Power went out at Florida State then MIke Norvell's seat got hotter | Opinion
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – The lights went out, the spear tipped over, and the coach who’s already exhausted nine lives exited his home field needing another one.
When the sun bathes Doak Campell Stadium in light in the morning, Florida State’s administration must once again evaluate whether it’s finally time for the Mike Norvell era to go dark.
This game – delayed more than 100 minutes by a power outage — became surreal in so many ways, but the result felt familiar.
Chalk up another ACC loss for Norvell — his 14th since the start of the 2024 season.
Seminoles fans made their opinion heard at halftime. When Norvell appeared on the video board for the airing of a pre-recorded message, FSU fans started booing. By the second half, the boo birds came to roost, with the crowd alternating between the tomahawk chop and boos, sometimes reversing tunes in a matter of seconds.
Norvell’s whopper buyout bought him more time after he went 2-10 in 2024, then 5-7 last season. Finally, the bill’s come due. He entered this season on the hottest seat in the country, and if we needed a sign for how this last-gasp effort to save his job would go, it came before kickoff.
When Osceola planted the flaming spear at the 50-yard line, the spear swiftly fell over, and somebody needed to pick up the fallen spear off the ground. That feels like a metaphor for this program.
Minutes before Osceola’s misfire with he spear, the power went out in the stadium and throughout the surrounding area, and a transformer blew. Eventually, limited power returned, and the stadium lights came on, but the stadium didn’t operate at full function.
— Blake Toppmeyer (@btoppmeyer) September 7, 2026
The game clock could not be displayed on video boards until midway through the second quarter. The public address announcer had his mic cut throughout the entire first half, and no music pumped on the loudspeakers until a bassy techno beat broke the silence with seconds remaining before halftime.
While the gadgets and gizmos were silenced, the only sounds at the Doak were the band’s music, the crowd’s cheers, and endless renditions of the “War Chant.” If you closed your eyes and just listened, you might’ve thought you’d shown up to a small-town high school game.
Except, small-town high school coaches don’t have buyouts that are close to $50 million, like Norvell’s.
And, sure, the Seminoles didn’t look that bad against a ranked opponent billed as an ACC dark horse. They were tied in the fourth quarter. But, another season filled with competitive losses cannot be enough to save Norvell. That’d just be déjà vu. Five of FSU’s seven losses last season came by 10 points or fewer.
SMU did its best to make this closer than it needed to be, contributing four turnovers and a missed field goal to FSU’s cause. When the Mustangs weren’t turning the spear on themselves, they were gashing the Seminoles defense.
Less than three years after Alabama considered Norvell as a candidate to replace Nick Saban, FSU finds itself without an ounce of momentum and operating on limited power.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Power went out at Florida State then MIke Norvell's seat got hotter | Opinion
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