With bowl streak in jeopardy, Florida State could put UL-Monroe back on schedule
Florida State really wants to keep its bowl streak alive.
FSU has made it to the postseason every year since 1976, but that streak is in serious jeopardy with the Seminoles off to a miserable 2-5 start. And because the Seminoles’ Week 2 game against Louisiana-Monroe was canceled because of Hurricane Irma, the team has only four games (Syracuse, Clemson, Delaware State and Florida) left on the schedule.
That means the Seminoles would have to win out to reach the six-win mark that clinches bowl eligibility.
However, FSU AD Stan Wilcox said Wednesday that the game against UL-Monroe could find its way back onto the schedule. It’s not set in stone, but, per the Orlando Sentinel, an announcement — whether or not the game will be played — is in the works for next week.
The game, originally scheduled for Sept. 9, would be played on Dec. 2, when Power Five conference championship games (and a handful of Sun Belt games) are played. The start time would be selected by whatever television network televises the game, Wilcox said.
Whether to play or not to play the game, canceled from its original Sept. 9 date because of Hurricane Irma, remains the question.
“We’re working on a release that will come out next week,” Wilcox said after an athletics board meeting Wednesday afternoon. “[Coach] Jimbo [Fisher] and I have talked about it. And we’ve talked to a lot of other people. We want to wait until after this week, and then put something out next week.”
The benefits of playing the game are obvious from a financial perspective, and if it helps FSU get its sixth win to keep the bowl streak alive, that’s an added (and somewhat embarrassing) bonus. One potential roadblock is the annual Tallahassee Winter Festival, also held Dec. 2 from 3-10 p.m.
It could stretch law enforcement thin:
But a local event — Tallahassee’s Winter Festival, scheduled from 3-10 p.m. on the same day — has complicated logistical plans to have law enforcement in place for the football game.
“We have to work with a lot of folks to make sure everything will be in place to be able to do it,” Wilcox said. “That’s a part of all this.”
Even if the game is played, the Seminoles have a lot of work to do just to sniff the thought of a bowl game. FSU hosts Syracuse on Saturday before traveling to face No. 4 Clemson the following weekend. A home game against FCS Delaware State on Nov. 18 will provide a nice respite before traveling to Gainesville to face another struggling program Florida, in what is (for now) slated as the season finale.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
