Florida State is not playing today. The Seminoles are on their first bye week of the 2026 season, with the next break set for Oct. 24 in Week 8.
That pause comes at a useful time for Mike Norvell’s team, which has already been through an uneven start. FSU opened with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State, but the game stayed close enough that Norvell never had the luxury of emptying the bench.
Then came a missed chance against No. 17 SMU, when the Seminoles couldn’t make the most of four turnovers and fell on a last-minute field goal.
The bigger storyline from that SMU game wasn’t even the passing game from new quarterback Ashton Daniels. It was the power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium that delayed the game for nearly two hours, a surreal backdrop to a season that already feels loaded with pressure.
Norvell now gets extra time before a difficult trip to Alabama in Week 3. The Crimson Tide, who play at Kentucky today after opening with a 48-10 win over East Carolina, will be looking for payback after last year’s result. For Norvell, the stakes are obvious: another underwhelming performance, or a loss, would only crank up the noise around his job.
That noise comes with a massive financial wrinkle. According to Norvell’s contract, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Florida State would owe him $47.5 million if he were fired after the Alabama game. That figure would rank as the third-highest buyout in college football history, behind only Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Brian Kelly at LSU.
After Alabama, FSU returns home to face FCS school Central Arkansas before diving into a brutal stretch that includes No. 25 Virginia at home, then road games at Louisville and No.
7 Miami. The Hurricanes are coming off a program-record-tying 77-7 rout of Florida A&M and will be coming out of their bye week when they meet the Seminoles.
FSU’s second bye arrives after that, before the team closes the regular season over the final five weeks.
In Other News...
Lee Corso Update Will Hit Florida State Fans Right In The Heart
Lee Corsos connection to Florida State has always carried a little extra weight, and his recent reunion with Kirk Herbstreit in Orlando only underscored why. Herbstreit described the retired College GameDay fixture as dealing with physical ailments at 91, but still sharp enough mentally to hold court, which is the part longtime fans tend to latch onto when they think about Corso now. Since stepping away after the 2025 season, he has kept public appearances rare, but the ones he has made have still felt meaningful, especially around a program and fan base that have long felt part of his orbit.
Corsos ties to Florida State have stayed visible in those limited moments, including an appearance at an event on campus and watching the national championship from home. For Seminole fans, it is the kind of update that lands with a little more emotion than most because it speaks to both the passage of time and the staying power of one of college footballs most familiar voices. The physical side of the story is impossible to ignore, but Herbstreits account offered a reminder that Corso still has the mind and presence that made him a weekend staple for so long. [Read more 🡒]
FSU May Be Nearing A Mike Norvell Decision Fans Dread
Florida States rough start has only sharpened the pressure around Mike Norvell, with two losses to open the season adding to the broader concerns that have followed the program since 2024. The Seminoles are now in the familiar spot of trying to balance patience with performance, and when a season gets sideways this early, the conversation quickly shifts from what the team wants to be to what the school can realistically afford to do.
The next stretch could tell the story, with Alabama and Miami looming as the kind of games that tend to shape the public and private temperature around a coachs future. If things continue to slide, Florida State would have to weigh the complications of an in-season move, the search for an interim option already on staff, and the massive financial hit attached to any decision on Norvells buyout. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Has A Real Opening With A 4-Star OT Flip Target
Florida State is making another push to add to its 2028 recruiting class, and four-star offensive tackle Omari Lawson has become a name worth watching. The Syracuse commitment has been on the Seminoles radar for a while, and the staff is still trying to get him on campus even after he previously backed off planned visits to both Florida and Florida State.
Lawson is now in the process of finalizing a return trip to Tallahassee, while also planning to visit Florida and Syracuse. That sets up a familiar but tricky recruiting battle for Florida State, with the Seminoles trying to make the most of a real opening against a player who remains committed elsewhere and has multiple stops still ahead of him. [Read more 🡒]