NCAA Football: Alabama State at Florida State
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Florida State has a talented roster with multiple future NFL Draft picks, and now a coach that has been considered one of the rising stars in the industry. There were some -- myself included -- who saw the Mike Norvell arrival as an opportunity to course correct quickly -- not all the way to national championship contention, but at least to a place where the Seminoles were in the running as the top threat to Clemson for conference supremacy. 

Saturday's 16-13 home loss to Georgia Tech, a team that was picked dead last in the preseason media poll, showed how far Florida State has to go before it can be considered even a speed bump for Clemson, much less a conference championship contender. Florida State fans who waited out a weather delay either at home or even in Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, saw something troubling when the game resumed. Even after a coaching change and buy-in from the team's leaders to turn things around in 2020, Florida State still looks like a team that has trouble finishing strong. 

Florida State was beaten soundly in the box score by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets rushed for more yards and even threw for more than the Seminoles, with two blocked field goals by Marvin Wilson and two Asante Samuel interceptions helping keep the game close, as weird as that is to say. But even the down-to-down concerns take a backseat to the simple fact that just like 2018 and 2019, Florida State showed signs of a group that is getting outclassed in the fourth quarter. 

Blown fourth-quarter leads to Boise State, Virginia and Wake Forest -- all teams that were ranked in the AP Top 25 for at least five weeks during the year -- set the program on a course for a coaching change. I believed at the time that if Florida State had won those games, then Willie Taggart might still be the coach. But Saturday's loss brought those issues back into the light with another negative scoring margin in the fourth quarter. 


4Q PPG OFF (FBS rank)4Q PPG DEF (FBS rank)4Q POSSESSION% (FBS rank)

2018

5.9 (87)

7.5 (85)

43.71 (114)

2019

5.8 (95)

10.8 (127)

43.66 (113)

vs. Georgia Tech

0 (T-22*)

9 (T-24*)

55.11 (12*)  

*Only 34 FBS teams have played through Week 2

These fourth quarter numbers wouldn't be that big of a big deal if Florida State was winning often and defending big leads, but that's not been the case. Florida State is now 11-15 since the start of the 2018 season, and the inability to get first downs to extend drives and touchdowns to extend leads when the game is on the line is the first thing that needs to be fixed during this off week. 

Mike Norvell said the team is "still in the infant stage of where we're going as an offense." The next game on the schedule is against No. 17 Miami, and the Seminoles have No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 12 North Carolina coming up in the next month. If Florida State doesn't have some growth spurts offensively, it's going to be crawling and crying its way through the 2020 season. 

Player to Watch in Week 3 

Georgia Tech QB Jeff Sims vs. No. 14 UCF : The hiring of Mike Norvell and the brand power of Florida State makes it easy to focus on the Seminole side of things, but don't let that cause you to overlook an incredible effort from freshman quarterback Jeff Sims. Georgia Tech flipped Sims, a Jacksonville native, from his Florida State commitment in December and he outplayed the veteran quarterback he could have potentially battled for the starting role. Sims still showed his youth, tossing two bad interceptions in Florida State territory, but finished with 277 yards and a game-tying fourth quarter touchdown toss on 24-of-35 passing with a team-high 64 rushing yards on 13 attempts. 

Get used to Georgia Tech having a downfield passing attack, because with Sims under center and now two years of work since the Paul Johnson era, the Yellow Jackets are balanced and building toward a return to ACC contention. That offense will need be potent this weekend as Sims and the Yellow Jackets are back in the national spotlight again with 14th-ranked UCF and its high-powered attack coming to Atlanta on Saturday. 

Game of the Week

No. 17 Miami at No. 18 Louisville (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC): Because the ACC is using a one-division format this year, the league has announced that it will determine the participants in the conference championship game by selecting the teams with the two best winning percentages in conference play. No longer a presumed race of Clemson versus whoever wins the Coastal Division, now it's the Tigers against a handful of hopefuls that includes Notre Dame. 

