Florida State football overreaction: Mike Norvell should focus on rebuilding, not retooling
Florida State football (1-6, 1-5) coach Mike Norvell is in a tough spot.
After returning from its bye week, FSU suffered its sixth loss to Duke on Friday night, and Norvell is on the verge of his third losing season in his five-year tenure.
The Seminoles have another road game on Saturday. They take on their in-state rival, the undefeated Miami Hurricanes, at 7 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.
“It's about the push of trying to go and get better, and I can't allow these guys to get caught up in the record right now," Norvell said after the Duke loss.
"Right now, the record is what it is, but it's still about where we go and what we do with the opportunity that we have in front of us.”
As the fan base knows the season's fate, here are the overreactions.
Mike Norvell is staring at the face of a historic losing season
It is the first time since 1975 the Seminoles have started 1-6. During those pre-Bobby Bowden year, FSU finished 3-8. The year before that, FSU was 1-11.
With five more games left, the Seminoles' season could become one of the worst seasons in program history.
The games still have to be played. The Seminoles are one loss away from being eliminated from bowl contention.
It would be the first time since 2021 that FSU will not be playing in any postseason play. A year after being a playoff contender, finishing 13-1, and winning the ACC Championship last year, it feels so long ago.
FSU's notable remaining schedule includes Miami, Notre Dame, and Florida. The teams are combined 17-4 this season.
More: Florida State football program's first loss to Duke a pitstop to rock bottom | Rooney
It's time for Mike Norvell to focus on rebuilding his program
With Norvell already secured for the next eight years, he can start over from scratch.
That means Norvell has to clean the house.
With the season likely to be a losing one, Norvell will have to make sudden changes in the program. What type of changes? It can be anything.
Norvell is a competitor. He also knows renting a transfer portal player can be flawed if he doesn't find the right players to compete. This year's class has been a total bust in each position.
While searching for players can still be prioritized during the offseason, so should recruiting top high school players.
It will be a hard sell either way because of how the season has been for the Seminoles, but it can also lead to an opportunity for them to compete for immediate playing time.
Between now and the offseason, Norvell has to evaluate his coaching staff. All of them have been with Norvell since he was hired and have contributed to his success and failures.
Some of Norvell's assistants deserve to stay and be elevated to higher positions, and others should explain why they should continue their duties.
Offensively, FSU is ranked 132nd with 276 total yards on average and 15.0 points per average. The Seminoles are also ranked 131st, netting an average of 72.9 a game.
FSU's defense has not been consistent and has not lived up to the hype for the most part, but he has kept the Seminoles in games.
The defense has allowed 370.0 yards on average this season, ranking it 75th nationally and 76th with 25.0 points allowed.
More: WATCH: FSU 's Justin Cryer, Ja'Khi Douglas talk about performance after loss to Duke
Mike Norvell should use the rest of the season to identify his future quarterback
How the season is developing into a losing one is an opportunity for Norvell to figure out who he wants to be his starting quarterback next year.
Week-to-weekly, the season should be treated as an evaluation for Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek.
Obviously, he will likely keep that to himself while continuing to get through the remainder of the season. However, he will eventually have to make tough decisions, and his quarterbacks are one of them.
Glenn is the most experienced out of the two. He has eight games and five starts under his belt from last season. In his two-year career, he has 567 passing yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Kromenhoek made his first-ever appearance against Duke after Glenn gave up three straight turnovers, finishing the night by completing 3 of 17 for 19 yards.
The true freshman has shown some flashes of deep-ball accuracy, but his receivers' dropped balls overshadowed him.
Kromenhoek was a four-star prospect out of Savannah, Georgia, where he was ranked 30th in the country and fourth in his position. FSU also has two high school quarterbacks who have verbally pledged for the 2025 and 2026 classes.
There is still time to figure it out with five games left, but the clock is ticking.
FSU football schedule 2024: TV channels, dates and start times
Saturday, Aug. 24: vs. Georgia Tech* (Aer Lingus College Football Classic) Lost 24-21
Monday, Sept. 2: vs. Boston College* | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo) Lost 28-13
Saturday, Sept. 7: Bye
Saturday, Sept. 14: vs. Memphis | Noon | ESPN (Fubo) Lost 20-12
Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Cal* | 7 p.m.| ESPN2 (Fubo) Won 14-9
Saturday, Sept. 28: at SMU* | 8 p.m. EST | ACC Network Lost 42-16
Saturday, Oct. 5: vs. No. 15 Clemson* | 7 p.m.| ESPN (Fubo) Lost 29-13
Saturday, Oct. 12: Bye
Saturday, Oct. 26: at No. 8 Miami*
Saturday, Nov. 2: vs. North Carolina*
Saturday, Nov. 9: at No. 14 Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC (Fubo, Peacock)
Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. Charleston Southern
Saturday, Nov. 30: vs. Florida
Saturday, Dec. 6: ACC championship game (Charlotte, N.C)
All times Eastern
* = ACC
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football overreaction: Mike Norvell is prepared for a losing season
