The Florida State Seminoles didn't bother showing up in a 36-24 loss to the Clemson Tigers. Dabo Swinney's squad dominated for the majority of the game, while Mike Norvell's team looked like they were still in the middle of a BYE week.
Florida State tried to rally in the fourth quarter, but it was too late. Ashton Daniels' third interception ended any hope of a miracle.
READ MORE: FSU Football vs. Clemson Tigers: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The spotlight is back on Mike Norvell, who has guided the Seminoles on yet another three-game losing streak.
Oct 31, 2026; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell ahead of the matchup against the Clemson Tigers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Following yet another loss to a rival program, Norvell met with the media, possibly for the final time as Florida State's head coach.
Check out his full comments below.
Mike Norvell:Tonight, extremely disappointed with the result. The way we started the game, I felt coming into it the work that you saw the last couple of weeks, we had high expectations for how we would come out and play. We absolutely did not play to the standard of our expectations and what's needed to win college football games.
We lost the turnover margin, three or four to nothing. We were extremely poor in field position and gave them short fields throughout the course of the night. I was proud of the fight that the guys showed there in the fourth quarter, getting it to a one-score game. Unfortunately, it was just not enough. We did not get the stops when we needed.
Obviously, we gave up things in all phases that we have to be better at. Extremely disappointed in the whole part of it. We had some guys get banged up tonight. There were some challenges that were created, but also some issues that magnified in certain areas. I thought our guys battled throughout, just didn't play clean enough or good enough to win a college football game.
That is a team that has talented players. Obviously, that is a game that we put a lot of emphasis on and just disappointed to see this result and the way that we played, coming up short.
Question: It seemed like, you mentioned the turnovers, Ashton (Daniels) was a better pocket thrower at times, but it seemed like maybe you guys had figured it out. Were they doing things that he wasn't expecting, what do you think happened there?
Mike Norvell:No, there were a couple of misses, one was the trajectory of the ball, he had a one-on-one, put too much on it trying to give Duce (Robinson) a chance, the safety over the top made an interception. That was a poor decision there at the end of the half. There was a play, it was first down, you scramble and saw an opening, but a corner fell off and made the interception.
Last play, showed the house a look, the corner fell off of it. Three interceptions; we just got to work through, try to be aggressive. The clock's obviously working against us in that situation, and then the fumble. All of those were critical plays, and at the end of the day, we have to re-emphasize ball security, owning the ball.
We emphasize creating takeaways, we emphasize the importance of that, how we start each and every day and the focus of it and things like that. When things like that don't show up on the field, that pisses you off, and nobody wants to go out there and have bad plays, nobody wants to go out there and have negative experiences.
I watch the work Ashton (Daniels) puts into it in the off-season, in this case tonight in those interceptions and the fumble; those are things you have to learn through, grow through. Throughout the course of the season, there haven't been a whole lot of important decisions, interceptions, that have shown up.
He's had some that have been there towards the end of the game, some occasional misses, but there's those times, tonight it was a difference. We have to create takeaways. Not creating a takeaway tonight, in a game where it is going the way that it's going, there are things we need to do, and our special teams performance was extremely poor, and we're not able to flip the field.
Obviously, we had mishaps and issues that showed up as we got into the depth of guys that were available, that we can't have, and it makes it extremely disappointing.
Question: On the 79-yard touchdown run by Reynolds, what happened on that play, what was the call on that play, and what should have happened?
Mike Norvell:It was 3rd and 11 and we had a pass rush game that was working. It was match-underneath with coverage. So, guys were matching routes as we're running with it. Obviously he got a seam, we didn't get home with the pass rush and he got into the open field. We had an opportunity to try and get him down, but he ran through the tackle and that resulted in a big play.
The receivers did a good job blocking up field. That is a play that you can't have. You get 3rd and 11 and time to get off the field in a one-score game. That was the moment of truth. We've got to be able to stay on our feet and finish the pass rush. We have to make the open field tackle when you get an opportunity.
