Florida State had every chance to make SMU pay for a night full of mistakes, and somehow walked off the field with a 27-24 loss anyway. That’s the kind of result that turns a strange opener into an early-season disaster, especially after the long power outage delay at Doak Campbell Stadium pushed the whole thing deep into the night.
The Seminoles got the turnovers they needed from SMU. They got the special-teams edge.
They even got the penalty advantage. None of it mattered enough, because Florida State still surrendered 565 total yards and 8.7 yards per play.
That’s the ugly part of this one: the opponent kept handing them openings, and the Noles kept leaving them on the table.
Mike Norvell sits at the center of the storm, and after a game like this, it’s impossible to look anywhere else first. SMU entered the kind of turnover territory that usually ends in a loss - teams with a -4 turnover margin or worse had gone 1-43 since the start of last season, per Brandon Marcello - and still escaped with the win.
Kevin Jennings threw a pick in the red zone, SMU had a muffed punt, and the Mustangs also missed a field goal early. Even with all that, Florida State couldn’t close.
Tony White doesn’t come out clean either. His mission was supposed to be simple: clean up the secondary communication problems.
Instead, the night opened with no in-helmet communication because of the power outage, and he was already down three defensive backs and a linebacker due to injuries. Still, the first score came on a glaring coverage bust, and things only got worse from there as Jennings piled up 430 passing yards against a defense that couldn’t get consistent pressure, coverage, or tackling to line up at the same time.
On offense, Ashton Daniels never really got Florida State into a rhythm. The Seminoles didn’t convert a third down until their 10th try, late in the third quarter, and Daniels didn’t even get past 100 passing yards until the fourth.
The line around him needed help too, and it finally got some when Chimdia Nwaiwu was pulled in the third quarter after another rough outing. Once Nwaiwu came off the field, Nate Pabst slid from right guard to right tackle and Paul Bowling entered, and Florida State’s front looked noticeably steadier.
The offense then picked up its first two third-down conversions of the night. Before that, Nwaiwu had missed badly and allowed an ugly sack, a performance that could keep him on the bench for a while.
There were at least a couple of bright spots for Florida State, and Quindarrius Jones was one of them. The corner forced and recovered a fumble, adding to the momentum he’s building after picking off his first career pass a week earlier. With Ja’Bril Rawls continuing to struggle opposite him, Jones is becoming a more important part of Tony White’s defense by the week.
Ousmane Kromah was the other clear winner. He followed up his Week 0 breakout with another 100-yard game, giving Florida State its first back-to-back 100-yard rusher performance since Lawrence Toafili did it in the 2023 ACC Championship Game before Kromah matched the feat.
At 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, he’s already shown the ability to make defenders miss in tight spaces, and now he’s flashing the breakaway speed that wasn’t there in 2025. He’s a difference-maker in the backfield.
He just isn’t enough to drag this team into contender territory by himself.
Mandrell Desir, meanwhile, had a rough night with Darryll Desir sidelined by injury and more attention falling on the twin brother. After putting up 6.5 sacks last season, Mandrell didn’t give Florida State much at all off the edge. White tried to move him around, including mugging him up over the center on obvious passing downs, but the results were the same: he got stood up, lost with his hands, failed to turn speed into power, and too often ended up on the ground.
That’s how a bizarre opener turns into a brutally familiar conversation for Florida State. The mistakes from SMU were there.
The opportunities were there. The win still wasn’t.
In Other News...
FSU Fans Are Confronting One Brutal Mike Norvell Reality
Mike Norvells tenure at Florida State has reached the point where the frustration is no longer just about one bad stretch or one disappointing season. Seven years into the job, the Seminoles are staring at a 39-35 record under his watch, and the recent slide has made the conversation around the program feel heavier than it did even a year ago. What once looked like a long-term build now has fans weighing patience against the reality of how long the skid has lasted.
Money only makes that conversation harder to ignore. Norvells 2024 extension runs through 2031 and includes a modest base salary with supplemental income that rises each year, but the real issue is the buyout, which sits around $46.7 million. That kind of number puts Florida State in a familiar college football bind: even when a program starts asking tough questions about direction, the cost of making a change can be almost as daunting as standing pat. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Norvell's Future Just Became A Tough Florida State Debate
Florida States recent slide has turned Mike Norvells tenure into one of the more complicated discussions in the sport, because this is no longer just about wins and losses. The Seminoles are coming off a 13-1 season, but the stretch since then has been rough, with an 8-18 record overall and a 3-14 mark in ACC play, a downturn that has changed the temperature around the program in a hurry.
The harder part for Florida State is what comes next, because Norvells long-term contract is a major financial commitment. His 8-year, $84 million extension carries a buyout estimated at around $45 million if the school were to move on, which means the universitys decision may hinge as much on the rest of this season as on the frustration already building in the fan base. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Fans Have A Costly Portal Question After Week 1
Florida States Week 1 loss did more than dent the record. It reopened the conversation around a roster that was supposed to look like a major investment, especially with roughly $24 million tied up in NIL funds and a ranking that placed the Seminoles 26th in college football. After the opener, the concerns were easy to spot: the secondary had issues, the offense never fully settled in, and the price tag attached to the roster suddenly felt like part of the story.
Mike Norvell is now dealing with the kind of scrutiny that comes when expectations and production drift apart early. High-value additions such as quarterback Ashton Daniels and running back Quintrevion Wisner have not matched the hope that came with their arrival, and the debate around which transfers were worth the spending is only getting louder. For a fan base already frustrated by the loss, the lingering portal question is no longer just about who came in, but whether the Seminoles spent in the right places at all. [Read more 🡒]