Column: Even with moral victory, FSU’s loss to Miami does not change program’s outlook

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After Florida State’s quick opening drive resulted in a punt and Miami ripped through the Seminole defense to go up 7-0, it seemed possible that head coach Mike Norvell’s tenure would end in a monsoon in Miami Gardens, a cruel twist of fate because Hard Rock Stadium was the start of his fall in December 2023.

This time, shockingly, FSU did not roll over. In fact, Norvell’s team gave Miami everything it could handle and was two questionable refereeing decisions away from needing a two-point conversion to force a third overtime. Despite losing their best running back and falling behind late in the fourth quarter, the Seminoles never flinched and finally showed the “response” Norvell always talks about. The result might not have been what the players wanted, but no one denies that if Florida State could play the way they did against Miami against other competition, the Noles would easily be bowl-eligible with the schedule they have for the rest of the season.

“I’m proud of how we fought tonight,” a dejected Ashton Daniels said after the game. “We go down and have a turnover late in the game, and that could have been a crucial moment. In the past few weeks, we have been punched in the mouth, and we didn’t respond. But we kept responding, drive after drive. I’m proud of our whole team.”

Daniels and the rest of the roster should walk with their heads high after entering Saturday’s game as three-touchdown underdogs. Earlier in the year, the Noles also went on the road against a top-10 team and wilted against Alabama. It would have been easier to pack up the season after melting down against Louisville, but they didn’t.

Even with all that said, Saturday’s defeat was another example of Florida State’s missed opportunities. The Noles took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter but quickly gave it back and then fell behind after a costly fumble from Tre Wisner. Earlier in the season, FSU had the ball in a tie game against SMU with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, went three-and-out and never had another real chance to score. Then, as mentioned before, the Seminoles blew a 15-point lead to Alabama. Throughout the 2026 season, I have written about features of Norvell’s regime. One of the underrated pieces has been Florida State not being able to finally climb back up the mountain after sliding all the way down.

“There are plays in all phases that you would like to have back,” a solemn Norvell said postgame. “We had opportunities, but those guys competed until the very end. … I am proud of our players. They’re hurting, I’m hurting. That game means so much. … There are times that we have to be a lot better, but I thought our guys battled.”

So while all the positives about the Miami game may be true, nothing about the program will change in the long term. Norvell still cannot get his team over the hump when the game falls on the coach to make the right call, exemplified by FSU’s two fourth-and-goal failures in the first half.

The other issue for Norvell is that plenty of first-year coaches around the country are proving they have the answers when they need them. It has been a weird year for Jon Sumrall and Florida, but the Gators came back from a 17-3 deficit to beat then-No. 7 Texas on the road with a familiar backup quarterback in Tramell Jones Jr. First-year Auburn coach Alex Golesh took his team into Athens and knocked off No. 1 Georgia Saturday despite a sizable talent disparity.

The moral victory of not getting embarrassed by Miami is nice, but in an age of college football when one offseason can change a program’s trajectory, why should the Noles keep settling for almost or close?

“Throughout the week, I asked the players and coaches to show the men that they are, and they did that,” Norvell said. “As I told them (in the locker room after the game), that is not stopping. This team is going to continue to pour everything they have into it. The results are not what we want. We have lost to some good football teams. We have played really good football at times. We have to be more consistent in that.”

At the end of the day, football is a bottom-line business, and Norvell still doesn’t have the results. Even with a weak schedule to end the year, the head coach still lacks anything tangible to hang his hat on. The defense gave up 583 yards against Miami, the offense made untimely mistakes and the roster lacks the depth to be the last one standing at the end of the boxing match.

So, hats off to the players for fighting all the way to the end, and to the coaching staff for getting them there and not getting embarrassed by a rival. But, as mentioned, in the grand scheme of things, what does another loss — the program’s 12th straight true road loss — get anyone at this point? Under Norvell, the Noles still cannot get over the line, and until that happens, questions about his future remain.

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