Does Mike Norvell think FSU football has hit expectations, 'Hell no'
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Mike Norvell pulled no punches when assessing the performance of his Florida State football team.
After another devastating loss on the road, this time at the hands of North Carolina State, 21-11, Norvell was asked if he felt the Seminoles (5-6, 2-6 ACC) had reached the level of expectation set for the program.
“Hell no,” Norvell told reporters in Raleigh. “We are not even close to living up to expectations… No, no we have not lived up to expectations. We are a fully capable football team, and that’s not good enough. And it’s not been good enough for the six losses that we have.”
Of the six losses Norvell referenced, four are on the road. The Seminoles haven’t won away from Doak since November of 2023, and have lost 10 games away from home, including eight true road games and two neutral site contests. Norvell still has no answer for why his team can’t compete on the road, and he said postgame that if he had an answer, “it would be fixed.”
Special teams issues plagued the Seminoles, an area of the field that Norvell has taken pride in throughout his career. He described the two muffed punts late in the game as “catastrophic” and said the team “needs to be better.”
What went wrong for the Seminoles? Everything
The game against the Wolfpack was compounded by errors that have plagued the Seminoles this season, both at home and on the road.
The defense allowed long, time-consuming drives, including a back-breaking 15-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to open the second half for NC State, while quarterback Tommy Castellanos threw a costly interception on the first drive of the game. He failed to get in a rhythm with the Wolfpack challenging him to be a pass-first quarterback.
“It’s one of those things, the importance of owning the ball is critical. You get a drive like that, moving down the field – which he sparked most of the plays within that drive,” Norvell said. “It’s definitely back-breaking when you don’t come away with a point opportunity.”
FSU’s performance was riddled with missed opportunities, a common theme that has been present in road contests this season, and Novrell said that the team has to be better.
The Seminles failed to get NC State off the field on two crucial fourth-down attempts, with the second one resulting in the game-clinching touchdown pass from Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey to tight end Justin Joly.
Whether it’s players trying to do too much, overcorrecting, or just flat out not being ready to play, the Seminoles have fallen short this season, and Norvell acknowledged that.
“We’ve got to do better. I’ve been in a lot of road games throughout my coaching career. This is frustrating when you see that stack up over multiple games,” Norvell said. “You try not to make it to where it is just the sole focus. It’s just about each play, it doesn’t matter where you are playing, home or away, practice, prepare, you’ve got to go out there and play the game.”
Is Norvell’s job in jeopardy?
In October, Athletic Director Michael Alford said the Seminoles would conduct a program-wide review at the end of the season in a statement released after FSU’s loss to Stanford. Whether Alford waits until the final whistle is blown against Florida or moves his timeline up remains to be seen.
Regardless, Norvell said that he continues to talk with Alford, and both parties are aware of the current status of the Seminoles program.
“Michael and I, we talk all the time. He’s there, he sees it, he’s at practice every week. He comes out, he’s actively around the program like he’s always been.” Norvell said.
“I understand the exception, I understand what we have to do, and we didn’t get it done tonight.”
The Seminoles now have to beat their rival, Florida, at Gainesville to capture their sixth win and be bowl eligible.
FSU schedule 2025
Here is Florida State’s schedule and results. All times Eastern.
- Aug. 30: vs Alabama | W 31-17
- Sept. 6: vs East Texas A&M | W 77-3
- Sept. 13: Bye
- Sept. 20: vs Kent State | W 66-10
- Sept. 26: at Virginia* | L 46-38 (2OT)
- Oct. 4: vs Miami* | L 28-22
- Oct. 11: vs Pittsburgh* | L 34-31
- Oct. 18: at Stanford* | L 20-13
- Oct. 25: Bye
- Nov. 1: vs Wake Forest* | W 42-7
- Nov. 8: at Clemson* | L 24-10
- Nov. 15: vs Virginia Tech* | W 34-14
- Nov. 21: at NC State* | L 21-11
- Nov. 29: at Florida | TBA
- Record: 5-6 (2-6 in ACC)
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Mike Norvell knows FSU football hasn’t reached expectations
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