TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Last season, Jimbo Fisher said a No. 1 ranking wasn’t ever on Florida State’s collective mind. Maybe that is because the Seminoles didn’t earn the top ranking until the postseason and didn’t garner a first-place vote in either poll until Week 9.
As the preseason No. 1, there is no steady climb to the top. A performance worthy of a top-ranked team is expected every week, and Florida State is learning that lesson as it prepares for The Citadel on the heels of a 37-31 win against Oklahoma State, a sizable Las Vegas underdog.
“Last year we didn’t care about being No. 1. We cared about playing well,” Fisher said. “You have to remind yourself if the process is right, the results will come. If we’re worried about the results, we won’t get the results. Make no mistake about it.”
The fifth-year coach said he hopes the Seminoles still act like a team chasing No. 1, but he admitted Saturday night that is not what he saw.
“It is a wake-up call,” junior defensive tackle Eddie Goldman said. “We didn’t expect to have that many mistakes.”
The Seminoles are saying the right things, calling the game a learning experience. However, they said all the right things this preseason on the pressures of being the top-ranked team, too. That is not saying the team was insincere, but it’s hard to predict how this Florida State roster would react with the national target on its back for the first time.
Fisher said “no doubt” the close call was a positive for Florida State, but it has to result in a change in practice.
Sophomore All-America candidate Jalen Ramsey told the Tallahassee Democrat last week’s practices were not on par with the standards set at Florida State. “That’s what happens when you don’t practice like a champion,” he told the newspaper.
The practices last week were not poor, Fisher said, but he saw inconsistency in his team play to play during the week. It showed up in the final three quarters at AT&T Stadium, as the Seminoles did not play with the consistency they showed in the first few drives against the Cowboys.
So, how will Fisher know if the team has taken the wake-up call to heart?
“Your actions speak so loud that I can’t hear what you’re saying,” he said, relying on a tried-and-true Jimboism. “… We play a lot like we practice. We weren’t consistent enough. When pressure comes, your habits come straight to the surface.”
With each week, that pressure is only going to intensify. Fisher hopes those actions are enough to drown it out.