Florida
Florida State starts season 0-2 despite NIL team budget of roughly $12 million: Source
There’s still a long season ahead in college football with most teams only having played one game but Florida State couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. The Noles, who began the season ranked No. 10, are 0-2 with losses to two unranked opponents.
The team has struggled despite the Noles making a big investment in their defensive line this year with almost $2 million going to their starting front in what is an NIL team budget of around $12 million, a source briefed on FSU’s NIL strategy told The Athletic this week.
On Monday night, FSU got blown out at home by Boston College, 28-13. The Eagles ran all over FSU, outrushing them 263 to 21 yards.
Meanwhile in 2023, the Noles ran through the ACC, going 13-0 and claiming the conference before being left out of the Playoff. Since then, though, it’s been a nightmare for FSU.
Georgia whupped a depleted Noles team, 63-3, that had 20 players opt out of the Orange Bowl in 2023. Florida State coach Mike Norvell dipped heavily into the transfer portal again, signing 17 players in hopes of replacing 10 draft picks. Norvell previously did a superb job mining the portal, but this year, it’s had dreadful results.
GO DEEPER
Live by the portal, die by the portal: FSU’s 0-2 start proof latest haul not special enough
One of the headliners of the new-look Seminoles was former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred in after FSU was unable to land Washington State transfer Cam Ward, who chose Miami.
Uiagalelei is off to a very shaky start for FSU with the former five-star recruit throwing just one touchdown and completing 58 percent of his passes for a 6.7 yard-per-attempt average. A team that averaged 35 points a game last year scored just 34 in its first two games.
However, the more surprising issue is a defense that was gashed in both games. Boston College had 10 runs of at least 10 yards against FSU.
The Noles rank No. 124 in the country in run defense, allowing 227 yards per game on the ground. FSU was No. 4 in the country in sacks in 2023 with 46 and has just three in two games this season. The program did have to replace two top-40 draft picks in Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, but the expectation was it was still loaded up front with transfers Darrell Jackson, a 328-pound defensive tackle, who was brought in along with Georgia transfer defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. to go with Patrick Payton and Joshua Farmer.
FSU’s issues have been on both sides of the ball. The Seminoles rank last in the ACC among 17 teams in third-down defense, giving up conversions 56 percent of the time. The Noles were No. 2 in the ACC last year, allowing first downs less than 29 percent of the time. On offense, they’re only No. 14 in the ACC in third-down conversions and their No. 14 in red zone touchdown percentage.
Norvell’s team has this weekend off to try and sort out some of its problems before Memphis visits Tallahassee on Sept. 14.
Required reading
(Photo: Chris Leduc / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
If you have an avocado tree growing in your backyard, experts say you need to be vigilant about a disease that has made a comeback and can destroy your fruit.
It’s called Sunblotch Viroid, a microscopic invader that can spread easily.
CBS Miami spoke with tropical fruit specialist Dr. Jonathan Crane at the University of Florida’s Research and Education Center in Homestead about the disease. He says a local farmer spotted the disease and notified him, prompting Crane to issue a warning.
Laurel wilt wiped out half of trees
Crane has worked for decades at the research center. He says that while the laurel wilt fungus wiped out nearly half of the avocado trees in South Florida, newly planted avocado trees are now susceptible to Sunblotch Viroid.
The disease leaves deep yellow scars on the fruit.
“You can have Viroid in a tree that doesn’t show symptoms. It can spread from seeds and root stock,” Crane said.
Crane advises growers with infected trees: “If it has it, they need to properly remove the tree entirely.”
Farmers inspect trees for signs
David Maes, manager of Marando Farms and Ranch in Davie, said the operation has had no Sunblotch issues but that he inspects the organic avocado trees regularly.
“It’s always a concern. You worry you will have to dig up a row,” Maes said. “That’s what happened with the citrus greening outbreak that happened 15 years ago. Tens of millions of citrus trees had to be destroyed because of a bug.”
Serious threat to avocado production
Crane says farmers and home growers should take the Sunblotch threat seriously.
“We have to look out. Because trees can be reduced 14 to 80 percent,” he said.
If you suspect you have an infected tree, Crane says you can take leaf samples to your local agricultural extension office. For a fee, they can test for confirmation.
If you’d like more information, contact the UF/IFAS TREC Plant Diagnostic Clinic in Homestead.
