Mike Norvell says there was no thought of Florida State not playing in Orange Bowl after CFP snub

After Florida State got dropped to fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings, there was some thought that the Seminoles might skip the Orange Bowl as a form of protest. However, head coach Mike Norvell says that was never a real thought in his mind.

Despite not thinking about skipping the Orange Bowl, Norvell did admit that the CFP snub was incredibly difficult to deal with.

“No,” Mike Norvell said. “I mean, it was hard choices for a lot of the young men that were on our team. We were hurt. I think that’s — when you do the things that our guys did throughout the year and the way that they responded, the way they fought, the way that they just pulled together, it hurt when we were not selected. It was, like I said, the most challenging month I’ve ever had in my coaching career because you feel for your players.”

In the end, the Orange Bowl wasn’t close. Georgia won 63-3, making a statement about how it felt it also got snubbed by the CFP. Florida State, meanwhile, suffered more than 20 opt-outs from the game including numerous starters on both sides of the ball.

“As you sit there and you go through it, like I said, there were some tough choices that individuals made, and ultimately I had talked to them about the opportunity, and obviously there’s guys like Kalen [DeLoach] that came out here and gave all that they had through the finish and I’m grateful for that,” Norvell said.

“I’m grateful for the guys that have been on the journey throughout the season, and I’m grateful for the guys that were a part of this team and quite a few of them that didn’t play tonight. They did so much. I hate that I didn’t get one more game with them. That’s probably the thing that probably hurts as much as anything.”

With the loss, Florida State fell to 13-1. The Seminoles went unbeaten in the regular season and won the ACC. It was a great season with a bad loss after getting snubbed. For Mike Norvell, this led to questions about making sure the team responds to these situations correctly

“There are going to be times in life where you do all the things right and it doesn’t go your way. Maybe you’re not selected where you want to be selected. Maybe you’re not chosen. Maybe you find unexpected adversity. But it’s the response that’s going to showcase the identity of who you are and what you’re about. These guys have responded, and they’ve learned a lot of great lessons and they’re going to carry them throughout their lives. But we had an opportunity to come compete, and we came and we competed. It didn’t go obviously anywhere near the way we wanted it to, but there will be experiences that we learn from tonight that will build individuals and collectively a group as we move forward,” Norvell said.

“I’ve said it since I got here, I thank God for every challenge because he’s blessed us with opportunity. Tonight we faced a lot of challenges, but I know the opportunities moving forward and what we’re going to do with them. It’s because of these guys and their willingness to continue to push, and it’s something that we’re going to absolutely do as a program.”

Mike Norvell shares heartfelt moment with child who wrote Orange Bowl letter

Upon returning from the Orange Bowl, a young FSU fan wrote and delivered a letter to Mike Norvell. Now, Norvell has shared what that letter said.

“I wish the committee could see the greatness in your team. Your team should be winning the national championship right now but I’m glad you kept fighting and every game I saw awesome, fast, strong, fighting relentless players that never stopped,” the child wrote.

“Just because you lost last night doesn’t mean you aren’t unstoppable. Norvell, you have a great team.”