Category: Q&A

This week we are joined by Florida State athletics podcast Plant The Spear. You can follow them on Twitter at @PlantTheSpear1. You can also check out their podcast here.

Tell us about yourself and your podcast.

My name is Jesse, and I have bled garnet and gold my entire life. I have so many great memories as an FSU fan. From meeting Bobby Bowden to watching FSU win a national championship in person. At the same time, I just love the game. I could watch two community colleges play on a Tuesday. 

It has always been a dream of mine to work in college football, but I don’t have a journalism degree, so I had to create my own path. I had talked about starting an FSU podcast for years but was too nervous. My wife finally talked me into it, probably because she was tired of hearing me talk about football and Plant The Spear was born. 

I try to provide a unique perspective in a way everyone can enjoy. I have been known to turn into a stat-head sometimes but we also have fun with it. I’m very active on social media because engaging with people is what it is all about. I also have a website, make graphics, and put out a preseason digital magazine. 

I still work full-time, and it is a one-man operation, so I stay busy trying to keep up, but I love it. It has grown faster than I could have imagined, and I am excited for the future! 

What are your thoughts on Florida State so far this year?

FSU came into 2023 with high expectations, and those were fed rocket fuel after the LSU game. However, despite being 4-0 and ranked in the Top 5, FSU has honestly played about one good half of football (the second half vs. LSU).

That speaks to how far this team has come when you consider they blew out LSU and beat Clemson in Death Valley, something they had not done in almost a decade.

Some aspects have not been up to par with expectations, mainly the run game and pass defense, but both have been affected by injuries. Thankfully, it has not cost them yet. Hopefully, the BC game was a wake-up call because as high as the potential is for this team, they still have work to do. 

The bye week was perfectly timed, especially with Jordan Travis being banged up. Last year, FSU came out of the bye week on fire and won the next four games by a combined score of 173-39 and has not lost since. (Currently on a 10-game win streak) 

Hopefully, we see the same type of improvement coming out of the bye this year because I honestly feel if they play up to their highest potential, this team can win an ACC title and be in the hunt for a playoff spot. At the same time, there are still challenging games on the schedule, and if they fail to clean up some of the issues, it could cost them.

How has the Florida State program changed since the last time these teams met in 2018?

Let me first say that what a roller coaster ride it has been! I was at that game, and the atmosphere was electric. We thought we were on the verge of something special that night. Then games got played, and it was a disastrous ride to one of the lowest points in the last 50 years at FSU. I obviously don’t think Willie Taggart intended on things going like they did, but he wasn’t ready for a place like FSU. 

Mike Norvell came in to try and turn things around, and it only got worse. I do think people have to realize the mess he walked into. He inherited a program that Jimbo Fisher flew into the side of a mountain and Willie Taggart set on fire. The culture was broken, the talent level was declining, and on top of all that, year one for Norvell was the COVID year.

As bad as it was, FSU stuck with Norvell because there were signs that the program was being run correctly. The main issue was now a lack of talent and depth. After all, it is hard to run an offense that is “built for playmakers” without any playmakers. They addressed a lot of their deficiencies through the portal and have had an unbelievable hit rate with transfers.

Perhaps the single biggest factor in the turnaround at FSU has been a transformation of the offensive line by Alex Atkins. FSU struggled to conduct practice in the past because the depth was so bad. Now they have former Power 5 starters as depth players. The development of Jordan Travis has also been big for FSU. The talent level from top to bottom is much better now. However, the level of coaching and the culture in the locker room are night and day from what it was in 2018.

It is almost hard to believe how far FSU has come, knowing where they were just a short time ago. They have a great Athletic Director, facility upgrades on the way, and the fan support is back to where it needs to be. While success is never guaranteed, it seems like the future is bright at FSU, and I’m just thankful for it because that down period was ROUGH! 

How do you view the current state of the Virginia Tech football program? 

There is so much potential waiting to be unlocked at a program like VT. They have some of the best and most loyal fans in the nation, a great game-day atmosphere, and have had success in the past. From the outside looking in, unfortunately, it sounds like the university failed to do what is necessary for the football program to compete at a high level in recent years.

That has put VT in a hard place. As you get further removed from historical success and do not have current success to sell either recruiting becomes extremely hard. This is something we saw happen at FSU. Virginia Tech has not had a top-25 recruiting class since 2018. Another tough year in 2023 isn’t going to help them get an infusion of talent, which is what they really need. FSU was lucky to have bounced back so quickly. I think the fear of every successful program that has fallen on hard times is becoming the next Nebraska or Miami, just 20 years of average. 

If I am being honest, when I saw VT hire Brent Pry, it did not scream they were ready to play big-time football again. I hope he proves me wrong because college football is better when VT is good, the ACC needs VT to be good, and Brent Pry is a likable guy who won me over at ACC media days.

On a personal note to VT fans. I flew to Pasadena in 2014 and watched FSU reach the top of the college football mountain. Then, just seven years later, I sat in Doak Campbell Stadium and watched FSU lose its first game to an FCS opponent in program history. To put it frankly, this recent down period sucked.

I know Saturdays are not much fun right now, but keep the faith because you never know when things will turn around, and it can happen faster than you expect. FSU started 0-4 in 2021 with a loss to Jacksonville State. Only two years later, they are off to a 4-0 start, ranked in the top 5, and trying to make a run at the playoffs. I honestly feel like Virginia Tech just needs a spark of success to reignite the program we all know it can be! 

