Florida State’s 0-3 start is worthy of derision — but there’s a lesson there, too

The focus in this space since the inception of this weekly college football look-back (and sometimes look-ahead) is and always will be on the North Carolina schools, but this week calls for an exception. Florida State is 0-3, and the Seminoles’ disastrous start just might be the most unintentionally humorous thing in ACC history.

It’s difficult to think of anything else that compares. Maybe Jim Boeheim ranting about Greensboro and Denny’s, and then never doing much in any ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum? Maybe Boeheim working himself into such a tizzy that he lost his suit jacket in a meltdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium 10 years ago?

(Actually, Boeheim was responsible for a lot of unintentional ACC comedy.)

What else? Any number of Dabo Swinney moments in recent years? Maybe the ill-fated “Alliance” with the Big Ten and Pac-12?

Point is, it’s almost impossible to think of anything as funny as FSU’s winless start. This is the school, remember, that sued the ACC last December in pursuit of an exit from the league’s Grant of Rights agreement. This is the school whose leaders went on and on about FSU’s supposed “value,” and how it deserved so much more than what it is getting from the ACC.

The school whose fans then spent much of the past eight or nine months talking on social media about how FSU was just too good for the lowly ACC. And here the Seminoles sit: 0-3, after starting the season with two straight losses as a double-digit favorite, and losing again, at home against Memphis, as a touchdown favorite on Saturday.

Priceless, truly.

Amid the deserved mockery and derision, though, there’s a lesson here that shouldn’t go unheeded: Florida State’s poor start is a reminder — again! — that money isn’t everything in college sports, despite what administrators might say and despite the insistence of (some) fans to monitor a given league’s television revenue like they might the latest Nasdaq trends.

That’s what’s so delightfully satisfying about FSU’s 0-3 start: The school that was compelled to try to sue its way out of its conference out of a fear of not having enough money has lost three consecutive games against schools with ... a lot less money. But isn’t money the end-all, be-all? Hasn’t FSU argued that it has to have more and more of it to keep up and stay relevant?

Then how, exactly, can it make sense that Florida State began the season with a loss against Georgia Tech? The Seminoles in 2023 spent more than $75 million on football, according to figures from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, spent about $35 million on football — yet prevailed with a 24-21 victory against FSU.

Saturday, the Seminoles encountered a much greater financial gap — just not the kind its fans and administrators have droned on and on about over the past year. FSU outspends Memphis in football by $55 million ... yet lost. And not only lost, but was more or less dominated. If $55 million isn’t enough of a financial advantage for the Seminoles then how much, exactly, would they need to beat Memphis at home, with a roster full of more highly-recruited players?

Does FSU need a $75 million spending advantage? One-hundred million? A billion?

Do their players need gold-pleated cleats? Does Mike Norvell and his coaching staff need school-issued yachts? What more do they need, that they don’t already have, to beat Memphis and overcome a financial advantage of only $55 million?

Florida State through the first few weeks of this college football season is the most glaring and mock-worthy example of the reality that money isn’t everything, but hardly the only one. Take Northern Illinois’ victory at Notre Dame. Northern Illinois spent $8 million on football in 2023 — total. As a private school, Notre Dame’s football budget is more difficult to nail down, but it reportedly pays its head coach, Marcus Freeman, almost $7 million, alone.

If money was everything, how does a school like NIU win at Notre Dame?

How did Western Carolina, with a $4.1 million football budget, lead N.C. State ($33.6 million football budget), through three quarters in Week 1? How did N.C. Central ($4.6 million) give North Carolina ($44.5 million) a game through three quarters in Chapel Hill on Saturday?

Yes, money is important. Yes, there’s a direct correlation between the wealthiest schools (Georgia, Michigan) in the wealthiest conferences (the SEC, Big Ten) winning national championships. But many of those schools have advantages that will never, ever be mitigated by television dollars; advantages in booster contributions, NIL funding, fan support, ticket sales and on and on that matter just as much as conference affiliation and revenue, if not more.

And if money really were everything, then Texas A&M would be playing for the national championship every season in college football. Texas wouldn’t have been navigating a football wilderness for as long as it has (or did, as the Longhorns indeed appear “back”). And Florida State most assuredly wouldn’t be losing to Georgia Tech and Boston College, let alone Memphis.

FSU, which spends and spends and spends on football, has been complaining for a long time now about not having enough. But it’s never going to be enough. There’s always going to be a school that has more. And for the Seminoles, not even a $55 million cushion was enough, on Saturday.

That’s rich, indeed.

ONE BIG THING

We’re only midway through September and already there’s quarterback consternation at both UNC and N.C. State. Let’s start in Chapel Hill. The Gods of College Quarterbacking blessed the Tar Heels, for years, with the stability and talent of Sam Howell and Drake Maye. Three games into this season, though, Max Johnson has been lost for the year and UNC is in an either/or situation.

As in, either Conner Harrell or Jacolby Criswell is now The Guy. Or, both? Mack Brown after UNC’s lackluster victory against N.C. Central on Saturday said the Tar Heels would play both Harrell and Criswell going forward. But you know the old saying: If a team has two starting quarterbacks ... (it really might not have any).

