Florida State head coach Mike Norvell did his weekly beginning of the week press conference on Monday morning. Before addressing the embarrassing 44-20 loss to the Louisville Cardinals, he apologized for using profanity in his postgame presser.
"Good morning, everybody. Appreciate you being here. Coming off Friday night, as I said in postgame, I do want to take a minute to apologize. I was obviously frustrated during postgame and I said some words that I'd definitely like to have back, not something I want to do and to make sure that my language is what it needs to be in all situations."
He then spoke on what how the team couldn't recover after things got shaky and preparing for the Miami Hurricanes.
"As I said after the game, but I did feel as
we, as we, going into it, just the mindset and the preparation, were there. It just, as things, as the momentum swung and, some bad things happen, we did not handle that in a way that we’ve shown capabilities of. I mean, the week prior, you had a terrible first quarter and, obviously it wasn't, wasn't going the way that we wanted and guys overcame that. They continued to fight, they continued to do the things that were necessary and, we gotta, we gotta be consistent in the application of how to handle those situations. That did not, did not occur. It was a, very disappointing outcome and, obviously, a lot of things going into this week that we have to get corrected."
Here's everything Norvell said on Monday.
On what was said at halftime against Louisville and if they were shaken by end of the first half
There were some moments, you see it, you see where guys, it's the, the, what's the word I'm looking for, the, It's a buildup to try to, well, we gotta do, we gotta do. Then there becomes a sense of just take a deep breath, go out there, discipline, details, execution, go do that. Because you feel the desire, the want to, what it needs to look like, and that's where you, sometimes you just got to take a deep breath and focus on the one play. That's where you start seeing guys, well, I've got to do this or I've got to do that. I mean, where you have, 9 guys, doing a job and 1 guy trying to do something more and actually puts ourselves in a position that hurts the overall group. Just because they're just trying to do more rather than what is there, rather than the responsibility, rather than the job, the task.
That's those, those, you gotta, you gotta stay, stay balanced, you gotta stay focused, you gotta be able to go out there and, it's not like you haven't seen it or done it and it's been successful, but with the urgency that we feel to get it corrected. I mean, you just got to continue to trust your training, continue to trust the job. I mean, everybody is responsible for that, but that was something at halftime just trying to get guys to, hey, it's 1 play, it's 0-0 game. I mean, it started really well for us. Obviously, it's a bad quarter, but, that's where the opening kickoff of the second half, I mean, you talk about a couple of gut punch plays, you'd look at the sequence of not getting the 4th down, the 4th and 2, 97 yard touchdown and the kickoff return.
Those were sequenced, probably the things that they were most trying for our football team. It was unfortunate to have to go through that, but still, that's where you just, you got to be able to get back to trusting your eyes, trusting your feet, putting yourself in position to do your job. That's some guys are younger players that, probably the first time that they've been in some of those situations in a row where everything's stacking on you. But, we got to grow from it. We have to be better. They have, like I said, we've seen times where it hasn't gone as well as we want it to. We've seen a positive response. We've seen capabilities and be able to handle that. The two times, last two times on the road, I feel like we've done a good job of having a plan and preparation, but there's gonna be, you play good teams, capable teams, you have talented players, you're gonna get punched in the face. I mean, that's gonna happen.
You're gonna get it, there's gonna be the gut punch moment, but what you do with that and how you handle that, that's, those are things that we can control. We did not, we did not handle that as well as what we need to do. That was my, my message at halftime. It was not, hey, let me go in there. I mean, there's some, some animated conversations, but my conversation is trying to get the focus to the job. That's where, sometimes you can feel that press, it's just bringing, bringing guys to the focus of the job, the intensity, the passion to go get it done, but I mean, stay focused on your eyes, your hands and your feet.
On if players had the right demeanor and leadership on the sideline in the second half
That's one of the things you feel. You felt the momentum, and it was, I mean, there's times that a coach can yell, challenge, inspire for an action. But I mean, you want to see that across the board. It's the belief of, hey, one play is all it's going to take. Momentum swing, I always say, I'll say momentum affects the teams that allow it to be affected by it. I do believe that we've got great leaders on this team. I think we have guys that have great leadership ability, we've seen that on display throughout the course of this year, but that was in that situation there Friday night, none of us were good enough when it came to what was needed because we didn't apply it.
And that's something that we talk about as a football team, I talked about right after the game. Because you get 60 minutes and you don't get to go back and say, oh, I wish I would have done that, you have to be, it has to be there in the moment. And like I said, you're gonna get knocked down, you're gonna get punched in the face sometimes. There's some things that are not gonna go exactly like you pictured it going, but you gotta maintain your control, you got to maintain your focus, you'll give everything that you have and let that be an example for others. And sometimes if you got to say a word, say a word. Sometimes if you just gotta go out there and be the example of what it needs to look like, then be the example. Everybody's leadership shows up in a lot of different ways. But we all need to be better there Friday night.
