Florida State’s greatest low in decades did not include as poor of a record as Notre Dame’s did in 2016, but it led to much greater change. The Seminoles needed a game added on to the back of their schedule in order to preserve a 36-year bowl streak, but by then head coach Jimbo Fisher had already left for Texas A&M, sparking program-wide shifts.
As for Irish concerns, Florida State’s fall reaped, in part, at least one reward. Notre Dame freshman safety Houston Griffith was committed to the Seminoles as their season fell apart. That, combined with Irish success, led him to rethink his collegiate decision.