Florida State's disastrous start continues as Seminoles fall to 0-3 with home loss to Memphis

Florida State’s season somehow got worse in Week 3.

The Seminoles lost 20-12 to Memphis on Saturday to drop to 0-3 on the season. What could go wrong did go wrong for FSU as the Seminoles committed three first-half turnovers and were lucky to be within 10 points of the Tigers at the break.

FSU crawled back into the game and was spared an embarrassing moment when Memphis missed a 55-yard field goal with less than three minutes to go. The Tigers were set to punt earlier in the drive, but K.J. Kirkland lined up offside. That gave Memphis just three yards to get a first down, and the Tigers converted for a first.

However, Florida State wasn’t able to do anything when it took over. D.J. Uiagalelei was sacked on the first play of the drive and sacked again on third down. Memphis’ defense kept sending defenders after Uiagalelei as it clearly wasn’t fazed by the passing threat.

The Seminoles then decided to punt on fourth-and-32 with two timeouts remaining instead of trying for the first down.

Given the way the game unfolded, that was probably the right tactical decision. And FSU got the ball back with 46 seconds left. But the situation unfolded about as predictably as you could expect and Florida State's Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete as time expired.

Florida State is the ninth team to start 0-3 after being ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 to start the season. Saturday's loss also came to the program that used to employ coach Mike Norvell. FSU hired Norvell from Memphis to replace Willie Taggart after the 2019 season.

Uiagalelei has struggled mightily

Simply put, the transfer of Uiagalelei has not worked out. Florida State’s quarterbacks struggled after Jordan Travis suffered his fateful season-ending injury in 2023 and it was clear that FSU wanted to sign a QB for 2024.

Uiagalelei arrived after having the best season of his career at Oregon State in 2023. He averaged 8.4 yards a throw — a career-high — and threw 21 TD passes on just 315 attempts.

However, Uiagalelei completed just 57% of his passes and hasn’t completed more than 62% of his passes in any of the three seasons where he’s attempted over 300 passes. He has serious limitations as a passer, and those have been on full display so far this season.

At one point in the first half, Uiagalelei was 5-of-6 passing for seven yards. The one incompletion was an interception that led to a Memphis touchdown.

Will Norvell and FSU’s coaching staff look at a change? Florida State has way more issues than simply at quarterback. And Uiagalelei’s backup is Brock Glenn. He got playing time after Travis’ injury a season ago. The addition of Uiagalelei was a clear sign that FSU wasn’t comfortable heading into 2024 with Glenn as the presumptive starter.

Whoever plays quarterback going forward will also need better protection up front. Memphis' habit of blitzing late came as it knew it could easily pressure Uiagalelei often.

The Seminoles finished the game just 2-of-12 on third downs and had just 238 total yards. Sacks are included in rushing totals in college football, but the lack of a ground game continues to be a serious problem in Tallahassee. Florida State had 24 attempts for just 37 rushing yards.

Can FSU get bowl eligible?

It’s almost unfathomable that we’re talking about bowl eligibility for a program that went 13-0 and won the ACC before losing to Georgia in the Orange Bowl last season. But perhaps that opt-out-filled blowout loss was a sign of things to come for the Seminoles and we just didn’t see it.

Yes, the defense kept FSU in the game against a team that will challenge for the AAC title and could be in the College Football Playoff mix. But the offense has been horrible so far and the defense can’t carry Florida State to six wins.

It’s hard to find six wins on the schedule at the moment, too. Next week’s game is at home against a Cal team that just beat Auburn on the road, and a trip to SMU and a home game vs. Clemson follow that. With three teams currently ranked remaining on Florida State’s schedule, a big turnaround is necessary if it’s going to make the postseason.