ESPN College GameDay Analyst Provides Hope For FSU Football After Opening Defeat

The longtime College GameDay Analyst reminded fans of the sport that the 12-team playoff keeps the Seminoles alive despite the letdown in Ireland.

Jan 1, 2024; Pasadena, CA, USA; Desmond Howard on the ESPN College Gameday set at the 2024 Rose Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN's Desmond Howard appeared on "College Football Live" to discuss the possibility of both fan and media overreaction to Florida State's loss to the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as a top-10 team. The immediate feelings from a lot of viewers of the game are that FSU was physically dominated on both sides of the ball, leading the national conversation to question the Seminoles' ability to compete for a College Football Playoff (CFP) spot.

READ MORE: FSU Football Lost Opener As A Top-10 Team, But History Might Be In Its Favor

However, Howard believes that the idea of the Garnet and Gold's season already being over is a "knee-jerk overreaction" and that FSU has the opportunity to possibly control its own destiny.

.@DesmondHoward says it's too early to count Florida State out of the CFP 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Zd6K70xUiV

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 27, 2024

"Well, I think the knee-jerk overreaction is, 'Oh, man, it's messed up now for Florida State. They can't make the CFP, it's a done deal, it's a rap, it was a conference game, now they're out of it, and now they're gonna fall in the tank.' And I just think that that's not true. I mean, don't forget, we're still going to get 12 teams into the College Football Playoff. I know the conference loss, but they still have everything ahead of them," Howard said.

Howard continued by praising FSU head coach Mike Norvell and his abilities as a leader.

"And Mike Norvell is a really good coach. With really good coaches, [they] try to figure out what [they] got, and sometimes you don't know until you know. And now they understand what they have on offense. They understand what they have on defense. They have replaced a bunch of wideouts too. So, I think, now they can go back to the drawing board, they have a big game on Monday, so I think we'll see a different Seminoles team moving forward," Howard concluded.

Florida State will indeed play the Boston College Eagles on Monday at 7:30 p.m. eastern as part of a three-game home stand before heading to SMU on Sept. 28.

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READ MORE: Florida State's Loss To Georgia Tech Brings In Massive National Audience

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