At N.C. State, freshman C.J. Bailey ignited a stagnant Wolfpack offense after Grayson McCall departed with an injury late in the second half of State’s eventual victory against Louisiana Tech. Bailey just might be State’s best option – but do you give him his first college start at Clemson on Saturday? Decisions, decisions.

THREE TO LIKE

1. Drama in Greenville.

Well that was fun, wasn’t it, on Saturday at ECU? The Pirates scored the first 16 points and Appalachian State the next 21 during the Mountaineers 21-19 victory. This was just the fifth time these schools have played since 1979 – and first time in Greenville since 2012. It should happen more often. It needs to happen more often.

2. Bailey provides a spark.

Let’s face it: N.C. State’s revamped offense looked a lot like its un-revamped offense – the one from last season – during the first 10 quarters of the season. But things began to click for the Wolfpack when Bailey took over on Saturday. Is he the answer? Way too early to tell. But he did not look like a player who was in high school a year ago at this time.

3. A veritable bounty of college football in North Carolina.

It was a rare Saturday, indeed, throughout this state. From noon to night, there was FBS college football everywhere. State was at home. UNC was at home. Duke was at home. Wake Forest was at home (though, well, didn’t go so well in Deacland, against Ole Miss). This is and always will be a basketball state, but sometimes it’s hard to beat a full slate of mid-September college football.

THREE TO ... NOT LIKE AS MUCH

1. Another injury for Grayson McCall.

The concern surrounding McCall goes well beyond football, as it should. He has his future to worry about – especially given his history of head injuries. McCall has persevered through a great deal during his college years, and the sight of him leaving the field Saturday was alarming.

2. A sleepy start for the Tar Heels.

Is UNC good? Not so good? Three weeks into the season, it’s anybody’s guess. UNC desperately needed that opening-week victory at Minnesota, and got it, but a couple of less-than-inspired performances have followed in victories against Charlotte and N.C. Central. UNC led NCCU by just a touchdown on Saturday, and now there’s all kinds of uncertainty at quarterback.

3. Duke and Connecticut, meeting in the wrong sport.

Kudos to the Blue Devils for the 3-0 start and for showing some early-season grit under Manny Diaz ... but you’re forgiven if you would’ve rather been watching Duke and UConn play in basketball (men’s or women’s) on Saturday instead of in football. That both schools have been forced to try to up their game in football reflects where we’re at in college sports these days.

Duke beats UConn to remain unbeaten. Here are game photos

THIS WEEK’S BEST PROGRAM IN THE STATE

Well, it’s not Wake Forest, is it?

And let’s face it, too: Duke, UNC and N.C. State all prevailed in pretty ho-hum games, against not-so-great teams. So Appalachian State, come on down: You’re this week’s Best Program in the State. (Feel free to pick a prize out of the trinket jar.)

The Mountaineers received a humbling the Saturday before last at Clemson, and then faced an early two-touchdown deficit at ECU. That’s danger zone territory. But with that typical mountain grit, App State fought back and prevailed in a match-up of the state’s two most lovable underdogs.

App-ECU should be more of a rivalry than it is, and games like Saturday’s are why.

CAROLINAS RANKING

1. Clemson (it is as it usually has always been, with the Tigers at the top); 2. North Carolina (maybe? Sure, this could be right.); 3. South Carolina (the ol’ moral victory for the Gamecocks, with a close and devastating loss against LSU); 4. Duke (3-0 is 3-0, as they say); 5. N.C. State (big move-up chance for the Wolfpack this weekend at Clemson); 6. App State (here come the Mountaineers); 7. Coastal Carolina (big victory against Temple, which is apparently still playing football); 8. Wake Forest (look, it’s going to be a long season here); 9. ECU; 10. Charlotte (can’t be a lot of warm and fuzzies after a one-point win against Gardner-Webb).

FINAL THOUGHTS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

•I think the best part about ACC expansion, by far, has been the addition of Cal Twitter. If you’re among the more online-minded of readers, then you already know. If not, then spend some time researching. Cal fans are truly gifted in the art of memes and mockery. This should not be surprising, as these are smart people. But still. It has been a delight. Good job, Cal Twitter.

Photos: First ever gridiron meeting between North Carolina and NC Central

•I think ripping on fan attendance is a pretty tired topic, but still: are UNC fans that over Mack Brown 2.0 to have not shown up the way they did (or, didn’t) on Saturday? Even for a place with notoriously fickle football support, it looked bad during the broadcast. Yes, a not-great opponent. Yes, the Tar Heels often haven’t lived up to the hype under Brown. Still.

•I think, going back to the top here, when very wealthy people in charge of very well-monied businesses complain about money, and needing more of it, people should be skeptical. When do fans say enough is enough when their booster contributions, NIL donations, etc., etc., fail to offer a desired return? What we’re learning, in real time, is that the answer is never. Fans continue to hand over money. More and more of it. And schools still demand more. And will. Because, why not?