The good and bad of Florida State’s 2019 football schedule

Florida State’s football schedule for the 2019 season is out.

Here it is. Home games in bold.

• Saturday, August 31: Boise State Broncos (Jacksonville, FL)
• Saturday, September 7: Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, September 14: Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
• Saturday, September 21: Louisville (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, September 28: NC State (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, October 5: Bye
• Saturday, October 12: Clemson (Clemson, SC)
• Saturday, October 19: Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, NC)
• Saturday, October 26: Syracuse (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, November 2: Miami (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, November 9: Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA)
• Saturday, November 16: Alabama State (Tallahassee, FL)
• Saturday, November 23: Bye
• Saturday, November 30: Florida Gators (Gainesville, FL)

After taking a moment to digest it, what do you like? And what don’t you like?

• Good: Catching Louisville early in the season. Louisville has a new coach under Scott Satterfield, and while progression is not linear, this will be one of the first big road trips for the Cards.
• Bad: A bye before Clemson. Let’s face it, you could give FSU a month to prepare and Clemson would probably still issue the beat down. A bye after Clemson to refocus after getting crushed would be better.
• Good: Alabama State and a bye before heading to Gainesville. Florida beat FSU badly in 2018, and if FSU is going to turn it around in 2019, having two weeks to prep could be big.
• Bad: Boston College on the road right after Miami. It probably won’t be freezing cold in early November, but you’d rather get to Boston while baseball is still being played.
• Good: No Monday, Thursday, or Friday games. This program is trying to make it back to a bowl, it doesn’t exactly need the national spotlight on it right now.
• Bad: The home schedule. We were already predicting a drop in ticket sales thanks to a declining product over the last few seasons, new tax laws, etc. Moving a game against a semi-marquee opponent does not help, but man, this home schedule is going to be tough on local businesses. Additionally, FSU only has one home game in the final four weekends, in which the weather is nicest.
• Good: Having Louisiana Monroe to regroup against before three important conference games. Traveling to Virginia has been tough for some ACC schools, and as South Carolina found out in the bowl game, failing to prepare for the UVA blitz package can spell doom.

After seeing the order of the games on the schedule, do you feel better or worse?