In 2021, FSU was 5-6 and needed a win over the Gators in the Swamp to become bowl eligible. Despite playing with an interim coach, the Gators beat the Seminoles l24-21. Despite the disappointing loss, FSU finished the season winning five of eight, including a last-second win over Miami and an upset road win over North Carolina. There was reason for optimism.
Four years later FSU is 5-6 and needs a win over the Gators in the Swamp to become bowl eligible. And Florida, once again, has an interim coach after firing Billy Napier earlier this season. But win or lose next Saturday, there's no reason for optimism in Tallahassee. The Mike Norvell era has come full circle and the results have been mediocre at best.
"Hell no we haven't!"@FSUFootball head coach Mike Norvell on his team and meeting expectations. pic.twitter.com/wJ2Nnz57S4
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) November 22, 2025
Norvell made it work...for a while
After the loss to Florida in 2021, Norvell was 8-13 in two seasons, one game worse than Willie Taggart's 9-12 record through 21 games. The difference is Taggart was uncermoniously fired after his 21st game and didn't even finish his second season. Norvell, however, had the trust of the decision makers that Taggart could never win over.
And for a while, he made them look good. FSU goes 10-3 in 2022 with its first bowl win since 2017 and then the 2013 ACC championship season. The Seminoles won 13 straight before being denied their rightful place in the College Football Playoff.
LSU vs FSU 2022. Has there ever been a better ending in the history of college football? pic.twitter.com/YNXc3hNQHj
— College Football Backers (@CFBackers) July 11, 2025
Then things came crashing down
I read on an FSU message board that it was likely harder for FSU to go 2-10 than 13-1 and that's probably correct. Think about it. The same FSU football program that from 1991-2000 went 110-13, lost 10 games in a single season. The Seminoles lost to Memphis, they lost to Duke, they lost to Boston College, They lost to damn near everyone.
"Hell no we haven't!"@FSUFootball head coach Mike Norvell on his team and meeting expectations. pic.twitter.com/wJ2Nnz57S4
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) November 22, 2025
How crazy is it that FSU was one ill-advised pass from Fernando Mendoza, a lock to be a 2025 Heisman finalist, from going 0-8 in the ACC in 2024. Somehow, Norvell survived this. There was no other explanation than the contract extension he signed 10 months earlier.
But now FSU is back where it started four years ago. In the swamp, needing a win to get to 6-6 and qualify for a bowl game. A far cry from where the Seminoles want to be and no one knows where they are headed next.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.