Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Monday he does not believe his team is far off from competing for championships, one day after the school announced he would return for 2026.
In his first comments since the announcement, Norvell said during his weekly news conference he is grateful to the administration for the belief in "what is ahead of us."
Florida State is 5-6 and needs to beat Florida on Saturday to get to bowl eligibility. Of its six losses this season, four have come in one-score games. That includes two losses -- to Virginia and Stanford -- in which video replay review had an impact on the ultimate outcome of the game.
"I don't think we're far off," Norvell said. "I believe that we are close. You lose six games and it sucks. We have absolutely not been close to the expectation of what I have for this team and for what is the overall expectation of Florida State football. But I do believe in where we're going. I do believe in some of the progress that we've been able to see, but it's not consistent enough."
Indeed, Florida State has outgained its opponents in 10 of 11 games this year and is one of the best teams in the country in third-down conversions. But critical mistakes at inopportune times have continued to hurt the Seminoles.
The latest: Two special teams turnovers in the fourth quarter of a one-score game against NC State last Friday night that ultimately ended in a 21-11 loss. Florida State ranks in the bottom third of the country in turnover margin (minus-4) and among the worst teams in the country in red zone offense.
Yet this is the same team that beat Alabama to open the season.
"It still ultimately comes down to making the plays in those critical situations that are going to push you to having that success in the game," Norvell said. "We've done that against really good teams this year, but we've also put ourselves in position to have some production, but not do the things that are necessary to go win the game."
As part of the announcement that Norvell would return for a seventh season was a pledge to "institute fundamental changes in specific areas to improve performance." When asked directly what changes he planned to make, Norvell said his only focus this week was on Florida.
Asked about a possible reevaluation of his front office and personnel department, Norvell said he is always evaluating the program.
"There's a lot of things that we'll continue to take a broader scope look at as we get into the offseason," Norvell said. "But I'm evaluating throughout the course of the year in every part of our program to be able to take the proper steps for us to be the best that we can be."
Norvell also pointed to the way his team has played as another reason for optimism because "they are battling every single day," even when the results are not there. Florida State has gone 3-13 in the ACC over the last two years, and the last road win it had in the regular season was against the Gators in Gainesville in 2023 to get to 12-0.
There are young players Norvell believes this team can build around, including Mandrell and Darryll Desir, Ousmane Kromah, Jayvan Boggs and Micahi Danzy.
"When it comes to the talent on this team, we've got really, really good talent," Norvell said. "Some guys that are playing as true freshmen right now, they're showing that they're going to be some of the best players in college football here in the next few years."
While there might be some skepticism in the Florida State fan base about bringing back a coach who has four losing seasons in six years, Norvell vowed not to let anyone down now that he has one more year to turn the Seminoles around.
"I've been confident that if I could keep my head down and just continue to work that the opportunity would be there," Norvell said. "I'm not gonna let them down. I believe what it's gonna be, and I know what we have to continue to do, and we're gonna get it done."