What is your outlook for the future of the ACC?

Well… It’s not great. But they aren’t dead yet. The expansion to add SMU, Cal, and Stanford felt reactionary and didn’t really move the needle. It may just be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic in the long run, but at least they did something.

The future of the ACC depends heavily on whether they can somehow renegotiate the TV contract for more money, and a lot of it. If they lose Clemson and FSU, they are in big trouble. Those two programs were top 15 in viewership in 2022, averaging over 2M weekly viewers. The next closest ACC team in viewership was NC State at 43rd with 881k.

TV networks only care about eyes on screens. If the ACC loses its two biggest viewership drivers, and we all know they aren’t getting Notre Dame, I don’t see how it could end well for the conference. 

To give perspective (counting future expansion), there were 16 Big Ten teams and 14 SEC teams that ranked above the third-highest ACC team in viewership. It’s hard to ask for the same money as the two power conferences when 85% of the conference doesn’t produce similar TV numbers. I know that sounds harsh, but the numbers are what they are.

Another thing to keep in mind with FSU and Clemson is that their biggest rivals are both in the SEC. So, they have to keep up with teams who will be making significantly more money if something doesn’t change. The standard at those two programs is to compete for national championships. That becomes harder when you are projected to make 30-50 million per year less than the other two power conferences in the not-so-distant future. 

The ACC must find a way to squeeze more revenue from their TV partners before those two programs find a way out of the GOR. 

As I write this, rumors are flying that Clemson is headed for the door as soon as October. If so, I would have to imagine FSU would be soon to follow. No concrete news has broken yet, but the ACC may look different after you read this. 

I don’t think the conference will have to dissolve if a few teams leave. However, the football success and TV viewership would obviously take a massive hit and likely lead to a revenue cut in the future. 

What conference do you see Florida State belonging to in the next 5-10 years?

This was the hottest topic of the offseason. The majority of FSU fans, myself included, want to end up in the SEC. It just makes sense from a regional standpoint, we already play Florida every year, and FSU feels more like an SEC team than anything else. However, geography apparently does not matter when you have teams from California soon to be in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

During the offseason, the majority of signs pointed to the Big Ten. At the end of the day, I don’t think FSU really cares where they go as long as the revenue growth allows them to compete at the highest level. I wouldn’t take staying in the ACC completely out of the question if they can do something about the revenue. However, once the math makes sense to leave, they will head for the door.

If FSU does leave, I hope it is for the SEC. But I have a feeling it will end up being the Big Ten. This is a tough one, but it is obviously either the SEC, Big Ten, or ACC. I would love for them to stay put until our return trip to Blacksburg because I have always wanted to experience a game in Lane Stadium! 

What are your expectations for the Virginia Tech game?

In my opinion, FSU has two of the best wins so far this season. They beat LSU by 3 touchdowns and beat Clemson in Death Valley. However, they have continued to drop in the polls. They are obviously being punished for having two close games. 

The BC game was ugly, and while there were rumors that a lot of the team had the flu, it still should not have been that close. I also think winning in Death Valley is being underappreciated because Clemson was not ranked. As ACC fans know, that is no easy task, considering they had not previously lost an ACC home game since 2016.

I say all that to say this: FSU needs a win with some style points. I know this is not exactly breaking news to VT faithful, but as nicely as I can put it, the Hokies aren’t very good this year. While wins are wins, and if FSU wins every game by 1 point they will still be undefeated. However, for the sake of national perception, they can’t have another BC game against a bad team.

FSU has been a tale of two halves this season. They struggle in the first half but then play well in the second half. I would really like to see them put together a complete game against VT. They have struggled to run the ball and only had 22 yards against Clemson. Seeing that VT has allowed over 200 yards rushing in three of their four games this season, I’d like for FSU to get the run game going. 

On defense, the secondary has seen its fair share of struggles. They routinely make average quarterbacks look like Heisman candidates. Since VT lost Ali Jennings, they haven’t thrown for over 200 yards in a game. I would like to see the FSU secondary have a nice game to gain confidence.

I don’t see this one being particularly close. The game is sold out, and FSU is coming off a much-needed bye week. FSU has scored 30+ points in 10 straight games, and I feel good about them going over that number this week, too. As much as the Hokie offense has struggled, I don’t think FSU will shut them out because we haven’t held anyone scoreless since 2015. I also expect the backups to get a fair number of reps in this game.

I’m really just looking for FSU to play a clean game for four quarters and win as they should. There are not many remnants left from 2018, but for those of us who sat in Doak and watched the VT players mock the Warchant. I hope this is a revenge game. 

(The original answers were written prior to the Saturday night win against Pitt. Even though Pitt is struggling this season, this was a big win for Virginia Tech’s confidence and will be something they can build from going forward. Kyron Drones had a HUGE game. VT surpassed the 200-yard mark through the air, which I mention later on, and Drones’ dual-threat ability might just be the spark this offense needs. FSU really struggles with mobile quarterbacks (see the BC game), so I’m adding some points to the score total for VT. If Drones keeps playing at a high level, there are some very winnable games left on the schedule for VT.)

What’s your prediction for the game?

FSU 45 – VT 17