Nobody fooled college football fans better than Florida State at the beginning of the season. Mike Norvell’s Seminoles beat the L out of Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama and had everybody convinced they were about to run the table. Fast forward to December, and it’s the same old 2024 version of the Seminoles – just a team that threw more money at the offseason only to end up 5–7. A former FSU legend waited for the perfect moment to fire a stray at Mike Norvell in a “we’ve officially lost hope” type of way.

Earlier today, Florida State University’s women’s soccer team won the national championship after beating Stanford 1–0. Huge shout-out to Wrianna Hudson for that clutch 87th-minute goal. And honestly, this is just another Sunday afternoon for Seminoles soccer at this point. After the game, when the FSU football account hopped on X to congratulate the soccer squad for the natty, the New York Giants’ $8 million man and Heisman winner delivered a reality-check stray with one retweet:

“Thank you @FSUSoccer for you consistently being our best football team over the years!”

Yeah, he meant exactly what you think he meant. A valid stray, if you ask. Since 2014, FSU soccer has won five national championships, made eight College Cup appearances (basically the Final Four of college soccer), and hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament in 26 straight seasons. They’ve also been bullying the ACC for the last five years. They’re literally the peak Alabama of college soccer.

Meanwhile, Florida State football can’t even make eye contact, let alone compete. They haven’t won a national title since 2013 – the year Jameis himself carried them to the mountaintop.

It genuinely feels like the Seminoles sold the program’s soul for that one natty. Since then, it’s been a couple of 10-win seasons followed by a 2-win season in 2024 and a 5-win season in 2025, missing a bowl game twice in a row.

The reason? Mike Norvell and everything that comes with him. One of the biggest issues is his all-or-nothing transfer portal gambling addiction. For the last three to four years, he’s been buying players in bulk. It’s been a hit-or-miss situation. It worked in 2022 and 2023, and it completely backfired in 2024 and 2025.

Even after going 7–17 over the last two years, the program backed Mike Norvell heading into the 2026 season. Norvell’s continued presence as head coach confuses a lot of folks around Tallahassee. But it makes sense financially: the man has a $58-ish million buyout.

Pulling the trigger without having a legit replacement ready would set the program back another two or three years. So instead, Norvell now enters this offseason and next season sitting directly on the hot seat.

Fans, alumni, and even former players like Winston are begging to see Florida State return to its glory days. With Mike Norvell at the helm and the playing field getting even, it feels borderline impossible unless his WR corps works out.

Can Mike Norvell’s ‘Elite’ wideout corps save him next season?

Florida State locked in every commitment from its 2026 recruiting class during the early signing period, and the wide receiver group might be the best part of the haul. The Seminoles signed six receivers, nearly 20% of their entire class, and Mike Norvell couldn’t stop praising the group during his press conference. He called the receivers “elite”.

The headliner of the group has to be the four-star Jasen Lopez from Chaminade-Madonna, who just ended his high school career with eye-popping numbers: 316 catches, 5,316 yards, and 61 touchdowns. FSU also added four-stars Devin Carter, Efrem White, and Brandon Bennett. All of them were major producers at the high school level.

Carter is a legacy recruit whose father played at FSU, White is one of the top athletes in the class, and Bennett averaged big-play numbers at American Heritage. The class is rounded out by three-stars Darryon Williams and Jonah Winston, another legacy addition and the younger brother of Jameis Winston. Irony.

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With returning receivers like Micahi Danzy, Lawayne McCoy, and freshman standout Jayvan Boggs already fighting for playing time, Florida State is setting up one of the most competitive battles at the position heading into the 2026 season.