Florida State Football: How Upset Loss Will Hurt BCS Hopes

Florida State's turnover-plagued loss to Wake Forest drops the Seminoles to 2-3 (0-2 in ACC play) and essentially kills their BCS hopes.

The Seminoles are now fourth in the ACC's coastal division, trailing Clemson, Maryland, and the Demon Deacons, who just upset FSU 35-30.

Florida State came into today's game ranked 23rd in the country, but they will be plummeting in the polls and need a near-miracle to restore their BCS chances.

Who's the biggest winner?

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who improved to 3-0 in conference play and 4-1 overall.

Wake's defense was very impressive against FSU, limiting the Seminoles to 256 total yards, forcing four turnovers and even registering a rare safety.

This gives the Demon Deacons their fourth win in a row and plenty of momentum heading into next week's big matchup against No. 21 Virginia Tech.

Does FSU still have BCS chance?

Yes, but only with the help of divine intervention.

The Seminoles have lost three games in a row and have yet to win a conference game. They will likely need to win their final six ACC games (against Duke, Maryland, NCST, Boston College, Miami and Virginia), plus have Clemson and Wake Forest choke in the majority of their remaining ACC games.

Florida State still has a very small chance at making a BCS bowl, but Seminoles fans certainly shouldn't get their hopes up.

What it means

Basically, this loss means FSU's BCS chances are about as likely as Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher conceiving a child that morphs into a Deion Sanders/Warrick Dunn hybrid and leads the team to glory.

Biggest thing to fix

Obviously, a football team with a losing record has plenty of things to fix, but I think FSU's biggest issue is they have no semblance of a running game.

They came into today's game averaging just 79.5 yards per game on the ground, good for 115th in the nation. Simply put, if 114 teams in the country have better running games than you, you're probably not going to do so hot.

Pivotal turnaround game

If the Seminoles want to restore their BCS hopes (or hell, finish with a winning record), they need to turn this thing around immediately.

Luckily for them, they get perennial cupcake Duke next week.

Who they play next

FSU travels to Tobacco Road to take on the Blue Devils next Saturday.

The Seminoles need to absolutely crush Duke in order to boost their confidence and build at least a little momentum heading into their seven remaining games.