TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State was ranked 19th in both major preseason polls and picked by most to finish second, behind Clemson, in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. Most of the excitement came about because of the arrival of head coach Willie Taggart and what was expected to be a potent rushing attack as part of his Gulf Coast Offense.



Still, this was a team that had gone 7-6 last season and returned just four defensive starters. There was plenty of reason for concern, but it mostly was overlooked.



Expectations quickly changed with the embarrassing and deflating 24-3 season-opening loss to Virginia Tech. After the Seminoles needed to rally to beat FCS team Samford and got drilled at Syracuse, it was clear that this team would fall short of preseason projections.



Midway through the season, FSU is 3-3, and there are legitimate questions as to whether the Seminoles will be bowl-eligible. Many already have written off the season, but that’s a...