In this episode of 'Unconquered with Doc Staples,' we look at the rapid decline of Florida State's football team and the changes in Coach Mike Norvell's approach. By drawing parallels with the impact of relaxed academic standards during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lowered expectations and resulting leniency have made it difficult to regain the previ…

Watching Florida State football this year is sort of like drinking spoiled milk. You know it should be better than it is, but it's turned awful and isn't getting better. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will…

Florida State travels to Dallas riding a one-game winning streak. Can the Noles find a way to survive against a program that just arrived in the ACC from a G5 conference? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques wil…

Why keep playing DJU? Why does FSU keep losing contain on defense? Why keep playing Kyle Morlock? Running game woes; should Mike Norvell change his running game approach? Coaching and recruiting—why favor recruiters as position coaches rather than great coaches? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via…

Well, it wasn't pretty, but a win's a win. Right? Right? This still isn't a good football team, but at least the fight is there and the defense bowed up in the red zone enough to come away with a win. But all three phases still need to get a lot better to be competitive against the rest of the schedule. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-…

Florida State should beat Cal by a comfortable margin. But that would require a major turnaround from what we've seen so far this season, and this team hasn't given sufficient reason to think that's what's going to happen here. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon pa…

An 0-3 start has Florida State fans asking lots of questions. We try to work through some of what seems like an unlimited mailbag in this episode, discussing the QB question, whether a coach's message gets stale after awhile, and whether Mike Norvell can turn things around. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the…

This is bad, folks. Really bad. This is a team that isn't bought in, doesn't believe, and hasn't been well coached. And it's hard to see a lot of solutions from here this season. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techni…

I went into the preparation for this preview show expecting to pick a super-close game, likely with Memphis winning. Then I took a closer look at Memphis' first two games, and I'm just not sure Memphis has the players up front to do that. If it does turn out that close (or another loss for FSU), it's time to shatter that glass and push that emergen…

Florida State somehow managed to lose the bye week. This short mailbag episode looks at some of the questions about program momentum, game planning, and more. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continu…

Florida State laid a turd in their home opener in a 28–13 loss to Boston College after opening the season with the loss to Georgia Tech. This is the kind of start—and the kind of listless showing—that will have Mike Norvell reassessing every component of his program, and it will have to start by winning over his locker room again. Please rate and r…

Coming off a disappointing opener in Dublin, Florida State faces an experienced Boston College team with a new coaching staff. Expect some early wrinkles from BC's new coordinators; FSU will have to weather that early storm—and handle jitterbug QB Thomas Castellanos—to keep the pressure off DJ Uiagalelei and the developing FSU offense in this one. …

Florida State's week zero loss to Georgia Tech raised a lot of questions. We address a few of them here. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offseason. Check out our new items …

After rewatching Florida State's loss to Georgia Tech three or four times, certain initial reactions should be tempered, while others were more or less confirmed. Bottom line: this Florida State team can and should play a lot better, but the flaws that were feared going into the season emerged in this game, and the coaching staff seemed not to be c…

One of the hardest things about the early season is that it's not always clear from camp whether a position group looks good because it's that good or because the competition on the other side of the ball isn't as good as you think. Florida State will have to reevaluate how good their lines are after getting handled up front by a physical and well-…

Georgia Tech will be better than many think this year and brings a dangerous offense with a quality offensive line and lots of speed at the skill positions to the table. This is a great early test for a reloading Florida State team that will need to play well on defense to shut a good Yellow Jacket offense down. Please rate and review this podcast!…

After a 13–0 regular season in 2023, what is in store for Florida State? Will they be able to reload after losing all that top-tier NFL talent, or will they take a step back? Ultimately, this is a veteran team with outstanding units on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and it fits the bill of the sort of team that has punched above expectations …

Florida State replaces Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Fabien Lovett, and several others. But this is still a top 5–10 defensive line in the country. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout…

Florida State may have had the best trio of cornerbacks in the country last year. This year's group might be close to as good. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offseason. Ch…

We continue our season preview with an extended discussion of what makes the safety position so important in Fuller's defensive scheme and then talk about why FSU should be more solid at that spot in 2024 than they were in 2023. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon p…

We open our defensive previews with a look at the linebacker position. It's a deeper group than last year's, but it will be tough to equal last year's starters in terms of reliability. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and …

We continue our position previews with a look at the Tight End and Quarterback rooms. Will FSU be physical enough at tight end? And why am I so bullish on D. J. Uiagalelei in Mike Norvell's offense this year? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns…

We continue our position previews with a look at the Wide Receiver room. Can FSU find a consistent WR1 who can change the scoreboard? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offsea…

We continue our position previews with a look at the Running Back room. It's one of the best in the country, with a high floor and some major big-play specialists waiting in the wings. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and …

We begin our position previews with a look at the Offensive Line. After a decade of struggles, it's now a team strength—maybe the strongest segment of the offense. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be co…

After a week, have the expectations changed for this 2024 Florida State team? What can we expect from this group? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offseason. Check out our n…

After a leave of absence for the last few months, we're back to start previewing the 2024 season and more. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offseason. Check out our new item…

It's probably best that I didn't put anything out during Tour of Duty or I'd have just sounded like another old man yelling at clouds, but it's time to get down to business and discuss spring ball now that the pads are about to go on. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Pat…

