Perfect Red Zone Weapon Under Utilized by Seminoles' Norvell

Florida State coach Mike Norvell has left points on the bench instead of putting them on the scoreboard. That has cost the Seminoles this season.

So far this season, kicker Gabe Panikowski is a perfect 27-of-27 on PATs. He is 6-of-6 on field goals, and is tied for No. 1 in the ACC in that category.

Only one other team in the league matches the Seminoles in kicking production.

Norvell just does not (or will not) use Panikowski as the weapon that he is, and can be. Out of seven games played this season, Panikowski has only seen action in four games.

Against both New Mexico State and Central Arkansas, Panikowski converted on season highs of two field goals.

Actually, Panikowski has not been called on to attempt a field goal since the win over Virginia.

Panikowski, for reasons unknown, did not get called upon to attempt any field goals against Alabama, Louisville or Miami. Florida State lost all three of those games.

Blind faith in his vanilla offense has failed Norvell miserably all season.

Four downs and goal to go against both Louisville and Miami resulted in a failure to score by Florida State, either on a touchdown or a field goal.

That coaching hubris by Norvell cost the Seminoles points at critical times in those losses.

Kicking a field goal would have kept the momentum on the Florida State sideline.

Panikowski is second on the team in scoring with 45 points, behind only quarterback Ashton Daniels.

For the season, Panikowski has a long conversion of 46 yards. However, with his leg strength, Panikowski has converted even longer kicks.

As a highly-decorated kicker at the FCS-member Idaho State, Panikowski was a first-team FCS All-American.

Further, he won the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the best kicker in the FCS. Panikoswki booted a 55-yard field goal against Northern Arizona.

That kick was the fourth-longest in Idaho State history.

Panikowski transferred to Oklahoma State in 2025, but he was not called upon to kick there either. Oklahoma State finished 1-11 in 2025.

With five games remaining, Norvell has got to use Panikowski more as the scoring weapon that he is.

That page in the playbook that covers four downs and goal to go needs to be ripped out and tossed in the trash. Trot Panikowski out there and take those three points.

Leaving those points off the scoreboard is just another in a long list of indictments of Norvell’s coaching since the start of the 2024 season.