In the face of challengers, Donalds’ campaign has highlighted his polling advantage.
Paul Renner, a candidate for Florida Governor speaks at Seed to Table in Naples
Florida gubernatorial candidate, Paul Renner speaks at Seed to Table in Naples. Gets endorsement from Stand for Health Freedom group
Less than 12 months until the election, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who has the backing of President Donald Trump, is comfortably ahead in polls for the GOP nomination to succeed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But there are signs the sleepy race is sparking to life: Donalds’ rivals are lining up to attack the Naples Republican and chip away at his lead in the polls.
Former House Speaker Paul Renner released an extensive economic platform on Nov. 14 focused on affordability – a topic top of mind for voters in the recent off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia.
Lt. Gov. Jay Collins is a former Green Beret in the U.S. Army who was elected to the Florida Senate in 2022. DeSantis selected him to fill the vacant lieutenant governor position in August, fueling speculation he’d later run to replace the term-limited DeSantis next year.
Collins hasn’t officially declared his candidacy but continues to tease his own run, and has recently started unsubtly slamming Donalds online.
“Let’s face it. Most members of Congress won’t pass a single meaningful bill for their district,” Collins posted on X on Nov. 13. “So they turn to Fox News or CNN to build name ID … and then run for Governor.”
A nonprofit organization, Florida Fighters, also started running ads featuring Collins.
There’s also the prospect of a wildcard in the race. James Fishback, the 30-year-old CEO of the investment firm Azoria, has said he’ll officially announce his campaign soon. He has repeatedly attacked Donalds, particularly on immigration policies related to the federal H1B visa program, calling him “DEI Donalds” and “H1Byron.”
Byron Donalds can boast he’s tops in the polls
In the face of these challengers, Donalds’ campaign has highlighted his polling advantage.
A Victory Insights poll conducted Nov. 11–13 of 600 likely Republican voters found he has 45% support, while Renner has 2.7%, Collins 1.2% and Fishback 1.1%. Nearly half of respondents (49.9%), however, said they were undecided, leaving a pathway for the trailing pack to win over the electorate.
Donalds has continued to campaign, attending Turning Point USA events at University of Florida in the last week. And he’s started to talk more about the cost of living, telling Newsmax on Nov. 13 that Florida will have to develop its own health care plan if Congress can’t fix or replace the Affordable Care Act. Subsidies for coverage plans on ACA exchanges are set to expire at the end of the year, boosting monthly costs.
“Health care costs are out of control. If the feds aren’t going to be responsive then Florida is going to have to lead the way,” Donalds said.
Affordability has become a catchphrase for campaigns as costs have continued to rise, including for housing and beef and grocery staples.
Renner’s plan would tackle housing costs by slashing property taxes and passing more litigation reforms to drive down property insurance rates. He also wants to keep tuition rates level for higher education and expand vocational programs to generate more high-paying jobs.
The plan would also eliminate H1B visas for workers at state agencies. DeSantis recently said he’s eliminating H1B visas for employees at state universities.
The H1B visa program, started in 1990 by Congress, has been criticized by hardline anti-immigration hawks as being abused by large corporations to bring in foreign workers at the expense of Americans.
“We can provide residents with lower costs and a business climate that creates jobs with better incomes,” Renner said in a statement.
“This plan begins with an immediate and overdue property tax rollback, through legislative action,” he added. “This will ease the financial burden of hardworking taxpayers across the state while we await long-term reforms that require constitutional amendment a year from now.”
On the Democratic side, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings got in the race earlier this month, challenging former U.S. Rep. David Jolly who announced his campaign in the summer.
Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
Watch: Fever forward Natasha Howard’s emotional response to the WNBA season
Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard shares her thoughts on the 2025 WNBA season.
Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard’s Florida State jersey was retired Sunday.
Howard wore No. 33 for the Seminoles from 2010-14, starting 127 games. She also holds heralded spots in program history:
- 1,811 points, fourth-most
- 1,046 rebounds, second
- 186 blocked shots, fourth
Howard’s scoring total was second when she left the program. She led FSU in career rebounds before Fever teammate Makalya Timpson (2021-25) grabbed more. The blocks were third most when Howard left, but Timpson has more.
The Fever selected Howard fifth overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft, and she played her first two seasons in Indiana. She returned in 2025 free agency, averaging 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds for the league semifinalists.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube page for Fever Insiders Live.
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