Florida State football head coach Mike Norvel gives brutally disappointing news

Florida State football’s Mike Norvell gives brutally honest take on disappointing campaign

Florida State football head coach Mike Norvell was brutally honest about the leading cause of the Seminoles’ struggles this year. After barely missing out on the College Football Playoff in 2023, Florida State has had a brutal season. The program sits at 1-9 and is last in the ACC. The year has been especially devastating since the Seminoles were ranked No. 10 in the preseason AP poll. On the podcast “Outta Pocket with RGIII,” Norvell discussed what has kept this team from living up to that hype.

“With the disappointment of defeat, I don’t think we have handled that very well. There have been times throughout the year when players and coaches started to press…and you see guys playing not to lose or not to make a mistake. That’s not this game. That’s not how I coach this game. That’s not how we’re gonna play this game.”

Florida State’s brutal season has come with some long-term consequences

While the Seminoles have bounced back from disappointing campaigns before, 2024 has been especially surprising, considering how successful Mike Norvell has been over the past few years. Until this season, the fifth-year head coach in Tallahassee has done a phenomenal job rebuilding this prestigious program. Through the first four years, Florida State football improved its record every season, culminating in an undefeated regular season and ACC championship in 2023.

This year’s team wanted to take that next step, especially with the new twelve-team playoff format. A format that wouldn’t have snubbed last season’s team. In the offseason, the Seminoles brought in 17 transfers, including two-time ACC Champion DJ Uiagalelei. All the speculation was that this year’s team could defend its conference crown. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. It’s been downhill for Mike Norvell’s program since its opening season loss to Georgia Tech.

The Seminoles’ sole win this year came against Cal on September 21. Since then, Florida State football has had several humiliating performances, such as its most recent defeat against Notre Dame. The 52-3 loss caused Mike Norvell to fire three coaches on his staff, including the team’s offensive and defensive coordinators.

Florida State football’s struggles have come at a cost as several Seminoles’ commits have flipped their decisions after this year’s dreadful campaign. Mike Norvell’s 2025 recruiting class now ranks 37th in the country, indicating how much one bad season can flip a program’s fortunes. On a more positive note, Norvell has shown that he can rebuild programs from nothing several times in his career. There’s no reason to believe he can’t do it again.

Going forward, Florida State football has two home games remaining on its schedule. The Seminoles will face an FCS team in Charleston Southern and the Florida Gators.

While the Seminoles are 1-9, these two games are crucial. Losing to an FCS team can be demoralizing for a program of Florida State’s prestige and can turn away more prospective recruits. The game against the Gators is even more essential from a recruiting standpoint. Every opportunity against a crosstown rival is a huge opportunity to impress homegrown talent.

Beating the Gators while they are riding high with momentum can demoralize one of Florida State’s main rivals and let recruits know that the Seminoles are not far away from being contenders again. Mike Norvell is definitely a coach who understands this, but whether the rest of the team will play with passion these last two games remains to be seen.

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