Gene Frenette: Questions about Jaguars debacle, FSU survival, Gators' ho-hum offense, Ryder Cup

Questions worth asking in light of another dismal Jacksonville Jaguars showing against the Houston Texans, Florida State’s gut-check overtime victory over Clemson to lead off a highly entertaining college football Saturday, Billy Napier’s ho-hum Florida offense and whether the U.S. Ryder Cup team can finally break its hex on European soil:

Can you blame many of the Jaguars’ 61,466 paying customers for leaving EverBank Stadium by midway through the fourth quarter after such an underwhelming performance in a 37-17 loss to the nemesis Texans?

How many season-ticket holders left the Bank kicking themselves for going along with a Jaguars’ price increase, then getting less bang for their buck for the second week in a row in the September heat?

Is Jamal Agnew’s fumbling issue going to start costing him snaps on offense unless one of the starting receivers is hurt?

More: Gene Frenette: Jaguars put up another stinker at home against AFC South nemesis Texans

How can the Jaguars support local journalism if head coach Doug Pederson puts strong emphasis on the players not reading their news clippings?

Did anybody think the Jaguars could go through two games at any point in the season with K’Lavon Chaisson having more sacks than the entire defense?

Is head coach Doug Pederson in denial about waiting for the Jaguars’ young pass-rushers to develop?

Should the Jaguars dropping nine passes in three games, with receiver Calvin Ridley having four of them, raise a red flag since Jacksonville was at or near the top of the NFL in that category the past two seasons?

What level of concern should Jaguars fans have about future results against the Houston Texans after seeing rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud look like he’s every bit worth the No. 2 overall draft pick?

Did you smile seeing former Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew react so joyously after getting the chance to prove himself again by leading that overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens?

Or can Jacksonville not be happy for Minshew because he’s now winning games for the AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts?

Speaking of ex-Jaguar QBs, how cool was it to see one of the nicest players ever in that locker room, Josh Dobbs, get his first NFL win for the Arizona Cardinals in a stunning 28-16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys?

Did Dabo Swinney choke?

How bizarre was it to see Clemson coach Dabo Swinney — in a tied game in the final two minutes of regulation against Florida State — seemingly lose faith in quarterback Cade Klubnik's arm to get a touchdown deep in FSU territory and depend instead on inexperienced kicker Jonathan Weitz to make the go-ahead field goal?

Didn’t you think FSU coach Mike Norvell got away with some questionable clock management, especially not spending one of his three timeouts as Clemson was burning the clock before Weitz’s missed 29-yard field goal kept it a tied game with 1:45 left in regulation?

Could FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach's big hit on Klubnik and fumble return for a 56-yard touchdown go down as the most impactful play of the college football regular season?

While no officiating crew can be perfect, how did the ACC official not throw a yellow flag on Clemson defensive back Nate Wiggins for such obvious holding in the open field on FSU’s Johnny Wilson in the final minute of regulation that could have cost the Seminoles the game?

How strange was it for FSU quarterback Jordan Travis to say after the victory that it was “disrespectful” for Clemson’s defense to be in single coverage against receivers Keon Coleman and Wilson?

Isn’t that just the Tigers’ choice of strategy — as well as their burden if it turns out to be too risky — and not any indication whatsoever about respect or lack thereof?

Wasn’t college football’s true “disrespect,” as Ohio State coach Ryan Day pointedly noted after his team’s dramatic 17-14 win over Notre Dame, exhibited by former Irish coach Lou Holtz when he said he didn’t think the Buckeyes were tough enough to win the game?

How inappropriate was it for a longtime college coach like Holtz to suggest that about Day’s team, considering he was once employed by Ohio State as an assistant coach and the Buckeyes won 21-10 last year in Columbus?

Will there be any more clutch game-ending drive the rest of the 2023 college football season than what Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord did by converting a third-and-10, fourth-and-7 and third-and-19 to beat Notre Dame?

How is it possible for Irish coach Marcus Freeman or somebody on staff to not realize their defense had only 10 men on the field for the final two plays of the Ohio State touchdown drive that won a nail-biting game?

Is there a great team in college football?

Does any team in college football look like it could sustain dominance for longer than two or three weeks?

Is this the year somebody outside the Southeastern Conference finally wins a national championship?

Did anything about the Florida-Charlotte game look more contradictory than seeing Graham Mertz complete 20 of 23 passes for 259 yards and the Gators go 1-for-9 on third down?

Is there much of a difference between all the pre-snap motion involved with Billy Napier’s offense and Grand Central Station at rush hour?

When will all that movement confuse an opposing defense enough where the Gators actually benefit from it?

Had Florida beaten Charlotte 22-7 when Steve Spurrier was coaching, could you see him saying at any point in his postgame press conference, “winning is hard?”

Don’t you think Gators’ fans would have preferred to hear Napier say, “My goodness, we got to be better on offense than 1-for-9 on third down and 1-of-5 in the red zone and that starts with me?”

After Ricky Pearsall made that stupendous one-handed catch over the middle against Charlotte, do you suppose the Florida receiver thought to himself, “Odell who?”

More: Gene Frenette: Jaguars' offense struggles aside, critics should wait on burying the O-line

Will Miami Dolphins be a historic offense?

Was that the Denver Broncos or the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers defense that got steamrolled for 70 points and 726 yards by the Miami Dolphins?

Can the Dolphins, who are averaging 43.3 points per game and on pace to score 736, join the 2013 Denver Broncos as the only team in NFL history to eclipse 600 points in a season?

How classy was it of Colorado coach Deion Sanders to bear-hug Dan Lanning after the game and compliment him for how well he prepared his team in its 42-6 victory, considering the Oregon coach threw obvious shade in his pregame speech by saying his team plays for wins and Colorado “plays for clicks?”

Can there be any greater message about how badly Lanning wanted to bury Colorado by fake-punting with a 13-0 lead?

Don’t college football fans realize that all polls are meaningless until about late October or would they rather engage in frivolous debate?

Is there a more quarterback-challenged Power 5 program at the moment than Auburn?

Can there be a bigger eyesore at the position than three quarterbacks combining to complete 9 of 23 passes for 56 yards against a Texas A&M defense that came in allowing 200 yards per game through the air?

Is Ryder Cup destined for dramatic ending?

Wouldn’t it be great to see the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Italy come down to a Sunday winner-take-all singles match between Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and American Jordan Spieth?

Since the U.S. hasn’t won in Europe since 1993 at The Belfry, can the memory of a dominant 19-9 win two years ago at Whistling Straits provide any kind of psychological edge?

Why do I get the feeling first-time Ryder Cup player and St. Simon’s Island resident Brian Harman could have a big impact for the U.S. team?

How else can the disappointing 14-14 deadlock for the American women at the Solheim Cup in Spain be described as anything other than following the Ryder Cup script of underachieving on foreign soil?

What common thread between the U.S. and European women was there besides the struggle both had with putts inside 5 feet in Sunday singles?

Can you name any of the last four teams competing for the WNBA title?

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @genefrenette 

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Questions worth asking on out-of-sync Jaguars, FSU survival, Gator offense