Quite a bit has happened since the last episode, and we're only going to scratch the surface talking about some of the roster changes and developments in the legal cases. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques wil…

In a whirlwind week that mercifully brought a close to Florida State's 40 days of trial, Mike Norvell chose to stay at Florida State rather than taking over the Alabama position after Nick Saban's retirement. Florida State is now in position to compete for titles for the foreseeable future, and Norvell is prepping for a revenge tour. Please rate an…

Jason Staples discusses the impact of Florida State's snub from the College Football Playoff on coach Mike Norvell and the team's morale. He expresses concerns about the locker room's state and the difficulty of maintaining motivation. Staples suggests Norvell might embrace a "revenge tour" mentality. He analyzes the quarterback situation, comparin…

It went as badly as it looked like it might. Georgia not only outclassed Florida State's backups, all the bounces also went the Bulldogs' way, meaning the Noles were never competitive after the first quarter. Time to turn the page to the next season—FSU already did. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast…

Both teams come into the Backup Bowl Presented by Opt-Outs with very different rosters than they had during the regular season, but Florida State has lost much more production due to being a more veteran team with higher-end NFL talent, while Georgia has always been the deeper team. Given all the opt-outs and portal entries, it's pretty obvious who…

As the Backup Bowl Presented by Opt-Outs approaches, I've got a lot of questions to address. Time to reach into the mailbag before the preview epsiode drops. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continui…

Florida State has filed suit against the ACC, and the case against the ACC's Grant of Rights is stronger than anticipated. The 'Noles may need to send someone to the ACC HQ to cut out a piece of carpet before too long. Worth the Read: Mark T. Wilhelm, "Irrevocable but Unenforceable? Collegiate Athletic Conferences' Grant of Rights," Harvard Journal…

The annual Early Signing Day is now in the books, so we now know where these high school projects will be beginning their careers—and where half of them will be transferring from within the next 2–3 years. Florida State didn't enjoy an ideal close, but the Seminoles had an excellent class, raising the overall talent level on the roster with excelle…

NOTE: This episode was recorded on Sunday shortly after the decision was made and for some reason didn't hit the feed when it should have. I've reposted it two days later. Apologies for the delay. I still stand by everything I said here. In leaving out 13-0 Florida State, the College Football Playoff committee compromised the integrity of the sport…

Florida State had a historically elite defensive performance against a quality Louisville offense in a game that went almost exactly as our preview projected. This was the first time a Jeff Brohm offense has been held under 200 yards in five years, as FSU held the Cardinals to 6 points and 2.8 yards per play, a lower YPP average than Michigan gave …

Despite having two of the best offensive minds in the game calling plays, this one shapes up as an old school matchup to be won by the team that runs the ball, stops the run, and doesn't turn it over. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of vari…

It wasn't pretty, but every win over a rival is beautiful. A few early bad breaks meant having to claw back rather than being able to dictate terms early, but Mike Norvell and staff stuck with the plan and got it done. (Note: I should've discussed the delay of game issues more in this episode—that's one thing they'll need to address this week more …

Florida State goes into its rivalry tilt against Florida without Heisman candidate Jordan Travis, and the Gators have a solid offense that will provide a strong challenge for the Noles' defense. But the Florida defense has been porous in exactly the areas FSU has been strong so far this season. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star revi…

Jordan Travis is an elite athlete at the QB position, but his best quality was managing the game and not turning the ball over. Tate Rodemaker (and Brock Glenn) will need to protect the football, and the offensive coaching staff will need to make sure the less experienced QB isn't asked to do too much. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-s…

Honestly, the words I have to say right now aren't all that suitable for on the air, and I'm not in a frame of mind to dispassionately discuss football or matchups or anything along those lines. I'm just gutted for Jordan Travis, and I hope his recovery is swift and full. We'll get back to discussion of football in a couple days. This isn't how sen…

In short: rest the key players. Get lots of reps for the backups and guys who haven't played much. Get as healthy as possible for the final two games, then get healthy again after that. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and…

Florida State ran its record to 10-0 and its win streak to 16 games with a workmanlike win in a physical contest against rival Miami (Fla.). There were a few warts to point out, but any win against a rival is a beauty. Now the 'Noles get to play their second consecutive game against an FCS foe with an opportunity to go 11-0. Please rate and review …

In the first of two consecutive games vs FCS programs, Florida State comes into a matchup against a rival that has the players to challenge them up front and at many skill positions but has been sloppy and doesn't appear especially well coached. It's a dangerous game, but it's also one the Noles could win big if they play well. Please rate and revi…

Florida State didn't finish drives, looked sloppy much of the game, and still won a conference game on the road by 17 points. That'll do, pig. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout t…

Florida State travels to play a Pitt team that, aside from one of the biggest upsets in CFB this season, has been struggling all season. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the off…

What are the biggest surprises through the first eight games? Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the offseason. Check out our new items in the Unconquered Shop. Support the podcas…

Florida State put this game away in the first half and then fell asleep in the third quarter before slamming the door shut in the fourth. Please rate and review this podcast! Every 5-star review helps! Support the podcast via the Unconquered Podcast Patreon page. Film breakdowns of various schemes and techniques will be continuing throughout the of…