It’s Alabama week in Tallahassee, and Florida State is walking into it with a mess at quarterback and a head coach under real pressure.
Mike Norvell may be the most beleaguered coach in college football right now, and the timing couldn’t be much worse for the Seminoles. There’s even more heat around the program after it was learned Monday morning that Norvell’s boss, AD Michel Alford, has been fired. The noise around Florida State is loud, and it isn’t going away.
The biggest on-field issue is Ashton Daniels, the quarterback Norvell tied himself to and is now stuck trying to manage. Daniels has been playing quarterback since the 2022 season, spent three seasons at Stanford and one at Auburn, and then transferred to Florida State. After the Seminoles’ loss to SMU, Daniels’ record as a quarterback starter fell to 6-21, according to the FSU site Chop Chat.
That’s where the criticism of Norvell starts to bite. Chop Chat called the Daniels pursuit in the transfer portal a warning sign for the sport, writing, "Norvell's pursuit of Daniels in the transfer portal and the subsequent results should be used as a cautionary tale across college football. ... Daniels may not be getting the job done in the eyes of Norvell, but the coach brought the entire situation upon himself."
Norvell is also getting compared to former Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, and not in a flattering way. Freeze became known for publicly shifting blame onto quarterbacks like Payton Thorne and Jackson Arnold. He once said of Thorne, "We’ve got to find a guy who won’t throw it to the other team."
Norvell, for his part, said he has seen Daniels run the offense at speed in practice, but that hasn’t carried over once live-game variables show up.
- John Evans (@jpevans) September 10, 2026
There doesn’t appear to be a clean fix here. None of Daniels’ backups has a résumé that suggests they’d be a better answer, and Norvell would take plenty of heat if he refused to acknowledge Daniels’ problems. At the same time, he doesn’t seem to be fully playing the Hugh Freeze game of dumping everything on the player and washing his hands of it.
The larger picture around Florida State is ugly. The program is in turmoil, and there are no quick solutions.
And now comes Kane Wommack’s defense in Tuscaloosa. That matchup only makes things harder for Florida State.
Wommack already knows Daniels well enough to attack the right spots. Last season, when Daniels was Auburn’s quarterback, he ran for 108 yards against Alabama and threw for 259 yards, but he completed less than half of his passes.
Wommack will make sure Daniels does not come close to those numbers on Saturday.
In Other News...
Florida State's Latest Shakeup Comes Right Before Alabama
Florida State made a notable administrative change just as Alabama is preparing to see the Seminoles on the schedule, announcing that Michael Alford is out after four years as athletics director. Bruce Warwick will step in on an interim basis while the school searches for a permanent replacement, adding another layer of uncertainty around a program already under pressure.
The move comes with concerns growing around Florida State footballs recent results under Mike Norvell, and the timing only sharpens the focus on what the Seminoles look like heading into a high-profile matchup with Alabama. For a game that already carried plenty of attention, the off-field shakeup gives it an even more unsettled backdrop. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Top 10 Return Puts One Big FSU Question On Offense
Alabamas climb back into the AP top 10 came with the kind of finishing kick the program wanted to show after the opener. The Tide pulled away from Kentucky 45-17, and the second half offered a cleaner look at what is starting to take shape on both sides of the ball. Jackson Lloyd has settled in well at left tackle, not allowing a pressure through two games, while inside linebackers Luke Metz and Caleb Woodson have been active pieces in a defense that is settling into its identity.
The next test is less about ranking movement and more about the kind of roadblock Alabama needs to clear against Florida State. Keelon Russell has already said his own play has to improve, and that kind of self-assessment matters with a matchup like this looming. Alabama is also carrying the memory of a previous loss to the Seminoles, which adds a little extra edge to a game that already feels like an early measuring stick for where this offense really is. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russells Early Alabama Issue Is Harder To Ignore Now
Keelon Russells first major bump in an Alabama uniform came with a little extra visibility Saturday, when the quarterback was flagged multiple times for intentional grounding in the win over Kentucky. It was the kind of outing that can happen to a young passer still settling into the speed and pressure of SEC football, but it also put a spotlight on the parts of his game Alabama will need cleaned up quickly as the schedule keeps moving.
Kalen DeBoer pointed to execution and decision-making when addressing the penalties, a reminder that the Tide are still looking for more comfort and control from Russell in those moments when a play breaks down. Russell, for his part, said he got off to a slow start and said he is committed to improving in the games ahead, which is the right response even if the bigger question now is how fast that progress shows up. [Read more 🡒]