Jon Sumrall wasted no time taking a shot in the direction of Florida State, and that kind of jab may end up giving the Seminoles a little extra fuel when November rolls around.
Florida State’s Week 0 opener didn’t exactly calm anybody down. The Seminoles beat New Mexico State 34-17, but they did it after entering the game as four-touchdown favorites, leaving Mike Norvell’s team with more questions than satisfaction. Opposing coaches were paying attention, and Sumrall made that clear on Monday during his first game-week press conference as Florida’s new head coach.
Asked about the goals of recent game-focused practices, Sumrall said his staff had spent Week 0 drilling situations and preparing for just about anything. Then he pointed to a glaring mistake from the Seminoles without naming them directly:
"There was one game, there were 12 guys on the field on field goal block three times in the same game."
That line lands hard because Florida fans know the pain of having too many men on the field. It also hits a little closer to home because Sumrall is trying to separate his own program from the kind of issues that plagued former coach Billy Napier, who is now at James Madison. Sumrall’s message was simple: discipline matters, and Florida has to be better.
For Florida State, the criticism comes after a Week 0 showing that included three illegal substitution flags for having 12 players on the field during special teams situations. Those kinds of mistakes usually trace back to confusion or poor preparation, and that is the last thing the Seminoles can afford in 2026. The hope now is that the outside noise turns into motivation.
The timing makes the whole thing more pointed. Florida and Florida State are set to meet on November 27 at Doak Campbell Stadium, and the regular-season finale already has more hanging over it than last year’s matchup did.
A season ago, Florida entered at 3-8 and was already heading toward a coaching change. Florida State won that game 40-21, but the result still fit the mood of a Seminoles season that needed more than it got.
Now the script is different. Sumrall has taken over in Gainesville, and he sounds eager to make his mark in a rivalry that will close the year with plenty on the line. For Florida State, the challenge is just as obvious: use the criticism, clean up the details, and try to stop a two-game losing streak in the Sunshine Showdown.
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For a team always looking to establish balance, that kind of outing matters beyond the box score. It also puts a spotlight on what comes next, because the Seminoles now have a strong first answer at running back and a chance to see whether one strong opener turns into something more lasting as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
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Norvell made clear that the evaluation will continue through practice and game action, with performance driving the final call. He pointed to areas that need improvement while also praising the effort of specific players, leaving SMU week as a real test for a line that is still trying to turn consistency into certainty. [Read more 🡒]
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Florida State honored Pritchard with the Doc Fauls Rise Above Adversity Award, recognizing the resolve it took to reach this point. Mike Norvell called him a walking miracle and pointed to the mental toughness and faith that helped carry him through the recovery, a journey still unfolding but one that already stands as one of the most moving stories around the program. [Read more 🡒]