On the offense starting out hot before things stalled out
I mean, there's specific factors on all things. I mean, there was, they had one really good call, blitzing into a GT counter, that created a TFL, followed up with that, we had a couple of missed opportunities, where we either space on a run or we had a drop ball or we had a missed opportunity with a drop in our rhythm and drop of our pass, something within the passing game, you had a protection issue, you can go through a lot of different factors, but in those times, that's where you got to focus in and it truly does come down to the details and you make the most of the opportunities you get, whether it's a throw, whether it's a run, whether it's a block, you got to be able to go out there and consistently execute at the highest priority level.
As a coach, you want to put your guys in the best position to be successful in those moments. There were a couple of play calls. I'm like, man, I would like to have that one back. There's a couple of play calls, there are a couple of plays that I was like, man, that's, that's, that is there and probably a really good situation, but it all has to play together. It's, there's not one thing you just put your hand on and say, well, this is it, but we had some missed opportunities and we've shown capabilities of being able to show consistency offensively, but we've also, in those situations, I mean, that's where our best has to show up and obviously it wasn't there Friday.
On if the team responds well to adversity and if they can do the same against Miami
I mean, I do. We've seen positive responses throughout the course of this season where things didn't, maybe weren't going the way that we wanted. That's, they're fully capable. I believe that they will. For what I get to see is, I get to see day to day how they come in the building, what work they're putting in, the attitude, the approach, the things that are being said within meetings, the things that are being said within, it's said and being done throughout the course of a practice.
It's not a motivational issue. I mean, these guys, you sit there and you watch how they go about it. Right now, it's handling the emotional swings that you see. They've shown the capability to do that really well. There's been times that we've not, we've got to be more consistent when it comes to that, but I fully do expect this team to rise up and to go perform at a very high level.
On how the team plays at home versus the road and what's the cause for it
I've been really pleased, you know, in the, the two road games we've had this year of how we've started, the way that we've come out, you know, that's, that has been, it has been something that we've struggled, you know, I've struggled with over the, the course of the last couple of years of just, you find yourself in a, in a, in a challenging, start. I mean, this, this group's come out and played really well. When I say that, how they prepared and how they worked, the emotional maturity and consistency throughout the course of those games.
That's what, that's what we've got, that's what we've got to build upon. you, you see. I, I look back at the Alabama game, obviously, the last two minutes of the first half did not go how we wanted. The first drive of the 3rd quarter, offense went down, put us up, there was a positive response in that. We didn't carry that over well enough through the, through the rest of the game, to be successful, but you see those moments where the capability, the, we need the consistency in that on all three phases, that's where, Friday night, it was, there was not one specific, human being or not one specific, but because we all had opportunities.
We all had, had an opportunity to be able to rise up in the moment, we've got to control the things that we can control. There's, there's challenges that are going to present themselves, on the road, but, we've got to be able to, to handle, manage those, then be able to work through them. I, I do believe this team is, capable of it. it's just, we got to go, we gotta do it.
On how he's being evaluated by the interim athletic director
Our administration, they have, they're fully aware of the things that we're doing, the way that we're working, obviously the results that you see on the field, and that's not…Nobody was, nobody was happy with Friday night. Extremely disappointed in what that was. I understand that this process for us is about the best of Florida State football showing up and consistently playing to a extremely high level.
When you have a, an outcome like we did the other night, man, that's, nobody's happy with that. I don't, I don't need somebody to tell me about my evaluation of a game when, I mean, I, they're, they're not gonna be a stronger critic of what our evaluation was, than what I am. At the end of the day, that's my focus. My focus is what are, what are we doing for our best to show up? What am I doing to help prepare our players to be the best they can be? What are we doing to, for the best Florida State football team consistently, Presenting itself, not only through the course of a game, but as we're building throughout the course of the season.
That's my focus. If anybody wants, there's a desire to have more conversation, obviously, the administration can do that. I've got a lot of, I understand everybody's roles, everybody's responsibilities, everybody trying to make sure that we're pushing forward for this football team and this football program to be the best that it can be. That's where all of my focus is staying.
On being under control while being on the hot seat
Everybody has a job to do. I mean, if I'm, you know, if I'm sitting in your seat, you ask the questions, you challenge the results because, you know, I mean, are the results, have the results been good enough? No. Haven't been. My job as a head football coach is to make sure the results are better, that we're doing everything in our power. You know, I respect, I mean, I've told you guys, I mean, I respect the job that you do. Do I always do you always the questions that get asked or do I always maybe the opinions that might be expressed?
I mean, that's not, you guys get to form your opinion just like I have an opinion of what it looks like every single day and the things that we need to do for players to get better, for us to put them in the best position. You can get caught up in so many different things. I mean, I've got to stay as, I've got to stay balanced, focused on being able to, to be true to myself, to this team, to the responsibility I have leading this program, that I give everything I have. If I get distracted in trying to defend myself or to tell you every reason of why things happen this way or that way, then I'm wasting time.
