The Florida State football program suffered a brutal 63-3 loss in last weekend’s Orange Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Seminoles played without 29 scholarship players due to opt-outs and transfers, leaving the team shorthanded at multiple positions. Starting a third-string quarterback, down their top three offensive skill players, and without nine starters on defense, Florida State got rolled by the powerhouse Bulldogs. However, head coach Mike Norvell spoke to his team following the loss, delivering a heartfelt speech to his team after a remarkable 13-1 season.
“I told you since the very first day I came here that hard work does not guarantee success. It doesn’t, and it never will, but it will absolutely put you in the best position to achieve it,” said Norvell during his inspiring speech after the Orange Bowl. Novell took the frontman job with Florida State in 2020, and after two subpar seasons, he led the Seminoles to a 10-3 record in 2022. Norvell and Florida State entered this postseason with a perfect 13-0 record.
Norvell continued, saying, “We got some remarkable men sitting here in front of me. The work you put in, the decision that you made, just to say yes
The Florida State football program became the first Power-Five team to go undefeated and win their conference title, not to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. Like most teams that don’t make the four-team postseason field, opt-outs and transfers decimated their squad heading into bowl season.
When you’re hurt, and you’re angry, and you’re sad, the easiest thing to do is pull back and stop; that’s what the world wants you to do, but there are only a select few people that are willing to freaking fight.”
The College Football Playoff committee picked the one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide and the one-loss Texas Longhorns over the Seminoles for the final two spots in the four-team postseason field vying for a national title. Neither the Crimson Tide nor Longhorns won on Monday, meaning the Washington Huskies and Michigan Wolverines will battle in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The 2023 Florida State Seminoles will go down in history as one of the biggest snubs in the CFP era. They struggled offensively in their final two games after losing star quarterback Jordan Travis to a gruesome leg injury.
