TALLAHASSEE — The optimism for Florida State was more than just the prospect of improvement. There were six games remaining against unranked opponents, including struggling and shorthanded Stanford.
Optimism took a punch to the gut late Saturday night and early Sunday morning as the Seminoles fell short of the goal line on the game’s final play — but really fell short for a full game in a 20-13 loss on the West Coast. And the Seminoles could only blame themselves after 13 penalties.
“To have that discipline and focus with everything that we do within the program, to emphasize some of those situations and some of those critical things … 13 penalties is awful,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “A lot of those were focus penalties.”
FSU (3-4, 0-4 ACC) goes into the bye week in a tailspin, having lost four straight games and with mounting pressure on Norvell. The coach is now 1-11 in ACC games the last two years.
Here are five things learned from FSU’s shocking loss at Stanford:
Norvell’s hot seat is scalding
Norvell has an estimated $58 million buyout on a contract that runs through 2031. His worst loss was the 2021 defeat to then-FCS Jacksonville State, and he later had a guarantee-game loss to Memphis (his former school) in 2024 as part of a 2-10 season.
But now back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Stanford have dampened optimism for a turnaround. It’s plausible the Seminoles could bounce back and become bowl-eligible or beat a rival — games at Clemson and at Florida loom in November. But will a 6-6 record and a rivalry win be enough to save Norvell? And is that even attainable?
Penalties added up to crushing negatives
The Seminoles avoided a costly turnover, although they turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter on Saturday. But FSU committed 13 penalties, and nearly all were mental mistakes.
On offense, there were two delay-of-game calls and two false starts. On defense, there was an offsides on fourth-and-1 that continued a Stanford drive and a roughing-the-passer infraction. And on special teams, there was an offsides on a field-goal attempt that instead gave the Cardinal a first down — a drive that resulted in a touchdown.
All of the mental mistakes added up. The players are at fault, but discipline is on the coaches, too.
FSU couldn’t turn drives into points
Stanford’s defense had allowed 30 points per game coming into Saturday. The Seminoles had 12 drives against the Cardinal and had more three-and-outs (four) than scoring drives (three).
FSU managed a touchdown and two field goals but also had eight drives that ended in Stanford territory. The Seminoles were just 2 of 4 on red-zone trips, which included a touchdown, a field goal and a pair of fourth-quarter drives where they were stopped on Stanford’s 13 with 5:21 to go and then on the goal line as time ran out.
Stanford couldn’t run — but did enough vs. FSU
The Cardinal played a half without starting quarterback Ben Gulbranson and running back Micah Ford left with an injury after rushing eight times for 25 yards. Facing Stanford reserves, FSU still allowed 132 rushing yards on 42 carries.
While the 3.1-yard average is very low, FSU couldn’t get Stanford off the field often enough. And it was glaring in Stanford’s 13-play, 94-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Stanford ran nine times, culminating in Cole Tabb’s 1-yard touchdown run. Tabb finished with 28 carries for 118 yards.
Seminoles are taking opponents lightly
There’s no other conclusion given the penalties, failed offensive drives and defensive struggles vs. the run: FSU players aren’t giving opponents enough respect. The Seminoles were double-digit favorites against Pittsburgh and Stanford, yet they have suffered losses that are attributable to turnovers and penalties.
FSU has November games ahead against Wake Forest, at Clemson, Virginia Tech, at NC State (on a Friday) and at Florida. There should be no concerns about respect in a rivalry game. But will FSU continue to take opponents like Wake Forest (4-2), Virginia Tech (2-5) and NC State (4-3) lightly?
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/19/five-things-learned-from-fsus-loss-at-stanford/