Question: Coach, riding through adversity, tell us about some of the things you maybe like or some of the things you want to continue to clean up for this ballclub.
Mike Norvell:Well, the things I liked is the fight of the players. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, I told them to continue to believe and take it one play at a time, and you saw some guys make some exceptional plays. We got a couple stops, we had an opportunity. Even after the long touchdown run by them, we were able to move the ball down, we got inside the red zone, had an opportunity to get it back to a one-score game, to kick an onside kick.
I still had the belief of what we would accomplish and what we were going to do. Unfortunately, we didn't finish that, but it comes down to, as I told the players afterward, I appreciate the work, but absolutely you got to see the application. And it seems tonight we are not what we are coaching, not the way I see our players working, the things that they're applying or working to apply.
It's disappointing when that happens in this moment, and it was a big game. To have some of the mistakes we had, to put ourselves in some unnecessary challenging situations, we have to overcome that and, as I said to them, you can go through the process of work, but it's still about the application. What is the extra time that you're spending? What are the things you're doing in your communication, your technique, and your fundamentals?
Because what's good on good is someone's standing there in front of you and the game's on the line, that's what's gotta show up, and if you allow slight things to distract you, and there's all different reasons and it's hard to just pinpoint one specific occurrence. There's young players, I told guys tonight, there's guys that played tonight that haven't played all year, but they were thrust into action due to some injuries and they're still responsible.
As coaches we're responsible for things we're asking our guys to do, players are responsible to go out there and execute, but obviously it wasn't good enough. But, I did see the guys and their fight to put us in position. But, we gotta get the job done.
Question: How did the lack of depth effect the way the offense was trying to approach things tonight and changed things for Ashton (Daniels)?
Mike Norvell:Obviously, Tre (Quintrevion Wisner), has got a lot of experience. Amari (Thomas), I was proud of him tonight, to go in really his first sense of action and he made some plays down the stretch with his hands, he was definitely battling for us. I thought we had if not the best running back room in the country, one of them, early in the season.
You get to the point where the top couple of guys are out, and then Tre I thought did some good things tonight. Unfortunate when he went down, but the guys, they have to be ready. That's the game of college football. Injuries happen, obviously it happened across the board tonight with us. Guys have to be ready.
Question: Duce Robinson having to leave the game, how did that affect passing game, and what does the prognosis look like for Duce right now?
Mike Norvell:I don't have much information on Duce. I just know that at halftime he got checked out, and knew that he wouldn't be back in the game. There will be a process as we get into next week and see exactly where that is. I thought the guys that came in played well, Jasen (Lopez), Micahi (Danzy), obviously had a big game, Boggs (Jayvan Boggs) had some big catches.
The guys in that receiving room, I think you're seeing the growth that they've had. Devin Carter got in and had some plays tonight, which is good to see him, this was his first week of practice in a good while. Those guys, they're continuing to pour into each other.
We had to move some guys around just on situations and how the game was flowing. I was proud of that group and how they answered the call. That was a good secondary that they played against and it was good to see those guys making plays later in the game that we definitely needed.
Question: Mike, in the fourth quarter, there obviously were a lot of empty seats when you got down 29-10. You made the rally, but it seemed like the fans had given up on the game. How do you feel like, what could you do to win fans back, and I guess more bluntly, do you expect to get the opportunity to win these fans back?
Mike Norvell:Yeah, you got to go out there, and you got to win. That's what it comes down to. I guess for the people that left, this team rallied, responded, and still believed in what they could do, and what they could accomplish, and put ourselves in a position. I am grateful for that. I understand the frustration.
We have high expectations for what we want it to be, and you can show up every day, you pour what you have into it, and as I said, I believe in these players, and the choice that they made to come be a part of this program, and the work that we ask them to do.
