Florida State head coach Mike Norvell started the season with a convincing 31-17 upset over then-No. 8 Alabama, a victory that seemed to validate the offseason overhaul he orchestrated after a disastrous 2-10 campaign in 2024. The win felt like vindication, a signal that Norvell had righted the ship.
Three weeks later, reality looks different. His side has dropped four consecutive games, including a stunning 20-13 loss to Stanford as 17.5-point favorites, and the Seminoles now sit at 3-4 with nine straight ACC losses dating back to last season.
Mike Norvell’s Explanation
During a recent availability, Norvell was asked how a team that beat Alabama in Week 1 lose to Stanford in the seventh week later?
“I knew, and I’m telling you, that game kills me with the fact that we lost it,” Norvell said. “I knew it was gonna be challenging. I know all the dynamics around it. I knew it was going to be just something, challenging dynamics with it. But Alabama’s a really good football team. So how do you beat a team like them and lose to anybody else? ‘Cause nobody else is losing, or they’re not losing to anybody else.”
“But you go through it and it’s college football. I mean, there is great parity. Every team, if given opportunities, they’re all capable. And right now, if we stack up the talent, the thoughts, the expectations, you know what? It’s still gonna show up and do it. And it’s a weekly focus that your best is going to be required. If that does not occur, if you’re not able to execute your best, if you’re unable to respond, to be the best–if you have a bad play or bad moment, if that doesn’t show up, anybody can give you challenges.
“We’re still gonna see some close games. Some ups and downs are gonna show up, but stay true to that. I’m very confident in what the final result will be.
Norvell’s comments drew fans reactions with many questioning the standards being set, while others pointed to systemic issues with roster building.
If you have to be drug tested to work in an Amazon warehouse, you should have to be drug tested to be a head coach of a D1 program that just lost 4 conference games in a row
— Salty Buccaneer🧂🏴☠️🟥🟧⬜️ (@SaltyBuc91) October 22, 2025
One fan wrote: “not an FSU fan but to act like its all fine and dandy to lose to Stanford and Virginia is just wild. Yall are a premier program in CFB and 10-2 should be the minimum standard every year. He needs to act like it.”
Another pointed to the roster turnover as the core problem: “When you overhaul your roster every year it’s going to keep folding under the slightest bit of adversity. It’s not a team, it’s a bunch of mercenaries that have been together for 6 months.”
A Florida fan offered support for Norvell: “It’s a shame because Mike is a good man and coach, and Florida State has failed him. He deserved way better. He deserves an EXTENSION.”
All four losses during Florida State’s current streak have been decided by one possession, suggesting the Seminoles aren’t far from turning things around. But proximity to victory doesn’t change the reality that Florida State is 3-4 and on its second consecutive season of disappointing results.
The remaining schedule offers Florida State a path to salvage the season, but it won’t be easy. Games against Clemson, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Florida will test whether Norvell’s message still resonates with a roster that has experienced more failure than success over the past two years. For now, he has five games remaining to prove his confidence.
