Mike Norvell, No. 8 FSU Criticized By CFB Fans After Upset Loss to Unranked UVA

Two overtimes wasn’t enough for Mike Norvell and No. 8 Florida State to find a way to beat unranked UVA.

Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris’s four-yard touchdown run in double overtime ended up making the difference in a 46-38 upset of visiting FSU.

College football fans criticized Norvell for the continuation of Florida State’s struggles against ACC teams.

The Seminoles have gone 1-8 in games against ACC opponents dating back to the start of the 2024 season.

That marked the worst in-conference record in program history, beating out the 2-6 ACC record the Seminoles recorded during Norvell’s first season with the program in 2020.

The loss drops Florida State’s ACC record to 20-21 in parts of six seasons under Norvell.

Florida State came within one point of tying Virginia with 36 seconds left in regulation, after Tommy Castellanos found Randy Pittman Jr. in the end zone on a 4th-and-goal from the UVA 11-yard line.

Norvell had Jake Weinberg go for the extra point rather than attempt a potential game-winning two-point conversion.

FSU’s inability to respond to Virginia’s second-overtime touchdown left fans questioning Norvell’s decision not to go for two points on that final drive of regulation.

Norvell begin his Friday night press conference by telling reporters he was “extremely disappointed with the outcome tonight,” per Field Level Media’s Curt Weiler.

Losing the ACC season opener dulled some of the excitement Florida State picked up after opening the season with an upset of No. 8 Alabama.

FSU then climbed to No. 8 in the AP poll after defeating non-major East Texas A&M and non-major Kent State.

A loss to Virginia will hurt that ranking and call into question whether Norvell and his program have fully turned things around from last season’s 2-10 campaign, after which the head coach agreed to a one-year restructured contract.

The pressure will be on Norvell to lead the Seminoles to a bounce-back victory when conference play continues for Florida State next Saturday with a home game against No. 2 Miami.

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