Florida State walked into Week 6 with a little momentum and walked out looking right back at square one.
Louisville rolled the Seminoles without much trouble, a sharp turn after Florida State had handled Virginia the week before. That’s college football in a nutshell: one week you look like you’ve figured it out, the next you’re scrambling for answers. And with Miami looming in Week 7, this was the last kind of performance Florida State could afford.
The bigger issue is that the Seminoles keep beating themselves.
Missed connections at crucial moments, dropped passes, and busted communication on defense helped turn a decent opening into a game Florida State could no longer control. The Seminoles had chances to build on their early lead, but after the first quarter they faded fast and looked nothing like the team that had taken care of Virginia in Week 5.
That opening actually gave Florida State something to work with. Ashton Daniels punched in a quick rushing touchdown, and Micahi Danzy caught his first score of the season.
After that, though, the rhythm disappeared. Drive after drive fell apart, and the offense never found a way to stay on track.
The defensive side wasn’t any steadier. Florida State generated 10 sacks in Week 5, then turned around and barely pressured Lincoln Kienholz.
The bigger damage came on the ground, where the Seminoles allowed 9.2 yards per carry. Louisville didn’t need anything fancy; it just kept piling up steady gains until those plays turned into points.
That’s what made the loss look even worse. Louisville has dealt with injuries and inconsistency of its own this season, and it has not exactly been blowing people out.
Still, the Cardinals didn’t need to do anything special here. Florida State simply got beaten up.
And that leads to the biggest concern: this team still does not play with any consistency, no matter who is making the calls.
The Seminoles have shown flashes, but they haven’t put together enough complete football to trust from one week to the next. The win over Virginia suggested there was something to build on. The loss to Louisville reminded everyone how quickly that can disappear.
Tony White’s future is part of that story, too. If there was a moment to make a move, it was after the defensive collapse against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, when the secondary made life far too easy and Florida State still took the loss despite solid offensive play. The program didn’t make that change then, so White appears set to remain in place for the rest of the season.
But the case against keeping him has only gotten stronger. Florida State’s defense showed against Virginia that the talent is there, which makes the uneven play even harder to explain. Then came Louisville, where the Seminoles regressed badly, gave up chunk plays, and looked like a defense with no real bite after the first quarter.
At this point, keeping White around is doing nobody any favors. The Seminoles need answers, and they need them fast.
In Other News...
Mike Norvell Faces More Heat After Another Road Collapse
Florida State went into Louisville with a chance to steady itself away from home, and for a little while it looked capable of doing exactly that. The Seminoles started strong, but the game quickly flipped once Louisville got rolling, and the final 44-20 result sent Florida State to its 11th straight road loss while raising fresh questions about a team that still has trouble holding up when the setting changes.
The collapse was especially jarring because of how quickly the Seminoles lost control, as Louisville ripped off 35 unanswered points and repeatedly found room for long touchdown runs against Florida States defense. The loss left Mike Norvell at 41-37 overall in Tallahassee and 23-28 in ACC play, a reminder that the pressure around the program is not easing anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Norvell Problem Isnt Just About The Losses
Florida States latest collapse against Louisville was the kind that deepens the frustration around a season that already feels well off track. The Seminoles built a 14-point lead and still walked away with another damaging loss, the second time this year they have let a double-digit advantage slip away in a defeat by more than 14 points after being in front by at least 14.
Mike Norvells future is no longer just a football question, though, because the schools hesitation to make a move is tied to more than results on the field. His $46.7 million buyout is a major obstacle, and the uncertainty inside the athletic department after the firing of the athletic director has only added another layer to the situation, with upcoming games now carrying added weight as Florida State sorts through both its record and its leadership. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State's Blowout Loss Still Left Fans Debating One Offensive Positive
Florida States trip to L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium ended with another lopsided result, a 44-20 loss to Louisville that kept the focus on the larger problems around the Seminoles offense and defense. Still, amid the frustration, Ashton Daniels carved out a small bright spot in the aftermath by adding to a season that has already made him part of the programs record book.
Daniels latest rushing score pushed him to 10 on the year, setting a Florida State single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. In a game where the final margin and the key plays all pointed Louisvilles way, it was one of the few individual positives Florida State could point to, even if it did little to change the bigger conversation about where the offense goes from here. [Read more 🡒]