Joel Klatt believes that Florida State football is on the right track

Florida State might have lost on Sunday night against Notre Dame, but the Seminoles put up a tremendous effort and beat the odds to even get the game to overtime. Quarterback McKenzie Milton did not start, but he made his return to the football field following a gruesome leg injury in 2018. Milton led Florida State to a big comeback, and the Seminoles came out of the game with hope for the future. FOX’s Joel Klatt is impressed by Florida State and thinks that things are improving within the program under head coach Mike Norvell.

Milton led the Seminoles on an improbable comeback

Florida State trailed 38-28 late in the fourth quarter when Milton took over the Seminoles offense. Milton led Florida State to ten points to force the game into overtime. Florida State’s comeback eventually fell short, as Notre Dame kicked a field goal in overtime to sneak away with a 41-38 victory.

Milton’s return to the field was an amazing sight for fans that have followed his journey throughout recent years. It had been 1,017 days since Milton played in a live football game. Doctors weren’t sure if Milton’s leg could be saved initially. The fact that Milton is able to walk, let alone play in a primetime college football game against a top ten team, is extraordinary. The energy around the program has been very positive and a big improvement from recent seasons after watching Florida State in the season opener.

“What an amazing game,” Klatt tweeted. “Really hard not to pull for McKenzie Milton after what he has gone through. FSU football may not have won tonight but that is a far better version than we have seen for the last few years.”

Florida State’s culture has improved under Norvell

When Mike Norvell took over as Florida State’s head coach, he immediately got to work. Norvell wanted to change the culture within the program, and that involved a lot of hard work and time. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit talked about Florida State’s evolution as a program under Norvell earlier in the preseason.

“I kind of picked Florida State as a surprise, sneaky team,” Herbstreit said. “I’m not going to say that they’re going to unseat North Carolina or Clemson. But from where they’ve been, I don’t know how many players he (Mike Norvell) has chased off from when he walked in there as head coach. It’s been a bunch of guys and we see that all the time. A new coach comes in, sets the new standard, you want to live up to it. No matter what the rules are, you’ve got to fall in line with the culture. He’s had to chase away a number of guys. To get to where you want to go, you’ve got to hit the bottom. Then you start to climb your way back up.”

Seeing the entire nation of college football fans rallying behind McKenzie Milton was a special sight. Whether or not Florida State turns into a true contender this season remains to be seen. But Sunday night showed the nation that Norvell has Florida State heading in the right direction.