Mike Norvell mentions reasons for defensive lapses after loss to Pittsburgh, but they’re ones that simply shouldn’t be happening at this point
FSU’s defense was taken to task on Saturday against Pitt.
Florida State’s flickering College Football Playoff hopes went up in smoke on Saturday afternoon in a 34-31 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers at Doak Campbell Stadium, as the Seminoles fell to 3-3 on the season and 0-3 in ACC play.
For the third straight game, Florida State’s defense was beaten soundly, this time through the air and on the ground by Pitt QB Mason Heintschel. The freshman gave FSU’s defense fits all game, completing 12 of 19 attempts for 321 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. He also slipped away from FSU’s defense time and again for extra yards, totaling 64 yards on the ground. Pitt totaled 155 rushing yards in the contest.
After the game, Mike Norvell was asked about lane discipline and the issues with the run defense. His answer was, well, problematic.
Mike Norvell mentions urgency and a lack of communication when talking about defensive lapses in loss to Pitt
“There are some moments whether it’s a game or twist, the urgency and just the overall continued – understanding the importance of where you have to be,” Norvell said. “Sometimes you might have a desire, you’ve got to be relentless to get there, and we’ve got to make sure that – there were some of those situations that showed up. There were some times, obviously, that there was a lack of communication or guys that need to be a little bit cleaner in understanding things that we work for that to show up in the course of the game. There were a couple of times where they got us, good job on their offensive line, or quarterback, where he worked to that allowed it to extend.
“But it’s unacceptable to have as many, I guess, easy yards as the quarterback stepping up and scrambling the way he did. We’ve got to be better in our rush lanes.”
When you’re in year six and game six of that sixth year, having issues that include words and phrases like “urgency”, “understanding the importance of where you have to be”, “relentless”, and “lack of communication”, that’s obviously not good and does not reflect well on Norvell and his coaching staff.
And it’s the second time in three games that FSU has had issues with containing a running quarterback. Virginia’s Chandler Morris have the Noles’ defense fits, scrambling for three touchdowns as part of a 211-yard, 4 touchdown effort from Virginia’s rushing attack in Virginia’s 46-38 double overtime win.
We’re now at the halfway point of the 2025 season, and what started off as a potentially memorable bounce back year after a convincing win over Alabama now is heading off a cliff. And with the explanation that Norvell is giving after losses, one has to have serious doubts that he and his staff are capable of getting things back on track the rest of the way.
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