It's too early for elimination games, but Saturday's meeting of Miami and Louisville is the first contest between teams in that discussion to be the second-best team in the ACC. Last year's meeting was packed with fireworks, as Miami had its best offensive performance of the season in a 52-27 win, a result that, in hindsight, was somewhat of a mirage for that Hurricanes offense. Louisville can match D'Eriq King with Micale Cunningham in terms of elite quarterback play, so the game will come down to who can get stops. Winner remains in the ACC Championship Game race, while the loser has a much tougher path to Charlotte.  

ACC Elite Eight 

Each week, we'll be offering these top-half power rankings for the 15-team, one-division ACC. Results matter, but won't match the standings necessarily as we look to identify the teams that have the best chance to contend for one of the top two spots (by winning percentage) and play for the conference championship in December. 

1. Clemson (Last week -- 1):  No concerns about the Tigers in their Week 2 win. Trevor Lawrence had just one season-opening start prior to the 37-13 win against Wake Forest, and last year's wasn't all that pretty. Instead of 59% passing and two picks, Lawrence was nearly flawless with 351 yards on 79% passing and three total touchdowns (one passing, two rushing). 

2. Notre Dame (2): Preseason claims of playoff contention were put to the test when the Irish offense got off to a sluggish start in a win over Duke, but I believe there will be many unspectacular wins for this team. Still a playoff contender in my eyes, it's the ground game and the defense that make them the second-best team in the ACC.  

3. Miami (6): The biggest mover up this week after debuting the up-tempo rushing attack that totaled more than 300 yards against a solid UAB defensive front. When D'Eriq King does look to pass, it's pretty clear that Brevin Jordan is the first and second option, but the combination of King and Cam'Ron Harris is dangerous enough to keep the defense's attention and make that offense dynamic. This week showdown with Louisville provides the real test for Miami's defense, which we still believe to be a strength but haven't gotten to see against a top-shelf quarterback like Cunningham. 

4. North Carolina (3): Starting slow or off-balance out of the gates in a pandemic season shouldn't be followed with too much criticism or penalty, but the missed opportunities to put the game away against Syracuse do have the Tar Heels giving up a little bit of ground in debate for third-best team in the ACC. North Carolina is expected to win almost all of its conference games, and there were stretches of the 31-6 win that were reminiscent of last year's team that went 4-4 in ACC play. And by stretches, I mean the first three quarters and the fact that it was 10-6 heading into the final 15 minutes of play. 

5. Louisville (4): Mostly checking boxes from a power rankings standpoint in a win against Western Kentucky. The offense was in a great rhythm with four touchdown drives of at least 85 yards and averaged out pretty efficiently at 6.8 yards per play. Special teams errors set up two easy touchdowns for Western Kentucky, but otherwise the defense did its job to help the Cards dominate this opener. Few bad notes, but will feel better about their rating after the Miami game. 

6. Pitt (7): Considering the hefty spread on the game, it's going to be hard to keep the Pitt hype restrained if they meet expectations and win handily against Syracuse on Saturday. The Panthers were expected to have a great defense, but the first impressions -- albeit against Austin Peay -- indicated a dangerous offense as well. Pitt has these wild swings in performance and expectations, just as capable of beating Clemson as they are losing to a lower-tier team with no predictability on what kind of Pitt is going to show up that day. So, we'll see. Maybe this is a team in the conversation to threaten Notre Dame for an ACC title game shot against Clemson. We'll see.  

7. Georgia Tech (NR):  I'm offering an overreaction here because that's the kind of flexibility that comes with weekly power rankings, but one thing I'm certain of is this isn't the No. 15 team in the ACC. That preseason poll prediction lit a fire into this young Yellow Jackets team, and the chip on their shoulder was on display in the win at Florida State. We'll learn a lot more about Georgia Tech this week in a non-conference date against UCF and then readjust our expectations. 

8. Duke (NR): Seven teams won last week, four teams lost and four have yet to play their first game of the 2020 season. Of the four teams with a defeat, the Blue Devils seemed the most sound and close to a form that could keep have them contending for a .500 record against conference opponents. The Chase Brice-led, no-huddle offense moved the ball well and outgained Notre Dame in the first half, with flashes of potential that had David Cutcliffe noting after the game that "there were times that we were outstanding." 

Dropped out: Florida State (5), Virginia Tech (8)