Coach Mike Norvell took over the podium for the final time ahead of the upcoming game against the No. 19 SMU Mustangs. Norvell revealed that Florida State added in crowd noise during practice to help the secondary work on communicating, but the offensive line issues still do not have a working solution. Seriously?
During the final press event before facing SMU, Norvell spoke at length about the changes that Florida State was making during practice. Perhaps the most notable change involved Norvell pumping in crowd noise for the secondary after a difficult Week 0 performance. Coverage was all over the place for the Seminoles with multiple clear miscommunications, and Norvell has quickly responded to the situation with a potential fix.
Sure, crowd noise has the potential to help players under the right circumstances, but major issues across the offensive line desperately need attention. Elevating the volume for the secondary is not going to help the Seminoles fix the true glaring issues with the team. Come on, Mike!
Mike Norvell says the Seminoles have pumped crowd noise in on defense to make sure they can clean up their communication on that side of the ball.
— John Evans (@_jpevans_) September 4, 2026
Delaying serious offensive line changes could quickly cost Mike Norvell his job with SMU looming
Week 0 did not go according to plan on either side of the football for Florida State, and now the clock following Norvell around will truly start ticking against SMU. Florida State will face a ranked opponent in a primetime slot when the Mustangs enter town, and an embarrassment in front of another massive crowd could dig an insurmountable hole for Norvell.
The focus on the secondary is understandable, with 272 yards and two touchdowns allowed through the air against a CUSA opponent. The offensive line looked equally as poor even without elite rushers on the field, and no consistent output on offense would almost certainly spell disaster for Norvell in 2026. The pressure is on Norvell more than ever before, which is why the decision to ignore committing time to fixing the offensive line for good is increasingly frustrating.
Norvell had his chances against New Mexico State to work in more linemen who were being evaluated, but the decision to not rotate in more of the roster causes the narrow win to appear far worse. The Aggies were the chance for Florida State to experiment early in the season, and now experimenting against a team like SMU could result in an ugly loss.
Florida State had some success providing quarterback Ashton Daniels with a clean pocket during the Week 0 win. The running backs also looked good during the win as Ousmane Kromah was able to make plenty happen while splitting carries. The issue for the offensive line lies in the consistency of Andre Otto and Chimdia Nwaiwu.
Both Otto and Nwaiwu had rough performances in Week 0 that did not instill much confidence with SMU looming. Changes will likely not be made before or during the clash against the Mustangs, and the opposing defense is almost certainly going to key in on the Florida State duo. Time is starting to run out on Norvell's offensive line evaluations, and the coach needs to prove his confidence in the depth is not just a bluff when things go wrong.
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