After not having a losing on-field record from 1977 through the 2017 season, Florida State has now finished with more losses than wins for each of the last three seasons.

The Seminoles went 5-7 in 2018, 6-7 in 2019, and 3-6 a year ago. And even in 2017, the Noles were just 7-6, so the program has a 21-26 record over the last four seasons, which started after Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M.

The vibe in Tallahassee, however, is that things could be headed in the right direction. Mike Norvell is in his second season, recruiting is going well, and FSU returns a decent nucleus from a year ago, so improvement is expected.

Part of that measuring stick will include how the Seminoles perform against the better opponents on their schedule, which includes an October trip to Chapel Hill, the first for FSU since 2009. The Noles shocked the Tar Heels last season at Doak Campbell Stadium.

We continue looking at each of UNC’s opponents, and today the focus is the Tar Heels’ second home opponent of the season, Florida State:

Game Date: Oct. 9 in Chapel Hill

2020 Record: 3-6 overall, 2-6 ACC

2020 Offense FCS ranking: No. 62 overall (396.7 ypg); No. 31 rushing (199.9 ypg); No. 85 scoring (25.8 ppg)

2020 Defense FCS ranking: No. 107 overall (456.3 ypg); No. 97 rushing (199.2 ypg); No. 105 scoring (36.0 ppg).

Starters Returning: Offense 10, Defense 7.

*The following are things FSU Coach Mike Norvell recently said about his team:

On QBs Jordan Travis & McKenzie Melton: “Two incredible players, also incredible young men. Who they are on the field, I mean, they're playmakers. I think you've seen that throughout the course of their careers. Jordan this past season did some remarkable things through some extreme challenges, dealing with injuries, missed time, continuing to grow and respond throughout that year.

“With McKenzie and his story. Somebody that I have great familiarity with, having to compete against him, now getting a chance to coach him day in and day out. They're two young men that they bring it every day. The appreciation for the opportunity, the appreciation for what it takes in the process to grow and develop.

“But then also an appreciation for who they get to do it with. There's a lot of guys that go through college football with a sole focus on themselves. Those two young men, they care about who they get to be with and who they get to represent on their journey.

“They're a joy to coach every single day. To see them compete with each other, the quarterback position is unique, and those guys are both battling, bringing out the best of themselves and bringing out the best of each other in how they grow and how they develop and what they do on the field, off the field, in the weight room, on the practice field.”

On getting more of a pass rush & the play of DL Jermaine Johnson: “That was something that was a big focus for our staff as we were going into this year. We know we need to have that impact there on our defensive front. Jermaine is a young man that has shown the ability to do that at a very high level during the course of his collegiate career. An opportunity to come to Florida State, be a guy that can truly help be the face of the defense.

“The embrace that he's had, much like we just talked about with the quarterbacks, it's easy to point to the opportunity that he's looking for, but a thing that's been most impressive to me is from day one he's poured into the guys on the defensive front, talking about the expectation, about the challenge, talking about the investment in being able to make an impact in everything they do from the practice field to the weight room.

“That has to be a strength for us. When you look through the years of our program, the great history that we have, that has always been a staple. It needs to return to that. I think Jermaine is a guy, the sky's the limit for what he can accomplish. People look through his career, there at his last institution, you saw the pass-rush ability, you saw the impact that he can make.

“The thing I've been most pleased with is his commitment in the run game, how hard he's practiced, the physicality he's shown. He's truly looking to be the complete player and helping bring guys around him that are going to help elevate that, like Keir Thomas, like Fabien Lovett, the guys on the defensive front that have great talent and have an opportunity to get us back to where we need to be.”

On instilling his culture at FSU and looking ahead to year two: “I think 'unique' is an understatement to the year we just experienced. I'm grateful for this year. People can easily point to the challenges of what we experienced and the things we had to go through.

“I'm grateful to be able to have been a part of it with this team, with the guys I get to coach. As we come in, there's been a lot of change at Florida State over the last few years. To be able to be with my players, with our coaches, it provided an opportunity through each challenge to be an example of how you respond.

“That was something that we talked about throughout the course of this last year, something we still talk about today, is how you respond to all those situations. There are moments in this last year we saw great highs. We had a big win, a top five win. Then there were moments of great lows. There were things we had to adapt, adjust. We were able to do it together. I believe that really helped set the foundation and build the trust throughout our team of who we are, what we're aspiring to do, where we're aspiring to go.

“I'm grateful for the challenges that we got to experience, and I'm grateful for the relations that have been built through those challenges and what that really sets up to do moving forward.

“We're extremely excited about the year that's ahead, excited about the personnel we have, the guys we get to coach, the opportunity that's in front of us to help get Florida State back to where it deserves to be.”