Florida State laid an egg in Willie Taggart's debut against Virginia Tech on Monday night.

It was an ugly, discombobulated mess that ended with a 24-3 loss. The issues that plagued the Seminoles in the game have been issues for the last few years.

"No one's more upset than I am," Taggart said.

"I'm upset that we didn't get it done for our fan base and we didn't get it done for each other. But we're not going to sit around and blame anyone. We got to get back to work and make it happen, and we will."

How FSU responds from the loss to the Hokies will define the state of the Seminoles' program and Willie Taggart's first season.

That may seem like a stretch considering it's just one game against a Top-25 opponent, but hear me out.

Show Thumbnails
Show Captions

Last season started off in similar fashion. The Seminoles were blown out 24-7 by Alabama and then lost four of the next six games. When adversity hit, the team fell apart.

Players started blaming each other and the team divided itself and quit — the coaches and the players — in the 35-3 loss to Boston College. 

That can't happen again, and the players know it. 

"The biggest thing is that we have to stay together," FSU center Alec Eberle said.

"Y'all know as well as I know last year when times got tough we kind of separated as a team. This year we've gotten so close over the summer and the spring and fall camp, we refuse to let that happen to this team. We refuse to let our heads get down and we refuse to let the blame game start."

More: Three takeaways from Florida State's 24-3 loss to Virginia Tech

More: Peter Warrick, Marvin Jones reminisce at Florida State Sod Talk

More: Virginia Tech's defense stifles FSU, forces five turnovers

More: After winning the off-season, Willie Taggart deserves time to set FSU right | Jim Henry

It was no secret that this team didn't like each other very much at the end of last year, and Taggart did what he could to bring them together during the off-season

FSU's trip to IMG Academy during fall camp was designed to build the brotherhood, and the progress that the team has made is going to be tested now with the way the team played, specifically the offensive line.

"I know that it bothered them and it hurt them, and it should," Taggart said. 

"When you lose a game and you don't play well it should. We'll see how our guys come back and respond. How they come in and watch the film. It's a short week. The big thing is that we stay together. Our guys understand that. That's something that we must do is stay together and lean on each other."

Taggart and the team had built up high expectations from the jump with talk about "Lethal Simplicity" and "Bad Asses and War Daddies."

Now he has to bring a team back together that is coming off a loss where nothing went right on the offensive side of the ball and special teams.

The defense played well for the most part, but the other two phases of the game put it in bad position after bad position and that could create some animosity if it's allowed to fester.

"We're going to stay together no matter what," Eberle said. 

"We're going to hold the fort down. Whoever's in our room, they're in our room. Our circle is tight. We're keeping our eyes focused, blinders locked in, and we're on to the next game."

Because of the way the team reacted last season, Taggart has to make sure that the entire team is on the same page. He has to make sure players believe in each other and believe in the message that the coaching staff is projecting. 

How this team responds over the next couple weeks will tell us if Taggart's message of togetherness and team has resonated. It will tell us if the players in the locker room believe in him and each other or if the demons that showed up last year were only hiding during the off-season.

"Things like this happen, and it's going to help us figure out what kind of team we are," Francois said. "Is it going to make us or is it going break us? It's going to make us."

Wayne McGahee is an FSU beat writer and can be reached at