Heading into Monday night's SMU-Florida State game, my joke was that a Seminoles loss would inspire FSU fans to stand up and punch the apathy button on their way out of Doak Campbell Stadium.
Florida State lost the game -- despite being plus-3 in turnovers, and having a drive extended by an SMU offsides penalty on fourth down -- but at least some fans have not checked out on Seminole football completely. But they are out on Mike Norvell.
FSU fans have launched SaveFSUFootball.com, which attempts to raise half of Norvell's $51 million buyout by soliciting $102 apiece from 250,000 aggrieved Seminoles fans. To make the case against Norvell, SaveFSUFootball.com cites Norvell's .449 winning percentage in ACC games compared to the program's .768 mark pre-Norvell, his 0-6 mark against rivals Florida, Miami and Clemson over the past two seasons, his four losses to ACC teams that finished below .500, the first FSU loss to an FCS program suffered in 2021 and, well, a lot more.
As ESPN pointed out during the game, Monday night's game was a contest between the team with the best ACC record over the past two seasons (SMU, 14-2) and the worst (FSU, 3-13). The sledding doesn't get easier from here. Florida State is off this weekend before a visit to No. 12 Alabama on Sept. 19 (think the Tide might want some payback after last year?). The Seminoles then host Central Arkansas before an absolutely critical October: home against No. 25 Virginia, at Louisville on a Friday night, and then at No. 7 Miami before an ominous bye week on Oct. 24.
If the $25.5 million target sounds like a lot of money, well, it is. Somehow, needing $102 from a quarter of a million people puts into perspective just how tall a mountain Norvell's buyout really is. Doak Campbell Stadium's capacity is 67,277, after recent renovations cut the seating down by roughly 10,000. The city of Tallahassee has just over 200,000 residents. And, again, the lofty goal by the website's founders only meets Florida State halfway to meeting the sticker price on Norvell's buyout.
Even if this campaign is successful, the true success will lead to a newer, somehow-even-more-urgent round of fundraising. Florida State will, of course, need a new head coach, who will likely command a contract worth upwards of $100 million. He and his staff will cost more than $20 million a year, and a competitive 2027 roster would cost at least $40 million. That's, ahem, $102 apiece from 600,000 Florida State fans to fund next year's team.
Then again, the ultimate truism of college football in today's professionalized era is that it's expensive to win, and even more expensive to lose.
Florida State's bean counters are no doubt running the numbers and calculating how much the unsold tickets, un-bought popcorn, and withheld donations are costing the athletics department while Norvell remains employed. Especially while the entire university operates under the specter of the SEC and Big Ten breaking away to form a super league that doesn't invite Florida State to the club.
And so the true red warning light for the Florida State administration is not that this website was launched, and that light won't go off if the campaign somehow meets its stated goal of $25.5 million. No, the code red will be if the passion of the Florida State fan base is so eroded that the campaign doesn't come close to its goal.