‘Extremely Poor Performance,’ ‘We Beat Ourselves Tonight’ — Mike Norvell, Ashton Daniels Own Florida State’s Collapse After Blowing Lead vs Louisville
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Florida State led Louisville 14-0 after one quarter on Friday night, then watched the Cardinals score 35 straight points in a 44-20 loss that coach Mike Norvell called an “extremely poor performance.”
Mike Norvell Defends Fourth-Down Call That Backfired vs Louisville
The game turned early in the second quarter. Louisville stopped the Seminoles on fourth-and-goal near its own goal line, and running back Isaac Brown ran 97 yards for a touchdown on the next snap.
Florida State could have kicked a short field goal for a 17-0 lead. Instead, quarterback Ashton Daniels threw a screen to receiver Jasen Lopez, and Louisville defensive back Kaleb Beasley stopped him at the 3. Daniels said afterward that he wanted to go for it.
Norvell stood by the call in his postgame interview. “We felt good about the play, still feel good about the thought process of it. Unfortunately, we didn’t do a good enough job in that moment.”
Brown’s run cut the lead to 14-7 midway through the second quarter, and Louisville tied it on a 3-yard run before halftime.
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Ari Wasserman, who covers college football for On3, wrote on X that the entire halftime report centered on Norvell’s decision to go for it instead of taking a 17-0 lead. “That’s one of those things that just seems way worse when you’re on the hot seat.”
The Cardinals finished with 397 rushing yards on 43 carries. According to The Associated Press, that was the most Florida State had allowed since Georgia Tech ran for 401 on Oct. 10, 2009, and Louisville outgained the Seminoles 438-190 from the fourth-down stop on.
Asked whether that would change how the Seminoles practice, Norvell said they had stopped the run well a week earlier but that Friday’s coaching and playing weren’t good enough.
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Brown finished with a career-high 235 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, the second a 68-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also opened the second half with a 71-yard kickoff return that set up quarterback Lincoln Kienholz’s 3-yard touchdown run for a 21-14 Louisville lead.
Defensive lineman Rylan Kennedy, who had a sack on Louisville’s opening drive, pointed to the 97-yard run. “After that long run, we kind of lost control. We wasn’t us.”
Chris Vannini, a senior writer for The Athletic, wrote on X as Louisville went ahead 21-14 that confidence was the issue. “FSU has had zero confidence since the 4th down stop and 97-yard Louisville run.” He added that he didn’t care about the analytics and would have taken the 17-0 road lead.
Florida State scored just once more, on Daniels’ 2-yard touchdown pass to receiver Micahi Danzy midway through the fourth quarter. Daniels finished 21 of 37 for 209 yards with two touchdown passes, both to Danzy, and an interception.
His 7-yard run in the first quarter was his 10th rushing touchdown of the season, a Florida State single-season record for a quarterback. In Pro Football Network’s grading, Daniels’ PFN Impact grade of 84.1 this season ranks 27th of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks.
Daniels put the loss on the Seminoles themselves. “They’re a good team, but we beat ourselves tonight.”
Pressure Mounts on Mike Norvell Ahead of Miami Matchup
Florida State visits No. 4 Miami in Week 7 on Oct. 17, a 7 p.m. kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium on ESPN.
PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gives Florida State a 14.3% chance to win that game, and an unlikely win would lift the Seminoles’ chance of reaching the ACC title game from 0.3% to 1.8%.
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Friday’s loss was Florida State’s 11th straight on the road, according to the AP. The Seminoles also led then-No. 10 Alabama 21-6 in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 19 before losing 50-36.
Florida State’s last road win came on Nov. 25, 2023. Pete Nakos, a college football insider for On3, wrote on X that Miami is up next. “Noise is only going to get louder around Mike Norvell.”
Norvell called next week’s game at Miami a huge rivalry game against a talented team. “We’ve got to get tonight fixed.”
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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