “logic” will be thrown aside. There will be zeal, indignation, and immediate demands for Prime Time in Tallahassee by the most unreasonable, desperate, wannabe big-time program in the most insane sport on Earth.
In college football, there is no such thing as logical or rational. And just when you believe you have seen the most ridiculous thing ever, it is quickly surpassed by a new and higher degree of insanity.
A major business decision could be coming soon in Prime Time.
Stay tuned.
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