There's a lot of work that is being poured into this group, and we have our challenges, we have some difficult things that you come about, but I truly believe that this is a team that's going to fight, that's going to fight for the university, that's going to fight for the program, for what they represent.
The guys have been highly competitive, but you've got to go win the game, and we played one of the toughest schedules in the country, and that's one of those things that you got to, in these games, when you get into the one score, when you find yourself in the position to make a play, times that we have made a play and it didn't work out the way we wanted.
There's been plenty of things that we have had to work through in all of it, and I believe in what we can do. For all the things that you can talk about of what people might believe can or cannot be done. I've seen it, I've been able to work through a lot of different challenges.
This team, as long as they continue to show up, as they continue to pour into it, we're going to put a product on the field that fans can be proud of. The wins will be coming, that's our focus, that's what we're doing as a football team. That's my belief for everything in this program.
Question: When Chris was in here, you could see the emotion on his face. He was obviously very upset. I guess one, what was it like in the locker room after the game? And he talked about he has to step up as a leader because he doesn't want guys to lose focus. And he said some guys aren't going to want to hear it. How much are you going to depend on guys like him and the leaders in that locker room to keep this team up, when some players maybe are down?
Mike Norvell:Well, everybody's down. You play the game to win, and you want to play to the best of your ability and there's times where you play to the best of your ability and it still doesn't work out the way you want it to work out. It's the frustration of when you know they have more, you know that there's moments that you could have been better.
That's the things that are frustrating, but I do believe we got really good leaders among this team. I think we've got guys that are respectable in how they go about it. And I think we got a football team that believes in what they can do. It sucks coming up short and nobody wants to be sitting here where we're sitting.
How I know is, I see the fight, I see the work. When you're down multiple scores there, going into the 4th quarter and you see a team that continues to push, to put themselves in a position. We don't just need to be in position, we got to finish the job. We've had our opportunities, and so it pisses players off, it pisses coaches off, all of us, because we know capabilities even with all the other bullcrap we've had to deal with and the other things that have showed up.
These guys, they fight, they fight for each other. I don't question the leadership within our team. I don't question just the way that they're going to go about it. Are they pissed off? Yes. Are they angry, sad, mad, all of it? Yes, that is, so am I. It is the willingness to be able to stand up and continue to push forward.
There's people who don't even want to see you be successful. That's fine, right? That's part of it. That's going to be for these players, they're going to experience that the rest of their lives. It's really about what you do with the opportunity that's given, and are you willing to block all the other crap out and just go and be focused on your improvement and allowing your best to show up?
We'll do that, if we can consistently do that as a football team, program, players, coaches, everybody involved, then we will rise up. And I absolutely believe that is going to occur.
Question: Clemson's offense has been terrible all year and they were able to score a ton tonight. Also, they hadn't thrown the ball for touchdowns, they had a couple tonight. There was the 12 men on the field. Are you chalking up a lot of the defensive problems with having to play younger guys or is it just a poor performance overall?
Mike Norvell:I think that there were elements of the performance that we have to be better at. There were some things that showed up, a few of the plays you can attribute to guys in different roles, different positions. At the end of the day, you go out there and you snap it and you play the game. There were absolutely plays that we have to be better at.
We put the defense in some challenging situations there early. I don't know if Clemson started their first three drives outside the 50. They were in a pretty good spot. There are still things that we've emphasized. There are still some plays that could've been made.
That's the thing that is frustrating is that you see free runners on guys and guys that are in position, you have to keep your eyes up and run through the hip just as you have trained, worked, and shown that you are capable of. It allows plays to extend and get out and put us in poor position to have success.
I evaluate every part of what we're doing across the board, and there was no part of tonight that was good enough. We had mishaps at all phases and we need to be better and we have areas that we have to grow with guys that, when they get into that position, they go out there and execute and get the job done.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/fsu as Mike Norvell On FSU Football's Mistake-Filled Loss to Clemson: 'Extremely Disappointed' .