I mean, I hate for this team, the players I coach, the coaches that I work with, for the fan base, for the administration. I hate to go through disappointing results. I hate it. Right, because I know the sacrifices, I know the work, I know the continued push for that growth and that improvement to be there, you know, but I understand the frustrations. Oh, I'm frustrated, right?
But if I can just sit there and if all I'm doing is just focus on the other things thenI feel like I'm doing a disservice to the job. I'm doing a disservice to the people that I represent and I'm gonna put everything I have into getting it better and to make sure that it, that we get back to fulfilling the expectation that we have within the program as well as the expectation that's surrounding the program. No, I mean, I understand, I understand it all, I don't need to try to defend against it because rightfully, there's rightful frustrations. I'm living in it with you.
On solutions to fix FSU's run defense
The first thing I go and I look at is, you know, is the effort. Is this, is this something where guys are pulling back? Is this something, through the course of the game, you look at the end, you still feel guys, they're throwing their bodies around, now where they're throwing their bodies not always, is not consistent enough to the scheme. We want to be a defense that sets the edge. We want to make, have an edge to our defense. We're not doing that good enough.
There's some things that are scheme-related need to be better. That has been challenged. That's been, I'll say that, it's a challenge to coaches, it's a challenge to players. You have roles, you have responsibilities, do your job. We all have to be better when it comes to that because run defense, it is, it's 11 guys playing as one. You can have all the right intentions and thinking that, well, I'm gonna go here to make this play. Will you just open up, something that, you got, A handful, 10 other guys on the field expecting somebody to be a, be at a place. When it all has to come, and then there's times that, we've got to be better in our, in our distribution of players and making sure that we are putting our guys in the best position.
Tony (White)'s never been somebody that, has, has just pointed the blame to him. I mean, he'll tell you whenever, when he's got to be better. But you can also, you can see the positive and you're calling a call in the 1st quarter that looks a certain way, and then in the 3rd quarter, same call, same look, same situation, but a little deviation and it causes a massive ripple effect to an explosive play. That's where we all can grow in that. It's midway through the season. Right, and my expectation is to see extreme growth and extreme improvement, and that's where we're all being challenged. What I appreciate is I appreciate the mentality of the guys I have on that, on the defensive side of the ball, the guys that I have on the offensive side of the guys and the the guys that are in special teams, right? The ownership, the ownership of it is great. Now it's, you can own it.
Now it's, now we got to fix it. You could say it all, all the right things, but you, it needs to be done. Players, coaches, everybody involved, and that has to show up. It can't show up for just a quarter. It can't show up for even a half. I mean, we gotta see it. We gotta see it come together. When you say you want a certain identity, you want it to look a certain way, and that's, that's what has to present itself. That has been, my challenge to myself, my challenge to our staff, and my challenge to our players is that, if we're saying it's supposed to look this way, then that, that's, that's what it has to be, and it's, it's all of our responsibility.
On Miami quarterback Darien Mensah
He's playing as good as any, any quarterback in the country. I mean, you look at him, his understanding of, I guess what being asked to do, extremely accurate, gets the ball out of his hands. He's tough to pressure, he's really good against the blitz. He's good versus zone coverage, man coverage. He's been able to operate at a high level. This is not his first year of doing that.
He obviously was successful last year at Duke and at Tulane before that, he's a guy that's a very talented quarterback, but he's able to make things happen as well with his movement, but just his timing. And I guess the precision of what he's able to do in the passing game, throwing to really good people as well having a well-balanced attack with what they do in the run game. It's a challenging offense to defend with him and the surrounding pieces, but that's why they've had the success that they've had.
I mean, he's, he's as good as what they've had, Cam (Ward) was great being able to extend plays and played with poise and confidence, the things that he could do to just extend and make things happen. Obviously, quarterback last year was good in managing the offense, I mean, Mensah’s really, really good. I mean, it's a I got a lot of respect for the work that he's done, obviously what they, how they try to utilize him.
On getting Duce Robinson more involved
It's a combination of a variety of different factors. There's times that we've, you know, that we want to do, there's times that he has been targeted. There's times that we've got to, whether it's a read or whether it's a protection issue or some things that keep the ball from getting to him. Then there's times that teams have made a heightened commitment to taking him away and you've seen, whether it's Micahi (Danzy) or (Jayvan) Boggs, have really good opportunities with that.
We need Duce Robinson to be a major impact for this team and I feel he is, and he will continue to be that for the rest of the season. Do we want more production with opportunities? Absolutely. It's being able to get him more opportunities. As well as making sure that we're capitalizing on all things as it plays out throughout the course of the game. He's an incredible player, I think he's absolutely grown in all facets of being a receiver, and I'm excited for what this back half of the season will be for him because he's definitely a guy that we count on in a very high capacity.
Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Everything Mike said about losing to Louisville, playing Miami
