Mike Norvell has dug himself into an 0-4 start in his second year as head coach with an inexcusable loss against Jacksonville State headlining the first quarter of the season.
It’s been a crazy four games with the team going into overtime against Notre Dame, followed by the loss on the final play against Jacksonville State. The team has been all over the place with the defense playing well in spurts, and looking like swiss cheese at other times.
One constant has been the offense looking awful and is one of the major reasons the team is 0-4 instead of 3-1. Despite the worst start in our lifetimes, FSU fans didn’t have high expectations going into the season, and the close losses make it seem as though the Noles might turn the corner at some point.
We’ve seen some improvement from last year in areas, but there are still major holes at positions, and injuries have hurt others.
The jury is still out on Mike Norvell, and rightfully so, aside from the Jacksonville State debacle, the teams they lost to have a combined record of 11-1.
That loss was Louisville against Ole Miss, and Ole Miss is 3-0 with a big game against Alabama this week. Let’s take a look at the three top observations with Mike Norvell from September.
Still Trying To Find Team Identity/Roles
One thing observed with Mike Norvell and the coaching staff was trying to find an identity on offense. The Noles began the season with Jordan Travis at quarterback, but McKenzie Milton finished the game with Travis sustaining an injury.
The two players have different skill sets, which alters the game plan. Jashaun Corbin and Treshaun Ward seem like the two better options on offense, but they’ve had limited touches as teams have stacked the box against them. The wide receivers have been inconsistent catching the ball and struggle to gain separation.
The tight ends haven’t been a factor aside from the inability to block. The offensive line has struggled with injuries, so the coaching staff has had to build it as they’re flying. However, the offense seemed to have a general game plan against Louisville, but the execution of the plays is what lacked and didn’t allow them to capitalize on eight consecutive defensive stops.
The defense has been good against the run and has a solid pass rush, but the inability to stop the pass has been concerning on third downs.
Which combination in the secondary works the best? What technique do they perform the best? Several things are still in the works on both sides of the ball going into the Syracuse game.
Mike Norvell Is Still Confident
Mike Norvell isn’t wavering on his players and the belief they are moving things in the right direction. I know the results say otherwise, but they have been more competitive with teams that blew the doors off them a year ago.
Mike Norvell continues to talk about the work and progress the team is making at practice each day. The challenge for the coaching staff is getting that work to translate to results on the field when it’s time to make a play.
There have been too many instances of players in a position to make a play and not following through with the result. They have dropped touchdown passes, interceptions, missed a sack for a safety, missed tackles in general, but Mike Norvell believes it’s going to start translating to games sooner than later. Norvell seems confident in recruiting despite the 0-4 start.
I think the coaching staff did a great job of communicating to prospective students their expectations and why they wanted them to sign with the Noles.
It’s a large reason why there have been no de-commitments yet, and because the recruits trust the coaching staff and their vision for the future.
Winless in September
The Noles went winless in September for the first time in my life. The 0-4 start has been frustrating, mainly because the team could easily be 3-1.
Not to mention the Jacksonville State loss was solely on the coaches trying to turn the game into a live scrimmage. I know the team needed to gain some continuity and reps in different situations, but no games can be taken for granted.
I think that’s a valuable lesson Mike Norvell and the coaching staff had to learn the hard way. How they lost that game was an embarrassment, but the team continued to give effort and not give up in the games afterward.
Some credit must be given to the coaching staff and players as they continue to put the work in to improve. I talked about it on the Built For Playmakers podcast earlier this week. It’s possible to be a better team and have a worse record.
That could be the case with FSU football this year compared to last year. However, the Noles have some winnable games soon and need to make the most of those opportunities