The Rick Stockstill era of Florida State football is here, and while it might be just for four games, the decision to fire coach Mike Norvell offers a fresh start.
Florida State fired Norvell a day after dramatically losing to Clemson in Tallahassee, despite entering the game as heavy favorites. The Seminoles were unable to make the necessary changes on the field to keep Norvell in town for at least the rest of the 2026 season, with a 3-5 record at the time of his firing. The interim job was handed to Stockstill, who previously coached Middle Tennessee for nearly two decades.
There might be a new coach running the show, but Florida State looked like the same team from previous weeks. Time is dwindling quickly, and the Seminoles' staff only has a limited amount of time to make an impact before the end of the season.
Quarterback Ashton Daniels needs to step up once again for Florida State
Theoretically, Daniels has been tasked with consistently improving and stepping up this season since being named the starter. Florida State needs a leader at quarterback, which was something Daniels arguably was not before joining the Seminoles. This season has been far from perfect, but Daniels has still played his best season of college football to date.
The bright spots have been pretty special, but there has also been a consistent stream of interceptions and incompletions this season that has held both Daniels and the Seminoles' offense back.
Daniels entered the half with 75 yards and an average of 5.8 yards per completion, which is nowhere close to the production the team needs, especially without their top two running backs. Daniels rarely challenges defenses deep down the field, and often when he does, the result is either an incompletion or an interception. With no real danger posed to the defense through the air, teams are able to key in on the things Daniels does do well, like run the football.
The reality is that even with all of the changes to the staff, immediate changes on the field will ultimately happen when the players step up. Stockstill is a successful longtime coach, but he can't work magic, and the team cannot truly find success without pushing themselves.
The offensive line might have serious problems
For virtually the entire 2026 season, Florida State's offensive line has not necessarily been where it should be, and a lot of those issues began with Mike Norvell's approach. Norvell did not have the most success recruiting the offensive line this past offseason, and the evaluation period before a final starting group was formed dragged into the regular season.
After a few games, Florida State finally appeared to have put together the best possible unit with the players on the roster. Now, there might be a new issue that could hold the offensive line back with two notable injuries suffered against Boston College.
Starting tackle Xavier Chaplin briefly exited the game and headed straight to the medical tent, but ultimately returned to the game. Directly after returning, starting center Bradyn Welch-Joiner also went down with an injury that required the cart to come out.
Welch-Joiner is likely done for the season with just a handful of games remaining, and the injury to Chaplin will need to be monitored moving forward. Florida State cannot escape the injury bug this season, and the offensive line is arguably the last position group the team could afford to have go down with injuries.
Where is Samuel Singleton Jr. when you need him?
Probably the most interesting ongoing injury storyline involves running back Samuel Singleton Jr., who suffered an injury against Alabama but was never ruled out for the season. Shortly before Norvell was fired, the coach expressed that Singleton could still be in line to return this season, and again chose not to rule out a return for the running back.
With three games left this season, it seems very unlikely at this point that Singleton will actually return, especially if he is still unfit to play the next game against Pittsburgh. Florida State hasn't been banking on a return, but getting Singleton back, even for just a handful of games, would be huge for the offense.
Tre Wisner and Amari Thomas are both talented running backs, but the team has had virtually no consistent running attack in the last two games. Running the football was a huge part of the identity of the offseason early in the season, and Florida State cannot afford to lose such a valuable layer of the offense this late in the year.
Additionally, Singleton is an extremely explosive player, and his presence provides the offense with something only a handful of players on the roster possess. Without Kromah or wide receiver Duce Robinson available, the offense lacks nearly all of the superstar power it previously had. Singleton's return would be immensely beneficial for Florida State.
Expecting Ernie Sims to immediately fix the defense was never realistic
Sims took over the playcalling duties after being named interim defensive coordinator, and he only had a handful of games in such a role under his belt heading into the 2026 season. Sims is still working his way up through the defensive staff ranks, but the former linebacker was the most obvious candidate to take over the defense after Tony White was fired.
After having the playcalling duties thrown onto his lap, many expected to see the defense improve right away, but the performance against Boston College proved there are still some roadblocks.
The first and most obvious issue involves the overall health of the roster, as Florida State has a ridiculous amount of injuries on defense, especially. Across the board on defense, none of the position groups have played with a fully healthy unit this season, and that is a very difficult issue to overcome.
The second issue also involves the health of the defense and the fact that Sims needs to take all of the moving parts and find a way to create harmony. It is a task that even he himself admitted is a difficult one, and expecting him to find a ton of success in the first week, even against a bad offense, was never very realistic.
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