FSU is looking to snap a three-game losing skid tonight at Stanford. More importantly, the program is trying to end an eight-game ACC losing slump that has lasted 393 calendar days.
It's the fifth season in six years that a Mike Norvell-led FSU team has lost at least three games in a row. The Seminoles, once ranked as high as eighth, are 0-3 in the conference and questions surround the direction of the program again.
Former FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said that answers must come from the FSU roster.
Let's do some fun Mike Norvell Stats
— FSU Uniform Tracker (@NolesUnis) October 14, 2025
Mike is 21-25 career vs ACC + ND
6-3 vs Teams currently in the SEC
Now let's take out 2023.
12-25 (!!!!!!) vs the ACC + ND
4-2 vs Teams currently in the SEC
Need to get to the SEC where we can actually win some ballgames.
"Right now, you're challenging them individually...you can prove more to the NFL, more to your teammates, more to other schools out there about who you are as a person in adversity. You can't have great victories, you can't have great things happen to you without adversity," Fisher said on ACC Huddle this morning.
For some FSU fans familiar with Fisher's tenure with the Seminoles, these words sound similar to what the coach said in 2017 as FSU's season began spiraling after an opening-week loss to Alabama that put starting quarterback Deiondre Francois on the shelf.
The parallels between now and 2017
In 2017, FSU came into the season ranked No. 3, but after consecutive losses to Alabama and N.C. State, the Seminoles were on edge and by the middle of the season, an embarrassing 35-3 Friday night loss to Boston College dropped FSU to 2-5 and off the map.
But Fisher challenged his leaders, players like Derwin James, to just play hard and have fun, and they rallied to beat Syracuse at home a week later. FSU won three of four to get to a bowl game and, with Fisher since departing for Texas A&M, won the Independence Bowl.
Much like 2017, the 2025 Seminoles have an opportunity to play for each other and salvage a season. Sure it won't be what they wanted, but as Fisher explains, it will show a level of character that will be beneficial in the future.
"It's your individual responsibility to be the best you can be on every play that you play. Show your character. Be a leader. You'll get credibility, you'll get respect from your teammates, from NFL scouts and from everybody out there," Fisher concluded.