Clemson Football Week 5 Overreaction: FSU is a ‘one and done’

I usually write about an overreaction coming out of each Clemson Football game. I am going to admit I haven’t seen a lot of overreactions from the Syracuse game.

There is one thing I have seen at least a few times since late last week, and it has stuck in my head a bit, so I decided to write about it instead.

Florida State was off this past week but that doesn’t mean their fanbase was taking the week off. They are enjoying themselves. I can’t blame them. It has been a while since they have enjoyed the air space they are in right now.

What I saw that stuck with me is the way several fans from other schools, including Clemson, are hitting back at Seminole fans.

They are telling FSU fans their team is ‘one and done’. Excellent utilization of a basketball term in college football.

Fans are pointing out that Florida State has a sixth-year quarterback who will be out of eligibility after this season, and that several other players will either exhaust eligibility or leave for the NFL, assuming they have the season most are expecting.

Therefore, this is a one-year rise to the top, and after this season they will take a step back to more typical results.

This might be good ol’ everyday smack talk, but for anyone buying into that argument, keep this in mind:

The transfer portal isn’t going away. It is how FSU got here in the first place. They will lose players. Florida State knows where to find more.

There are still players who will have ‘COVID seasons’ for a few more years. Even when the COVID era cycles out, there are still going to be players who get their undergraduate degrees in three years. Once they graduate, they might decide to try a different experience.

Clemson Football will likely have to contend with a strong FSU team more often than not in the years to come

Did anyone realize Sam Hartman might transfer to Notre Dame at this time last season? Keon Coleman or Fentrell Cypress to FSU? Dominic Lovett to Georgia?

They were all players who could have returned for one more season where they had spent most of their college years but decided they wanted a different experience.

There will be similar players this season. If Florida State challenges for a playoff spot this year, they will have a good sales pitch for players who are interested in stepping up a level in competition.

That doesn’t mean that FSU will be successful in rebuilding their roster through the portal every season. The ‘one and done’ label isn’t all that bad of an analogy. Some basketball programs had success rebuilding year after year with ‘one and done’ high school freshmen until they had that one year when it didn’t work out.

Considering the evidence that a team can rebuild or re-load through the portal, I think it is an overreaction to assume Florida State won’t challenge for an ACC title or playoff berth in 2024.