Honestly, looking back at the fsu football schedule 2024, it feels like a fever dream. If you had told a Seminole fan in August that their team—ranked 10th in the nation and coming off an undefeated regular season—would finish with a 2-10 record, they would have laughed you out of the room. But that’s the reality of college football. It’s brutal. One minute you’re the king of the ACC, and the next, you’re the first team in history to go from double-digit wins to double-digit losses in back-to-back years.
It wasn't just that they lost. It was how they lost.
The Ireland Trip That Set the Tone
Everything started in Dublin. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic was supposed to be a coronation for the "new look" Noles. DJ Uiagalelei was the high-profile transfer taking over for Jordan Travis. Everyone expected a smooth transition. Instead, Georgia Tech physically dominated the line of scrimmage.
The box score shows a close 24-21 loss on a last-second field goal by Aidan Birr, but the underlying stats were an omen. FSU’s defense, which was supposed to be one of the best in the country, didn't record a single sack. They allowed the Yellow Jackets to run for 190 yards. DJU’s debut was... fine? He went 19-of-27 for 193 yards, but there was no explosiveness. No vertical threat. It felt like watching a car try to drive with the parking brake on.
Most people thought, "Hey, it’s Week 0, they'll fix it." They didn't.
A Brutal Run of Results: The 2024 Breakdown
The fsu football schedule 2024 was supposed to be manageable, but it turned into a gauntlet of nightmares. After Dublin, the wheels didn't just wobble; they fell off entirely.
- September 2 vs. Boston College: A 28-13 loss at home. This was the moment the panic truly set in. The "Doak" was quiet.
- September 14 vs. Memphis: Mike Norvell lost to his former team. 20-12. The offensive line was a revolving door, and FSU averaged a pathetic 1.5 yards per rush.
- September 21 vs. Cal: The lone "bright" spot early on. A 14-9 win. It was ugly, but it was a win.
- September 28 at SMU: A 42-16 blowout. SMU welcomed FSU to the ACC by absolutely torching them.
- October 5 vs. Clemson: The rivalry game wasn't much of a rivalry this year. Clemson took it 29-13.
- October 18 at Duke: History was made, but not the good kind. FSU lost to Duke for the first time in school history after 22 straight wins. Final score: 23-16.
- October 26 at Miami: The season officially died here. A 36-14 beatdown by the Canes.
Why the Transfer Portal Plan Failed
We have to talk about the roster construction. Mike Norvell has built his reputation on being the "Portal King." In 2023, it worked perfectly with Keon Coleman and Trey Benson. In 2024, it was a disaster.
The staff brought in 17 transfers, ranking the class 7th in the nation. On paper, it looked great. In practice? Most were "whiffs." DJ Uiagalelei struggled to find rhythm before eventually getting injured. The running back additions, like Roydell Williams, dealt with injuries or lacked the burst seen in previous years. Meanwhile, the offensive line, which had plenty of experience, simply couldn't move people.
It’s a cautionary tale. You can’t just buy a team every year and expect the culture to hold. When things got tough in 2024, there was no Jordan Travis to pull a rabbit out of a hat. There was no leadership to stop the bleeding.
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The Depth of the Offensive Struggles
The statistics are almost hard to believe. Florida State finished near the bottom of the entire FBS in scoring offense, averaging about 15.4 points per game. That’s 131st out of 134 teams. Basically, if you held FSU to 17 points, you were almost guaranteed to win.
The ground game was non-existent for most of the fsu football schedule 2024. Look at the Memphis game again—37 total rushing yards. You cannot win in the ACC (or anywhere else) if you can't run the ball. It puts too much pressure on a quarterback like DJU or later Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek, who were playing behind a line that gave up 4 sacks to Memphis and 6 to Clemson.
What Really Happened with the Defense?
Defensively, it was a tale of "too little, too late." Early on, the defensive line was criticized for being "no-shows." Patrick Payton and Joshua Farmer eventually started making plays, but by then, the team was already 0-3 and the spirit was broken.
The secondary actually held up okay in some stretches—limiting Cal to 9 points and keeping the Duke game within reach—but you can only ask a defense to stay on the field for so long when the offense is going three-and-out every possession. By the time they hit the November stretch against Notre Dame (a 52-3 loss), the defense had clearly checked out.
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Missing the Postseason: A Historic Fall
For the first time since 2018, a defending Power Conference champion missed a bowl game. That loss to Miami in late October was the final nail. FSU fans, who are used to January bowl games and playoff talk, had to watch the rest of the season just hoping to see a touchdown.
The season ended with a 31-11 loss to Florida. Even against a struggling Gators team, the Seminoles couldn't find an answer. It capped off a 2-10 season that will be studied by sports psychologists and college football analysts for years.
Lessons from the 2024 Disaster
If you're a Noles fan or just a college football observer, there are some clear takeaways from this mess.
- Quarterback depth is everything. Relying on a single transfer without a proven backup ready to go is a massive risk.
- The Trenches still matter. You can have flashy wide receivers (like Malik Benson), but if your line can't block, they are useless.
- Culture isn't a given. Winning hides a lot of flaws. When the losing started in Dublin, the "climb" turned into a slide.
What to do next
If you're looking to move past the 2024 season, the best thing you can do is keep an eye on the 2025 recruiting class and the massive coaching staff overhaul Norvell initiated in November. The 2024 season proved that the current "multiple" offensive scheme and defensive approach needed fresh blood.
Check the updated spring roster as soon as it drops to see which 2024 veterans remained and which portal players are coming in to fill the gaps. The road back to the top of the ACC starts with fixing the line of scrimmage—it's that simple.