Florida State opened the 2026 season with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State, but the final score did not tell the whole story.
The Seminoles had several stretches where they struggled with consistency and execution, leaving head coach Mike Norvell under intense pressure once again. The performance has now drawn harsh criticism from CFB analyst Brandon Walker, who openly questioned why Florida State decided to keep Norvell for another season.
The game was much closer than the final score suggested. Florida State jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but New Mexico State quickly responded with a touchdown, and the Seminoles followed with a three-and-out. The frustration was noticeable inside the stadium, with fans booing just 20 minutes into the game.
New Mexico State later cut the deficit to 17-10 and 27-17, even dropping a wide-open touchdown pass that could have made it a three-point game.
Florida State finished with 419 total yards compared to New Mexico State's 319, a relatively small margin considering the Seminoles entered the game as 31.5-point favorites.
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The uneven performance added to the scrutiny surrounding Norvell, who has remained under pressure since Florida State went 7-17 across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
"In this day and age, I don't know how they started another season with Mike Norvell as the coach… after getting to a point where you could very reasonably fire him. And people will say, well they can't afford to fire him. In this day and age, you can't afford not to fire him," Walker said.
The financial hurdle Walker referenced remains a central factor. Florida State would reportedly owe Norvell roughly $51 million in a buyout if the school decided to terminate his contract, making a coaching change extremely expensive.
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However, Walker argued that Florida State cannot allow the financial cost to prevent it from making a necessary change.
"If you've got a coach that's holding you back, and you can't compete at this level right now, you're Florida State, you should be a top 10-15 name in this sport every single year. You can't afford not to make a bold move. And the fact they didn't make a bold move is so embarrassing to me. It's so awful," Walker added.
For now, Norvell is 1-0, but the Week 0 victory did little to silence long-standing concerns around the program. With upcoming games against SMU and Alabama, the pressure on Norvell could escalate quickly if Florida State fails to show significant improvement.
The Seminoles secured the win in the box score, but the performance left plenty for Norvell and his coaching staff to address moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
