As FSU prepares for Orange Bowl, Mike Norvell speaks on ‘most challenging’ period of coaching career
Tuesday marked the end of more than two weeks of quiet from FSU football and head coach Mike Norvell. As the Seminoles are 11 days from their Orange Bowl game against the Georgia Bulldogs — not to mention within 24 hours of the Early Signing Period — Norvell spoke to the press after the team’s latest bowl-prep practice.
His first question was, predictably, about what’s on everyone’s mind: How is he, and his program, dealing with the devastating reality that an undefeated FSU is not in the College Football Playoff?
“For all the things, how the season ended, you basically got 12 hours to celebrate what was an unbelievable accomplishment for this team,” Norvell said. “Then you had to learn how to work through disappointment, hurt, frustration, anger.
“Every bit of it.”
Norvell said he’s proud of the effort he’s seen in bowl practices leading up to Tuesday’s press availability. The Seminoles are transitioning from a camp-like practice regimen into the beginning stages of prepping for the Bulldogs.
Still, as the questions came in, the topic of the day had little to do with what’s ahead for FSU and more to do with what happened two Sundays ago.
“It’s hard,” Norvell said. “I’d like to say (it’s not)… but, at the end of the day, you control the things you can control. We did everything that we needed to do to win 13 games this season. Now we get an opportunity to go get better.
“You can’t just be good when it sounds good.”
Adding to the logistical difficulties of a shocking end to a bid for a National Championship: The calendar. At a time when it was necessary to be around the team to help it cope with disappointment, FSU coaches had to be on the road to finish off the Seminoles’ 2024 recruiting class.
These circumstances among others, like sorting through the transfer portal, are why Norvell deemed December, “probably been the most challenging couple weeks of coaching I’ve ever had.”
Asked if he still harbors anger about the CFP committee’s decision to place two one-loss teams ahead of his program, Norvell offered a predictable answer before looking forward.
“I mean, sure,” Norvell said. “I will always have the feelings of what happened. But at the end of the day, I wasn’t in that room and it wasn’t my choice. … I’ll never lose the feelings that I have, and I hope these guys don’t either.
“But it doesn’t take away from what these guys have accomplished throughout the course of the year.”
Florida State will return to the practice fields Thursday morning.
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