Herbstreit weighs in on FSU's struggles before the Clemson game

During one college Matchday In this segment, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit weighed in on Florida State's struggles Saturday morning ahead of tonight's game between the Seminoles and the 15^Th-Clemson Tigers rankings.

Of course, Florida State had a disastrous start to the season with a record of 1-4 after the start of the tenth season^Th in the preseason AP poll.

It's the Seminoles' second 1-4 start to a season under head coach Mike Norvell and follows the 2023 season in which FSU found itself left out of the College Football Playoff after going undefeated in the regular season and winning the ACC Title.

“I think if you look at Mike Norvell, what's coming up for him… We were with him just a few weeks ago and it was going well: 'They got cheated last year, now they're going to be a team.'” “On a mission “ and they lose to Georgia Tech (in the season opener), kind of got slapped in the face and we were excited to see how they responded,” Herbstreit said.

“They lose to BC (and fall to 0-2), and I think that's where it got really difficult for Mike Norvell to keep it together.”

Herbstreit added that given FSU's schedule – starting with today's game against the Tigers – it will be a real challenge for Norvell to “prevent this from being a two- or three-win season for the Noles.”

“Right now they’re 1-4,” Herbstreit said. “Clemson is a team right now, you've got Duke, you've got Miami, you've got Florida ahead of you – I mean, if they don't somehow find someone… (former FSU QB) Jordan Travis was the guy – you talk about transformative – him was the guy who changed this program and its direction for Mike Norvell. He's no longer there. It's one thing to beat Clemson. It’s another thing to just prevent it from being a two- or three-win season.”

Clemson is the 17-point favorite in today's matchup against FSU at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.