Hot Take: FSU football has less pressure to win in 2023 than last year

2022 Season

I’d argue the 2022 season had more pressure for Mike Norvell to win. He was still 8-13 as a head coach at FSU and didn’t have a winning season under his belt in two years.

There were still major questions about Jordan Travis and his ability to stay healthy, much less continue to play at the level of the final three games of the 2021 season. If FSU didn’t continue to show improvement on the field and at least reach a bowl game?

That likely meant the writing would be on the wall for Norvell’s future in Tallahassee. What did the 2022 FSU football team do? They responded with the first 10-win season since 2016, beating both rivals, while acquiring the best transfer portal class nationally to prepare for the 2023 season.

The latter part is key because it helped eliminate one of the biggest flaws of the 2022 team, a lack of depth at several positions. FSU has proven experience and depth at nearly every position and will have more talent than 80 percent of the teams they play. Not only that, they have a built-in mulligan with the ACC going away from divisional play.

They could lose to Clemson in the first matchup and still have a chance to face them in the ACC Championship game. Where is the pressure? Is it beating Clemson for the first time since 2014? I get that, but I also believe FSU improved their roster more than Clemson did in the offseason, and they have the better QB.

This is what Mike Norvell and the staff have been building towards, the opportunity to play for championships. In terms of bodybuilding, they’ve done all the hard lifting, cardio, and dieting. Now it’s time to get on stage and show the results.

There’s no pressure when you’ve already put in the work.