Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Coach Mike Norvell says he failed in preparing Florida State after the No. 2 Seminoles dropped their second consecutive game to start the 2024 college football campaign, but still believes in his players.

The Boston College Eagles (1-0) dismantled the Seminoles 28-13 on Monday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. The loss gave the Seminoles their fourth 0-2 start in the last eight years. They played 27 consecutive seasons without an 0-2 start from 1990 to 2016.

"I'm sick to how this season started," Novell told reporters Monday. "I failed in preparing the team to go out and respond."

The Seminoles, who were 13-0 in the 2023 regular season, but experienced a major roster turnover, were outgained 263-21 in rushing yards Monday. They have been outgained 453-119 on the ground through their first two games, including a 190-98 margin in their 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech on Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland.

They averaged more than 150 rushing yards per game last season.

"It comes down to me and comes down to me being able to prepare this team to go out and play to the capabilities that I believe that they have," Novell said.

"You've got a football team that's hurting. You've got a football team that nobody envisioned ever being where we are, having disappointment and having failure, but I do believe in what this team can do."

Last season, quarterback Jordan Travis carried the Seminoles offense, completing 63.9% of his throws for 2,756 yards, 20 scores and two interceptions. New Seminoles quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei completed just 40 of 69 (58%) of his pass attempts for 465 yards, one score and an interception through his first two starts.

With Travis and fellow former Seminoles stars Keon Coleman, Trey Benson, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, among others, now in the NFL, Norvell must find a way to kickstart the offense and improve the defense, which is giving up nearly seven points per game more than it did in 2023.

And he must do that quickly to lift his Seminoles from the quicksand of a sinking season.

"We need leaders to rise up," Norvell said. "We need to continue to push in all areas of what we're doing and we've gotta do it together.

"There is going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that. When you perform the way we did, that's all part of it. But for our football team, you've gotta stay together and you've gotta make sure you are there for each other.

"We've been knocked down. We know how to get up, but we've got to go do that."

The Seminoles will host the Memphis Tigers (1-0) at noon EDT Sept. 14 in Tallahassee. The Tigers beat North Alabama 40-0 in their season opener Saturday in Memphis.

Norvell's Apology and the Seminoles' Struggles

Florida State coach Mike Norvell immediately apologized to Seminoles fans after FSU fell to 0-2 with a 28-13 home loss to Boston College on Monday night.

The Seminoles struggled on both sides of the ball for the second straight game as Boston College bullied Florida State on the ground much like Georgia Tech did on Aug. 24. The inability to stop the run coupled with an offense that was plagued by pass protection issues, errant throws and dropped passes led to a game that wasn’t all that close.

Norvell said he was “sick” about the loss in his opening statement at his postgame news conference and said that he had failed as a coach.

“I apologize to our fans, I apologize to everybody associated with the program. That was extremely disappointing that we’re not better,” Norvell said.

The Seminoles' Recent History

Florida State has now lost three consecutive games dating back to last season since the Seminoles were snubbed from the four-team College Football Playoff. FSU went 13-0 a season ago and won the ACC but missed the playoff because QB Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury in the penultimate game of the season.

The Quarterback Situation

That game against North Alabama was also the last time a Florida State quarterback had thrown a touchdown pass until DJ Uiagalelei hit Kentron Poitier in the third quarter for a 29-yard score on Monday. That was a streak that spanned over four games — the final three games of the 2023 season and the 2024 season-opening loss to Georgia Tech.

Uiagalelei was scattershot on Monday night. He completed just 50% of his passes and averaged 6.5 yards an attempt. When he did have time and delivered passes on target, his receivers had issues too. Florida State struggled with drops all evening as well.

The Running Game's Woes

The Seminoles also rushed 16 times for just 21 yards. It’s a total that’s deflated because sacks count against team rushing totals in college football, but FSU’s leading rusher was Kam Davis. He had three carries for 11 yards.

Florida State is off in Week 2 before playing Norvell’s previous school, Memphis, in Week 4. He did not directly answer a question about a potential quarterback competition in his postgame news conference either. FSU added Uiagalelei from Oregon State via the transfer portal in the offseason after Norvell and his staff were clearly not comfortable with the in-house options they had to replace Travis this season.

What Went Wrong for FSU?

“I wholeheartedly believed that we would come out and play better, there was definitely enough mistakes that we made that kept us from that there in the first half,” Norvell said. “And then obviously I thought there were some things in the second half when we started to press and just obviously did not play very well.”

Looking Ahead

FSU will look to avoid an 0-2 start to the 2024 season. The Seminoles will host a few commits as well as a large group of targets from the 2025, '26 and '27 classes on Monday.

The Future of the Seminoles

Norvell always emphasizes the importance of responding to adversity. This football team is at the point where they have doubters from the college football media to even the fan base.

Fans will be fans. They have every right to be upset. The Seminoles now have to turn their attention to the bye week before they take on a high-powered Memphis team. Nonetheless, when the going gets tough, I will be there in Doak Campbell Stadium cheering on this squad because I know that they will need the support more than anything.

It is time to get to work and get 1% better every day.

The Bottom Line

The Seminoles' struggles this season underscore the challenges of roster turnover and the pressure of high expectations. With a bye week to regroup, Norvell and his team will need to find a way to turn things around if they want to salvage their season and contend for a championship. The journey ahead will require a renewed commitment to the fundamentals, improved execution, and a collective effort to restore the team's confidence and identity. As Norvell said, “We've got to be able to put it on display, in the moment to translate practice to the game.”

Quotes and Insights from Norvell's Post-Game Press Conference

Here are some key takeaways from Coach Norvell's post-game press conference:

• On his failure to prepare the team: "I'm sick to how this season started. Obviously tonight I failed in preparing the team to be able to go out and respond tonight. And just the things that were necessary for us, the things we talked about, things we emphasized, obviously in all phases we were not able to execute."
• On the team's struggles: "It's not just the defensive line. Linebacker, safeties, everybody, especially when you get into condensed sets, you're going to find condensed sets, unbalanced sets. Everybody has a role to fill."
• On the need for leadership: "We need leaders to rise up. We need to continue to push in all areas of what we're doing, and we've got to do it together."
• On the importance of staying together: "There's going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that. When you perform the way we just did, it's all part of it. But for a football team, you've got to stay together. And you've got to make sure that you're there for each other."
• On the team's ability to bounce back: "I believe in the team. I believe in these guys, and I do believe in what they can accomplish. But obviously we're not putting it on display right now and definitely did not do that tonight."
• On the quarterback situation: "Obviously we were struggling offensively. There's a lot of reasons for that. Obviously everything that we're doing we've got to push and get better. That's what we're going to focus on doing. We're going to focus on pushing to get better, and we're going to put our guys in the best position to go achieve success. And that's what we're going to focus on."
• On the impact of the CFP snub: "I mean, obviously this team is this team. I know these guys worked hard in the offseason. You push. You try to prepare to go out there and to try to put your best foot forward, to play the best football you can play. And unfortunately we haven't done that."
• On the importance of confidence: "We've got to build upon the things that I know we can do. And we've got to build upon just showcasing our identity and what we're about. And we've got to work. Obviously we've got a few days here this week, opportunities to go out and work to be better."
• On the need for improvement: "We've got to be able to put it on display, in the moment to translate practice to the game."