11/15/2020 football Edit

Mike Norvell credits NC State, cites youth in 38-22 loss to the Wolfpack

Justin H. Williams • TheWolfpackCentral

Staff Writer

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell had a tall task in year one of a rebuilding process in Tallahassee.

What was once a national powerhouse as one of two ACC programs to win a national championship in the past decade has now fallen to the bottom ranks of the conference.

Norvell, now the third Seminoles head coach in four seasons, was hired to return Florida State into a nationally competitive college football team.

He may be able to accomplish that, but such goals seem like a distant possibility after FSU lost its third consecutive ACC game by double digits Saturday in a 38-22 loss to NC State.

The Wolfpack (5-3, 5-3 ACC) has exceeded preseason expectations by already claiming more victories in eight contests than its four-win campaign in 2019.

“First off, congratulations to NC State, they did a good job tonight,” Norvell said. “They made the plays necessary to be successful.

Florida State Seminoles football Mike Norvell — First-year Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is now 0-1 against NC State in ACC play. (Ethan Hyman, The News & Observer)

Now it seems that Florida State is in a somewhat similar position to where the Pack was one year ago, forced to play several first and second-year players ahead of schedule due to injuries and roster availability.

“I was proud of our team, the way they competed to the end,” Norvell said. “There were a lot of young guys that were getting their first major experience throughout the year. It was a challenge, especially when we got behind. Those guys competed, really at all positions. A lot of those young offensive linemen are continuing to grow up.”

Florida State was successful on fourth downs, completing five of seven attempts in those situations. But the Seminoles struggled on third downs to get in those positions, many of which came when the game was already out of reach.

“Third downs were huge in this game,” Norvell said. “We weren't very good in third-down situations. We were able to convert some there on fourth down but we missed the one early in the contest.”

“Give credit to NC State but there's a lot of things that are still showing up that's costing us throughout the course of a football game. We've got to continue to grow, we've got to continue to develop. We're playing a lot of young guys that are learning these experiences firsthand and it's a challenge.”

Florida State allowed the Wolfpack to be highly effective in the passing game, particularly between the seams.

Redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman, a former transfer from Tallahassee, had 265 passing yards and three touchdowns, both career-highs. He also ran for 10 yards and a touchdown.

A bulk of that production was generated from redshirt junior slot receiver Thayer Thomas. Thomas grabbed 11 receptions for 135 yards, both career-highs, and two touchdowns, which tied for his career-best. Most of those opportunities came in the middle of the field, many of which with Thomas unaccounted for.

“There are different things that are contributing factors for that,” Norvell said. “You had a couple of big plays there early where we absolutely need to be taking away a certain leverage and we go to do a better job of being able to execute that. With pressure throws, knowing that the ball is going to be coming out.

“Then on the flip side, there was one big play with the quarterback scramble that we weren't able to finish on the sack and he was able to work up, which really put run-pass conflict with with one of our backers in underneath coverage.”