Explaining Florida State’s mentality since College Football Playoff snub
There’s been a certain mentality for Florida State since the Seminoles were snubbed from the College Football Playoff last year.
Fair or not, FSU went 13-0, won the ACC and met the criteria for the CFP. Isiah Thomas would certainly agree. But due to an injury to Jordan Travis, it shook faith in Florida State.
Warchant’s Ira Schoffel broke down what everyone in and around the program were thinking then and now.
“I was worried about it at the time. I’ll be honest because you know, it wasn’t just that the guys were mad at the College Football Playoff committee,” Schoffel said on Andy Staples On3. “I think there was some feeling that they were let down because they bought into what Mike Norvell told them and what the staff told them. Just win all the games and they can’t keep you out of the playoff …
“It’s never happened, but then it did happen. So there was a little period of time where you started wondering, okay, are these guys going to question Mike Norvell? Are they going to question the staff? Are they going to question the school, but I’ve been really impressed since that time.”
Sure, Florida State was embarrassed by Georgia in the Orange Bowl after injuries and opt outs. But since then, it’s been a positive upswing for the Seminoles.
“They rebounded quickly,” Schoffel said. “You know, obviously the bowl game was a debacle. And I understand why a lot of those guys didn’t want to play, they wanted to get healthy for the draft and they were frustrated. So but once they got past that, you saw them, the way they went after the players that went out from the portal, the way they retained guys. There were concerns about some of the guys on that team whether they might leave, but they retained almost all of them.”
Norvell is certainly happy with the progress he’s seen from FSU’s fresh faces.
“I’ve been a head coach going to my ninth year, and I usually get a pretty good sense of a team by how the practice before the Spring Showcase or game in previous years, what their approach to it is, and seeing that mentality,” Norvell said after the team’s intrasquad scrimmage. “I love the way the guys competed, and I thought it was a really good day. (There were) some good plays on both sides.
“I’ve been pleased with the steps and the growth that we’ve seen from a lot of individuals, and guys that have embraced the challenge, guys that have taken ownership. There’s still so much for us to get better at.”