It’s going to take a lot of winning for the anxiety around Mike Norvell and the Florida State football team to abate.
The Seminoles are less than a month away from kicking off the 2026 college football season, Norvell’s seventh in Tallahassee. While there have been undeniable high points over his tenure, most notably the 13-0 start in 2023 that ended with an unprecedented snub from the College Football Playoff, the lows have been among the worst in program history. Norvell has just two winning seasons after going 5-7 in 2025, one that started with promise after a win over Alabama sparked a top-10 ranking.
Those good times lasted three weeks before a four-game losing skid left FSU in the wilderness again. There is hope for this year’s squad, none for more than standout receiver Duce Robinson, who chose to put off the NFL draft for one more season. He’ll catch passes from Ashton Daniels, who played four games at Auburn last year after three seasons at Stanford. How playmakers like Robinson, Micahi Danzy and Ousmane Kromah work in the scheme of new offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. (and well as whatever assistant Tom Herman will provide) could determine Norvell’s future.
FSU will have two games, including a potentially tricky ACC opener against SMU, before shipping out to Tuscaloosa for a rematch with the Crimson Tide. After that, fans will have the latter half of October marked off on their calendars with a rivalry showdown at Miami and a visit from Clemson on the docket. If they remain below water at that point, the team might decide it’s worth the buyout to change coaches ahead of the season-ending matchup with Florida.
Here’s a look through Florida State’s schedule for the 2026 season, as well as the CFP schedule.
FSU football schedule 2026
All times Eastern.
*- ACC game
College Football Playoff schedule 2026
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How much can FSU football improve in 2026? Can Mike Norvell save it?
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
