FSU football: Did FSU players quit on Mike Norvell this season?

Expectations for FSU football have come nowhere close in 2024 following an undefeated regular season in 2023.

The thought was that FSU would take a slight step back and compete for the ACC and a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

They returned several starters from last year's team and brought in several talented players from the transfer portal. You know, the same formula that helped FSU go 23-4 over the past two seasons and win its first ACC title in a decade.

FSU had questions about a few positions going into the season. However, nearly everyone expected FSU to play bully ball with a power running game and attack vertically with its speedy receivers. The defense would take a small step back but be good enough for FSU to win.

Unfortunately, only half of that was true, as the FSU defense, while flawed, played well enough for FSU to have at least five wins going into the Charleston Southern week. It was noted the FSU defense continued to play to win despite the loss against Clemson and a 1-5 start. FSU was down 17-6 against Duke and 14-3 against North Carolina, mainly because the defense hadn't quit yet.

FSU should have only been down 14-3 at halftime against Notre Dame, but some poor decisions by Mike Norvell cost them a late touchdown on the way to a 52-3 blowout loss.

FSU fired both coordinators after the loss and went into its bye week. FSU fans and media had all week to ponder the future of the program and try to fill air time. Long-time radio guy Jeff Cameron recorded a segment where he implied the players might have quit on Mike Norvell, citing how other programs with losing records continue to play hard against opponents. He cited Stanford beating Louisville, Kansas beating undefeated BYU, Florida surpassing expectations with Billy Napier, and Utah playing a somewhat close game against Colorado.

I disagree with Jeff, and I'll explain why in this piece. First things first. None of those teams had the expectations FSU had going into the season. None were top 10 preseason or expected to compete for a conference championship or College Football Playoff spot. Once FSU lost the first game as a double-digit favorite against Georgia Tech, that changed things for this team.