It has been a season like no other for the Florida State football team, yet it will end like each of the past 35 have: in a bowl game.The Seminoles won their final three games of the regular season to set an NCAA record for most consecutive bowl appearances (though that depends whether you count wins from 2006 and ’07 that have since been vacated). They will face a Southern Miss team that also enters the postseason on a three-game winning streak in the Walk On’s Independence Bowl on December 27.Stay here for live updates, scores and stats.
Florida State-Southern Mississippi game information, picks
Date: Wednesday, December 27Time: 12:30 p.m.TV Channel: ESPNOnline Stream: WatchESPNOdds: Florida State -15.5Pick: Southern Miss 30.4-Florida State 27.9 (from the OddsShark computer)
Florida State-Southern Mississippi preview
At the start of this college football season, it would have seemed impossible that Florida State could find itself 6-6, playing in the Independence Bowl without Jimbo Fisher as its coach. Coming off last year’s Orange Bowl victory, the Seminoles started the season ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll with national title aspirations.In the team’s season-opener, a 24-7 loss to Alabama, things started to unravel.Starting quarterback Deondre Francois tore his patella tendon when he was sacked in the fourth quarter, and true freshman James Blackman was forced into the starting lineup. Then, Hurricane Irma hit Florida, causing the Seminoles to postpone their next two games, against Louisiana-Monroe and Miami, and endure a three-week layoff. When they returned to action, they lost to N.C. State, and just like that the team’s College Football Playoff aspirations went up in smoke.The Seminoles got their first win against Wake Forest the following week, but the season remained a struggle. The team lost a heartbreaker to rival Miami and was upset by Louisville at home then blown out on a Friday night by Boston College. After a loss to Clemson, Florida State sat at 3-6 and had to reschedule the matchup with Louisiana-Monroe, which was previously cancelled, just to keep its bowl hopes alive.The Seminoles beat Delaware State and Florida to bring bowl eligibility within reach, then things really started getting weird.Rumors suddenly began swirling that Jimbo Fisher had been offered a lucrative contract by Texas A&M to replace fired head coach Kevin Sumlin. Fisher failed to deny such rumors, and he ultimately resigned to head to College Station the day before the Louisiana-Monroe matchup. Two days after interim coach Odell Haggins led the team to a win that kept the bowl streak alive, Florida State hired Willie Taggart away from Oregon. Haggins, however, will coach the team against Southern Miss.The biggest challenge for the Seminoles as they prepare to face the Golden Eagles figures to be keeping focused despite all that has happened this season, especially in recent weeks with the coaching change. While Southern Miss comes from the lowly Conference USA, it could provide a challenge to Florida State’s at times anemic offense.The Golden Eagles rank 17th nationally in total defense, allowing just under 322 yards per game to opponents. They rank 39th in scoring defense, giving up just 23 points per contest. The Florida State offense, on the other hand, averages just 343.6 yards per game. That ranks 107th out of 130 FBS teams.Florida State will likely look to establish its rushing attack, behind running backs Jacques Patrick and Cam Akers. The duo rushed for 272 yards against Louisiana-Monroe. Florida State as a team rushed for 305. Southern Miss has allowed a respectable 137.2 yards per game on the ground, but has allowed three different teams to rack up more than 200 rushing yards.The Golden Eagles may look to emulate the Seminoles’ game plan. Their strength has typically been their rushing attack, which has averaged 189 yards per game on the season. Florida State has struggled to stop the run at times, giving up an average of 227.5 yards per game during a four-game stretch in ACC play, but it has been far better of late, holding each of its last three opponents under 100 yards on the ground. In the Independence Bowl, however, the Seminoles will be without safety Derwin James, who has declared for the NFL Draft and announced he will sit the game out.Even without James, Florida State should be the more talented team. The question is what the Seminoles’ mindset will be like playing in a lower-tier game than they’re accustomed to — and after the circus that has enveloped the program in recent weeks.