Florida State’s Week 2 bye comes at a pivotal time for Mike Norvell. Coming off a rough opener with SMU ahead and Alabama looming, the extra week could give the Noles time to regroup or it could allow the momentum to fade.
After struggling in their season opener, Florida State (1-0) opens up ACC play in week 1 and with an SEC matchup looming and Mike Norvell firmly in the hot seat, the bye week in week 2 could prove to be either an advantage or a disadvantage for the Seminoles and Mike Norvell.
If Florida State beats SMU, the Noles will head into the Alabama game riding high. But the bye gives them time to lose the momentum they would have carried directly into the matchup. The time off, instead of heading directly into the Alabama game, could be a disadvantage for the Noles.
The one thing Norvell has been good at in his tenure is getting his teams to build momentum after a big win.
“I think he's a really good motivator when things are good,” Danny Kanell said. “I think he holds his players' attention to practice every single day.”
If they lose to SMU, the extra time gives Norvell the advantage of having time to right the ship and prepare for Alabama. After the New Mexico State win, the Noles had several issues that needed to be cleaned up, and a loss to SMU would only add to those problems. While Norvell has shown he can motivate the team when things are going well, the opposite has been true when adversity hits.
“The issue that he's had is he has not been able to get his team to respond to adversity, to a bounce-back mentality,” Kanell said.
Following a loss, heading into a bye could increase the pressure on Norvell and magnify Florida State’s on-field problems, making a win over Alabama even more important to change the narrative surrounding the season.
David Pollack, the former ESPN College GameDay host and current host of See Ball, pointed out several areas where Florida State failed to impress against New Mexico State, including the pass rush, the secondary’s coverage, the offensive line’s ability to consistently move defenders, the offense's lack of rhythm, and the defensive line’s ability to consistently get into the backfield.
If the Noles show minimal improvement in the SMU game, those struggles will be magnified that much more.
Another possible disadvantage, regardless of what Florida State does in the SMU game, is that not heading directly into the Alabama game gives the Crimson Tide two games to find their offensive rhythm with a new starting quarterback. That time also allows them to work through some of the early kinks, considering 23 players transferred out while 19 new faces transferred in.
The bye after just two games leaves the Noles facing a daunting five-week stretch, with matchups against three Top 25 teams: No. 13 Alabama, No. 24 Louisville, and in-state rival Miami, the preseason ACC favorite. They also play a Virginia team that looked very good in Week Zero. The only game Florida State is expected to win during this stretch is a Sep. 26 matchup against Central.
It’s a gauntlet of a stretch that could quickly snowball into another disappointing season for Florida State. Something that has become a trend under Norvell, with four of the program’s five four-game losing streaks coming during his tenure.
Hypothetically, a bye week somewhere in the middle of that stretch instead of after just two games could have given the Noles a chance to regroup and recalibrate rather than being forced to push forward without a break.
Ultimately, a week-two bye week could be exactly what Florida State needs or another problem for Florida State to overcome depending on how the SMU game plays out. A win over SMU and the Noles could lose the momentum heading into the Alabama game. A loss gives Florida State time to address problems; it also gives Norvell time to address uncomfortable questions about his future. Either way, when Florida State returns to the field to face Alabama, the gauntlet will begin, and it could be the defining stretch of Florida State's season and Norvell’s tenure.
