Florida State knew that they would be taking a beating from the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night. They did not know, however, that their starting quarterback, Deondre Francois, would be knocked out for the season with a patella tendon injury. This puts a serious damper on what Florida State would for sure be a season to remember. Before this injury, it seemed more than likely that Florida State could win the ACC, go to the College Football Playoff, and maybe more.

This isn’t to say that a backup QB has never led a team to the promised land (i.e. Ohio State), but it becomes much more difficult having a player with little experience under center. Adding to the problem, Florida State is already inexperienced at both WR and RB. Francois may have been an NFL caliber QB and was definitely in the upper-echelon of QBs in the country. This is a big blow to the Seminoles.

Replacing Francois will likely be true frosh James Blackman. Blackman was a four-star recruit coming out of Glades Central High School in Florida this year, not showing up at FSU camp until the summer. I’m sure even Blackman didn’t think that just a few months after arriving that he could be starting on a top ten team in the country. Blackman is a dual threat guy who can do many things with his legs that even Francois may not be able to, but the offense would likely have to be maneuver around him as he likely would not be able to do as much in the passing game as Francois. Other candidates for the job include Bailey Hockman and J.J. Cosentino, both of whom are pocket passers.

Obviously Florida State has a ton of talent, both on the field and in their backups, but the lack of experience from Francois’ replacement may be what does the Seminoles in. This defense is pretty special, as they showed against Bama, and that should keep them in the race for a conference title. After getting a game this Saturday against UL Monroe to break in a new QB, the Noles quickly have to turn around and play Miami and NC State the next two weeks. It is very likely that their season could be broken by week five. In a dream scenario, Blackman turns out to be a stud and leads them to the national championship, a la Cardale Jones, but that seems highly unlikely. Losing Francois is a blow that may be filed under the major “what-ifs” in Florida State history.