A week before the end of Florida State’s 2024 season, the Seminoles welcomed their only FCS opponent on their schedule to Tallahassee, Charleston Southern. The Seminoles did not score a point in the first quarter. A year earlier, Florida State played another FCS team, North Alabama, and went down 14-0, their largest deficit of the entire season. In 2021, Florida State lost to an FCS team, Jacksonville State. In fact, before Saturday, Mike Norvell has played an FCS team every year at Florida State (Jacksonville
State (2x), Duquesne, North Alabama, Charleston Southern), and the most they scored in any of those games was 47 in 2022.
Florida State scored 49 points in the first half on Saturday.
The Seminoles virtually rewrote the record book on Saturday, a week after reversing 18 months of misfortune. From snap one, Florida State waxed East Texas A&M en route to the largest win in FSU history. Florida State scored a touchdown on their first 10 drives, racked up 729 yards of total offense and benched their starting QB Tommy Castellanos before the end of the second quarter. If the old coaching verbiage is true that a team takes their largest step from week 1 to week 2, the Noles proved the theory on Saturday.
“I thought our guys, throughout this week and everything that we experienced, truly came with a purpose and a passion to go get better,” head coach Mike Norvell told the Tallahassee media after the game. “That was the focus. I wanted to see them put that on film and go compete as a team that’s passionate to get better. I thought they did that.”
All week long, players and coaches echoed the same message about putting the Alabama win behind them and taking their next step, even against a lesser opponent. It is easier said than done, ask Florida. The praise rolled in early and often, the bandwagon swelled to capacity and the Noles vaulted from unranked to a top 15 team in three days. The signs pointed to an unfocused FSU team sleepwalking through an early start and winning comfortably, but not convincingly.
However, instead of throttling back, the Noles slammed on the accelerator.
“Everybody can desire an identity. Every team now is going to be talking about winning championships. They’re talking about wanting to be the best. People will hear you when you talk, but they will listen by your actions. This team, with their actions, showed a little bit more in-depth of what they’re capable of because they didn’t let up.”
“Last week, I didn’t get enamored by the opponent we played. I focused on our team and the great individuals I get to coach and the expectations and the belief of what I think they can do. This team is embracing that.”
A year after losing control of the roster, Norvell has his finger hovering the pulse of the 2025 team. Each player who took the field on Saturday afternoon upheld their commitment to the Seminole standard, a characteristic demanded by their head coach. Thirteen different players recorded a rush, 11 different receivers caught a pass and 30 different Seminoles picked up a tackle on defense as Saturday became a program-wide display of the capabilities of each member of the program.
“I think there were close to 90 players that got a chance to play today. I was challenging them throughout it. It did not matter the player that went in. There is a standard, an expectation and a responsibility to this program that we all have.”
Of course, a talented team is needed to compete at the highest level, but quickly, the FSU public is learning that the calling card of the 2025 squad will be above the shoulder pads. Florida State stayed true to its word about putting its best on the field Saturday and continuing to focus on what is inside the locker room, not the opponent. They played with the necessary intensity to quell any hopes of an upset before most fans were in their seats. They came out with the passion instilled from them from their head coach, and after each positive moment, the sideline erupted, no matter who was in the game, as this team seems to be bonded together through the work and wants to win for each other. Above all, they came out with the needed maturity to understand that Alabama was not the Super Bowl but a stepping stone to a season slowly breaking in their favor.
Each day that passes, 2024 appears to be the exception, not the rule.
Thought 1: Duce is loose
The one thing missing on offense from FSU’s dominant win over Alabama last week was a vertical passing game. Gus Malzahn scripted the win over the Tide beautifully, and the need to push the ball down through the air was not a necessity. However, on Saturday, Malzahn unveiled a new side of his playbook and let Castellanos and the other quarterbacks grip it and rip it.
The primary beneficiary of the shots down the field was transfer WR Duce Robinson. Robinson recorded only two catches for 18 yards against the Tide, instead opting to help his team with downfield blocking. On Saturday, the transfer wideout put on display why Norvell believes he can be a #1 WR on a potent offense, as the son of the former FSU great Dominic Robinson recorded five catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns while not playing in the second half. Robinson’s physical traits made him look like a varsity player against JV as he sprinted past the ETAMU defense on one of his touchdown receptions before fighting off a corner for a one-handed grab in the end zone that he pinned to his body for another. Robinson also displayed his leadership skills and was always one of the first players to congratulate a teammate coming to the sideline as the bench emptied. With Squirrel White exiting FSU’s contest early with a hand injury, Robinson will need to carry an unproven WR room, but if he can match his performance from today, he could turn into the next great wide receiver in Tallahassee.
“It’s surreal,” A smiling Robinson told the Tallahassee media about his first touchdown catch, “Growing up, going to games, to be able to first catch a pass last week and now catch a touchdown this week, it’s a feeling like no other. I used to dream about this as a kid. All I know is 5-year old me would be very proud of myself right now.”
Thought 2: Freshman frenzy
The benefit of running up the score, besides the obvious, is allowing the next wave of players to receive their first taste of game action and begin to gain experience. As the scoreline widened, Norvell quickly went to his reserves and brought most of the 2025 freshman class to see the field for either the first time or their first extended action against ETAMU.
Offensively, Ousmane Kromah continues to wow every time he touches the ball. The South Georgia native scored his first touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Kevin Sperry, another freshman. Kromah also ripped off the longest run of his FSU career with a 20-yard scamper and holds a vision wise beyond his years. Speaking of Sperry, the Oklahoma native substituted Castellanos in the second quarter, a moderate surprise given the backup battle between Sperry and Brock Glenn. However, Sperry’s confidence and composure allowed him to run the offense with ease and resulted in a stat line of 4-5 passing with 61 yards and two touchdowns along with three carries for 22 yards. Jayvan Boggs also picked up his first touchdown pass, but made a tremendous block on Gavin Sawchuck’s touchdown pass that did not come up in the box score, but received plenty of praise. On the defensive side, DB Shamar Arnoux stepped up with Ja’Bril Rawls out of the game and recorded his first collegiate tackle, while S Max Redmon picked up three total tackles in Saturday’s blowout. After the game, Norvell touched on the importance of giving new players game reps.
“There’s no substitute for experience. You see things and the way that it operates, there was some good plays and some bad plays. You saw guys that really rose to the occasion and we’re going to be able to encourage and build off that. There’s also some critical corrections that we are going to have to make.”
Thought Three: Turning the ball over like it’s going out of style
I used this headline a lot last season, and usually for the negative, but FSU continues to flip the script, and the Noles created their first two takeaways of the 2025 campaign on Saturday. Earl Little Jr. and Jerry Wilson each recorded their first interception as a Seminole, which allowed FSU to put up 14 points off turnovers. Perhaps no two players deserved the first interceptions of the season more than those two. Little Jr. has been everywhere and everything all at once for this defense and is the straw that stirs the drink for Tony White. Wilson stepped on campus in the spring and immedately gave the cornerback room a veteran presence and a shutout DB that Patrick Surtain and Evan Cooper sorely needed. A key staple in White’s defense is the ability to turn teams over, and Florida State hopes that Saturday becomes the start of a trend on the defensive side.
