Mike Norvell promises to ‘get it right’ as FSU future grows murky
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Following a fourth straight loss, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford publicly backed head coach Mike Norvell. But only for the rest of the season. After 2025, a full program review would come, Alford said earlier this season in a show of tepid support.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Norvell faced questions about his uncertain future and promised he would right the ship.
“I know and understand the expectations,” Norvell said. “I know it’s not been good enough. … The results have not always been what I want it to be, but when you go through all the different aspects of where we are and what it’s looked like, we’ve got to get better, and I appreciate the belief of what that is and what that belief is for our future and what’s ahead.”
The Seminoles are 3-4 on the season. After opening the year with a stunning upset of then-No. 8 Alabama, FSU outscored its next 2 opponents 143-13 to climb as high as No. 7 in the AP poll.
They lost their first ACC game of the year, a double-overtime game at Virginia, and have lost each of the next 3 league games they have played.
Last Saturday’s 20-13 defeat at Stanford sank the program to a new low.
Since winning the ACC Championship on Dec. 2, 2023, Florida State has lost 15 of the 18 games it has played against FBS competition. It has lost 9 straight games against ACC opponents — the worst stretch for the school at any point in time since joining the conference in 1992.
“I know we have to win games,” Norvell said. “I take great ownership in our results. It’s not been good enough. I hate it for Michael. I hate it for our players. I hate it for the program. I hate it for everybody. That’s on me and this staff and this football team to get that right.
“We’re going to get it fixed, and we’re going to get better.”
Florida State is on a bye this weekend. The Seminoles return to action on Nov. 1 when they host Wake Forest. They travel to Clemson on Nov. 8, where they have just a single win from their last 5 trips.
“I absolutely believe in myself,” Norvell said. “I’ve been through hard and challenging times. The results are not where anybody wants them to be, but I do feel and I do believe that this team will rise up and overcome. We’ll break through this stretch that we’re on.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
