The Florida State football program has posted just seven victories over the past two campaigns under head coach Mike Norvell.

In conference play, Seminoles fans have cheered and basked in the glory of victory only three times.

So much for tradition.

The garnet and gold lost its luster, and one national college football pundit, Josh Pate, does not have any faith that the Seminoles can turn around two years’ worth of gridiron misfortune.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Pate dropped his opinions regarding the Seminoles football team like an anvil from 30,000 feet.

Florida State’s projected win total for the 2026 season is 6.5. Pate is skeptical. The Seminoles play two of the top teams in college football for 2026, SMU and Alabama, before the end of September. 

That is the kind of monkey wrench that can destroy a season before it really gets going. Florida State also travels to play Louisville and Miami, and they will host Clemson, Virginia, and Florida.

An Auburn transfer, Daniels also played at Stanford. Daniels played for alleged offensive guru Hugh Freeze last season on The Plains, but was stuck behind Jackson Arnold on the depth chart. 

In his college career, Daniels’ touchdown/interception ratio is 24/22, which is a good reason why Daniels is not high on Pate’s list of top quarterbacks going into the 2026 season. Billy Joel’s “Keeping the Faith” is definitely not on Pate’s playlist concerning Daniels’ ability as a starting quarterback. 

After 15 sessions during spring practice, Norvell saw all he needed to see in Daniels to name his QB1 starter for the upcoming season. No quarterback competition to speak of. Kevin Sperry will hold a clipboard, as will talented JUCO signal-caller Malachi Marshall, unless Norvell calls their number if and when things go south for Daniels.

Norvell was somehow given one more season patrolling the sidelines at Doak Campbell Stadium, much to Pate’s chagrin. He will call the plays after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn announced his retirement at the conclusion of last season. 

After leading the Seminoles to those seven wins over the past two seasons, Pate is not so sure that Florida State can navigate a gauntlet of a schedule that is front-loaded, to be sure. Norvell could be a lame duck coach before the calendar changes to October. 

The Seminoles will have talent on both sides of the ball in 2026, but they also had talent in 2025 and 2024 and were undefeated in 2023. They were left out of the College Football Playoff and then got embarrassed by the Georgia Bulldogs in a 60-point loss in the Orange Bowl. All the above have left a bad taste in Pate’s mouth, as well as in the mouths of others in the media. 

Is there a new coaching search on the horizon for the Seminole football program? Pate believes there will be. The media and the fans will know for sure by the end of September.

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