Florida State Football: Mike Norvell addresses final defensive call in stunning loss to Jacksonville State

Even though Florida State lost their first game against Notre Dame, morale was high for Mike Norvell and his team after they pushed the Fighting Irish to the limit. Additionally, the return of McKenzie Milton made it a positive, memorable night. 

Now, all the goodwill earned from Week One has been eviscerated. Not only did Florida State shockingly lose to Jacksonville State, they blew it on the final play of the game.

Following the demoralizing loss, Norvell addressed the final defensive call from the team’s stunning loss.

“It was a two-deep, man under,” said Norvell. “Make sure we try to get pressure on the quarterback. Still having coverage over the top. They still had one timeout. To not give up something quickly underneath or in the intermediate passing game with the timeout so I did not go into an immediate prevent. But, you know — the receiver got behind us.”

Moreover, Norvell was dejected throughout his postgame press conference. The disbelief was evident in his face, still not being able to grasp the way Florida State just lost.

On the play, Jacksonville State wide receiver Damond Philyaw-Johnson got behind the defense. Following the catch, he eluded two tacklers to walk into the end zone for a 59-yard score as the clock ran to zero.

Prior to the game-winning play, Florida State couldn’t separate themselves from Jacksonville State. Throughout the game, penalties and ineffective play stopped Norvell’s team from putting the game away.

“It’s embarrassing.”

Norvell decided to make Milton his starting quarterback for the game, but the man with one of the most improbable stories in all of football didn’t play well. In the game, Milton completed 18 of 31 passes, throwing for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Following the loss, Milton didn’t pull any punches about how devastating the loss was.

“It’s embarrassing,” Milton said. “We’ve got to own that. That’s who we are. We lost to Jacksonville State. We’re 0-2, so all we can do is look forward.”

Norvell and Milton have some soul searching to do prior to the Seminoles next game, when they go on the road to face Wake Forest. Evidently, Milton sees the writing on the wall — saying that Florida State will lose every game if they put themselves in positions like yesterday.

“If we keep putting ourselves in positions like that, we’ll probably lose every game,” Milton said.

“They are all frustrated.”

Finally, Norvell looked ahead, saying his team needs to represent the program better. While his coaching staff and players are frustrated, his focus is on righting the ship.

“Our focus has to be on us,” Norvell said. “We’ve got to go out there and make sure that we’re doing the things that are necessary to represent this program in the way it deserves to be represented. That needs to be our sole focus. Guys are extremely upset. They are all frustrated, as we are as a staff.”

Anybody associated with Florida State — fans, players, coaches and everybody in-between, is frustrated with yesterday’s loss. Time will tell how Mike Norvell and his team responds to it.