Florida State head coach Mike Norvell didn’t sugarcoat Saturday’s 28-22 loss to third-ranked Miami, a defeat that left the 18th-ranked Seminoles 3-2 and searching for answers.
“I’m sorry for the outcome,” Norvell opened. “I know how much this game means…to our team, to the individuals, coaches, players, everybody all involved, our past players, to our program. You come up short in this one…it hurts.”
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He called the rivalry setback “utterly disappointing in every way,” blaming turnovers and penalties for undoing an otherwise competitive effort. “Miami did a good job. They protected the football, hit some explosive plays. We fell behind early, and some of the mistakes were just too much to overcome.”
Florida State finished with three turnovers to Miami’s zero, including two interceptions and a lost fumble that set up 14 Hurricane points. “We can’t lose the turnover margin,” Norvell said. “It’s being emphasized, but with emphasis there has to be application. When you’re minus-three [and allow] 14 points off turnovers…it’s a killer.”
Norvell defended his early fourth-and-eight gamble that led to a Miami touchdown one play later. “Wanted to be aggressive…we were a little outside of field-goal range. You don’t want the interception, obviously, but those are decisions that get made in real time. That was the one I made.”
Quarterback Tommy Castellanos threw for 272 yards on 25-of-45 passing but was picked twice. “He showed tremendous heart,” Norvell said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to do it all for this team.”
Despite doubling Miami’s first-downs (28-14) and rushing for 132 yards, Norvell said there’s no solace. “I don’t ever carry a silver lining for a loss. You win or you lose,” he said. “We’ve got a talented team, but we’ve got to be better. It’s about our response now and how we apply the correction so we don’t have to have this experience again.”
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