Mike Norvell describes emotions of Florida State's recent success impacting community

It was tough, but head coach Mike Norvell has successfully turned around the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State had fallen off briefly following the abrupt departure of former head coach Jimbo Fisher, experiencing some of the program’s darker days in recent history. But last year’s success, coupled with the hot start in 2023, has only confirmed Norvell was the right man for the job.

As Florida State prepares for its upcoming Top 25 matchup with the Duke Blue Devils, Norvell took a moment to describe the emotions surrounding the recent success of the program.

“This is a special place. I mean, football matters. This program matters: the individuals and how it represents our community, this university, all past players, (and) all the students. It’s one of the best programs. This is an awesome place to be a part of. And you feel the energy. I think our fan base and people around this program have seen growth. There’s still a lot of growth that needs to be done and a lot of improvement that has to be done,” said Norvell.

“But it’s a place of expectation, and our expectations for ourselves is to go there and to get better and put the best display of who we are, on and off the field. And our guys, they’ve been embraced that, and I think there’s an excitement around our fan base.”

Norvell says, ‘It’s going to take our best game’ against Duke

This season, the Florida State Seminoles are the top team in the ACC thus far, led by head coach Mike Norvell. But there is an unlikely foe who sits just behind them in the conference standings, looking to take over the top spot in Week 8 — the Duke Blue Devils.

Duke has quietly and comfortably sat in the AP top 25 for much of this year. Currently, the Blue Devils rank No. 17 and have a 5-1 record, with their lone loss of the season coming out of conference to Notre Dame on the road. Considering that fact, Norvell and the Seminoles have no intention of taking it easy on Duke in Week 8. When discussing their upcoming matchup on Tuesday, the Florida State headman revealed what he believes it will take for the Seminoles to walk out of Saturday’s contest victorious.

“You watch film, and you see really good players. They’ve been productive, they’ve done everything they needed to do,” said Norvell. “They’re one play away in that Notre Dame game; I mean, you kind of felt for him for how it all played out. But this is a very, very talented team, and it’s one that you don’t need to give a motivational speech to any of our guys because they know the challenge that’s ahead. And it’s going to take our best game. You know, I’m looking forward to the continued week of preparation. But yeah, our guys know.”