Sometimes you hand out the loss, and other times you need to eat the loss. Florida State ate up 537 total yards of offense, including 397 rushing yards, en route to a frankly embarrassing 44-20 loss to a previously 2-3 Louisville Cardinals' team. Sometimes losses happen, but this disaster in Kentucky was avoidable from the start for coach Mike Norvell.
Directly after the loss, Norvell took the podium and spoke to the media about some of what went wrong for the team. Norvell was questioned about the serious breakdown on defense, and his answer revealed more about what is wrong with the program than what can be done to fix the issues.
Norvell stated that "what we saw tonight was not good enough" before emphasizing the fact that blame for the result should fall on everyone's shoulders. The players failed to show up in important moments, the coaching staff was beaten by even the most basic of plays, and the team struggled in all three phases of play.
Mike Norvell agitated following a question about the lapses by the rushing defense.
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) October 10, 2026
Louisville ran for 397 yards. FSU held UVA to 37 the week prior. pic.twitter.com/VfjTcZGi6V
Florida State may not truly improve until there is a serious shakeup in Tallahassee
Six games into the 2026 season, the reality for Florida State is that this team is going nowhere without serious changes. The staff has failed to get consistent results out of the team, the number of miscommunications on both sides of the ball is unacceptable this late in the season, and the team is simply not competitive enough on a week-in, week-out basis to promote any sort of confidence.
Given the result, the blame should not fall squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff or the players, because honestly, the real issue is the entire program as a whole. Florida State has not won anything of note in the past two seasons, and the 2026 season is trending towards ending in the same manner. Doing the small things right and taking away a few wins from stronger teams is all that the Seminoles can be proud of over the last two and a half seasons.
Norvell has created a culture in Tallahassee where playing positively once in a while has been enough to either remain in a starting position or receive plenty of praise. Norvell has rarely been critical of quarterback Ashton Daniels this season, and the reality is that the coach cannot be hard on certain players without the risk of losing them.
Daniels has never been the quarterback Florida State truly needs this season, and without him, the team is in serious trouble, which should say a lot about the current makeup of the roster. Norvell is unable to challenge players like Kevin Sperry or Malachi Marshall to try to take the spot away from Daniels because of the negative effect it could have.
This situation is a problem with the entire roster, and not just one position, as the issue has been present along the defensive line. Mandrell Desir earned a huge raise ahead of this season after using the transfer portal as leverage. Norvell bit and offered a big deal because he could not afford to lose one of his most promising defenders.
Norvell has created an environment in Tallahassee that does not promote success in the slightest, and unfortunately, serious moves need to be made to fix the situation. The 2026 season is not salvageable, and it is time to find out just how serious the damage Norvell did is. Adding in a new coaching staff does not necessarily fix the situation either, as the players may have become accustomed to the relaxed environment Norvell has created.
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