Coming off a 2-10 season, no one was expecting much from Florida State in 2025 — especially against a team like Alabama, whether Nick Saban was on the sideline or not. But then the Seminoles pulled off a massive Week 1 upset over the Crimson Tide, and suddenly the narrative shifted for both teams.
A month later, those narratives have shifted again. Alabama has regained its footing with two top-25 wins, including one on the road at Georgia and another avenging its loss to Vanderbilt in Tuscaloosa. Florida State, meanwhile, has dropped two straight — first to an revamped Virginia team on the road, then to archrival Miami at home.
On October 6, FSU coach Mike Norvell gave an interesting response to critics downplaying the Seminoles’ win over Alabama.
“Alabama is a good football team. I know when we beat them in Week 1, they weren’t, obviously, but now all of a sudden they’re a good team again. We were dominant in that game. It could have been much worse if we were a bit cleaner in that.”
Week 1 games are always difficult to judge because it’s the season opener. With 11 more games afterward, a team can look completely different — as both Alabama and FSU have shown.
But outright calling Alabama a bad team when they played suggests Norvell may believe his team was more lucky than good in that upset. Sitting at 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the ACC is not the start anyone in Tallahassee envisioned, especially after beating one of the sport’s perennial powers.
Florida State Remains in Top 25 Despite Loss to Miami
One of the most surprising aspects of the Week 7 AP poll was Florida State still sneaking into the top 25. The Seminoles sit at No. 25 despite back-to-back conference losses.
It’s assumed their decisive win over Alabama, now ranked eighth, back in Week 1 was enough to sway voters in the poll.
What may also be misleading to AP voters, however, is their 28-22 loss to No. 2 Miami. The Hurricanes dominated for more than three quarters, leading 28-3 entering the fourth, before easing off the gas and allowing FSU to score 19 unanswered points.
“I don’t really think they did anything to stop us,” quarterback Thomas Castellanos said of Miami. “We had three turnovers, two picks and a fumble. I just think we had a lot of penalties. So I just think self-inflicted wounds. That’s two games back-to-back where we’re kind of hurting ourselves and kind of beating ourselves.”
The Seminoles also bested Miami is first downs and total yards, while committing far less penalties.
Is Time Running Out For Mike Norvell at Florida State?
Despite being named ACC Coach of the Year in 2023, Norvell and the Seminoles collapsed in 2024 and are again in danger of spiraling this season. Starting 0-2 in ACC play isn’t the start FSU wanted. But at least the program is already one win better than last year.
Norvell is 36-29 overall in his sixth season with FSU, with one bowl win and two top-25 finishes — his only winning seasons. The question now is what counts as success in Year 6, especially in light of last year’s two-win disaster.
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