Florida State fans have experienced the ups and downs over the past decade or so, with the latter prevailing as the Noles have failed to meet expectations over the past two years.
The blame is placed on a variety of things, but at the end of the day, it all falls on FSU football coach Mike Norvell to extract the very best from his program. Everyone wants to talk about “The Standard” at FSU. What is the standard? Competing for National Championships? Top 10 recruiting classes? Playing with relentless effort in all phases of the game?
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Does FSU have the talent to consistently compete for a national title? It’s possible they were only a couple of pieces away. A better quarterback, pass rush, and safety probably change a lot about what Florida State fans think of the 2025 FSU team.
They lost four games by one possession and had two more losses they could have won with better quarterback play. However, this Nick Saban quote embodies the real issue at FSU:
"When the best players on your team are the best people on your team, you have a great opportunity."
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) December 10, 2025
Because talent sets the ceiling—but character sets the standard. pic.twitter.com/BLmnSVr3uK
If the FSU players adopted this mindset, I have no doubt they’d have way more success than going 7-17 over the past two seasons. No, they don’t have elite talent across the board, but there’s been more than enough talent to win way more than seven games over the past two seasons.
How does a coach and his staff help a program develop this mindset? Accountability, preparation, and hard work. Mike Norvell talks about how hard his guys work all the time, but one thing he never mentions is accountability. When FSU players get on one accord, and all want to strive for the same goal, that’s when this program will start to ascend again. Will that happen under Mike Norvell? I have my doubts, but adding some new coaches to the staff helps create opportunities to emphasize accountability once again.
Now, we’ll wait to see if they can add the pieces needed to compete at an elite level.