Winners win while losers complain about the referees.
Let's put Mike Norvell in that second category after he decided to put a call in to the ACC Head of Officials to complain about the holding call that nullified an FSU touchdown pass in the second overtime of the Seminoles' 43-35 loss to the Miami Hurricanes.
It won't accomplish anything, and I doubt Norvell will even get an apology. Let's be honest, no official should throw a flag on that play. Was it a hold? Maybe, but it certainly wasn't egregious enough for me to say, 'Oh yeah, that was definitely a hold'. That being said, Norvell needs to grow up because his actions and failure to take responsibility for the many poor decisions he made over four quarters (and the past three years) had far more to do with what happened this past Saturday.
NEW: Florida State's Mike Norvell says he sent in and called the head of ACC officials over the "absolute joke" of a holding call that wiped away a Hail Mary against Miami:
— On3 (@On3) October 19, 2026
"For those kids to not be able to finish the game on the field in that moment, it's really disappointing.… pic.twitter.com/3BE4riCGwd
It's good to see Norvell show some fire in his final days as the FSU head man. Maybe if Norvell used that energy toward recruiting, development, in-game adjustments, better strength and conditioning, and learning how to call plays in the red zone, his fanbase wouldn't be counting the days until he gets his walking papers.
Plus, FSU got a touchdown as a result of a very generous facemask call on Chase Smith when the Seminoles were facing 3rd-and-18. Hey, it happens, and Norvell just needs to take the loss and move on.
Miami's latest triumph might have finally broken Mike Norvell
Norvell probably isn't going to get fired until after the season. If FSU's administration isn't firing him during the Seminoles' bye week, they are basically deciding to kick the can down the road because the fact that FSU put up a good fight against Miami for three quarters suggests that the Seminoles have turned that invisible corner. The reality is they will continue to disappoint their fans because the team and coach are severely flawed.
Miami can take credit for driving Norvell to this anger. The guy has coached the Seminoles to a 10-21 record since 2024 and hasn't won a true road game since Nov. 25, 2023. They were close against the Hurricanes, but they've been close before and the games all ended the same way — a loss.
Believe it or not, FSU used to actually win games. That's why the Miami-FSU games were so big. Back then, the Seminoles came into those games as a top 5 team in the country, and they would suffer a deflating loss to the Hurricanes. But a real coach like Bobby Bowden wouldn't complain about a bad call. Instead, he'd just instruct the Seminoles to beat the tar out of the rest of the opponents on the schedule.
Norvell has turned FSU football into a bunch of try-hard guys that were trying to pull off an upset. And the natural reaction to this sort of disappointment would be for the Seminoles to stick a foot in the backside of the next team that's on the schedule, but FSU won't do that because Norvell isn't built like that and his team is a complete reflection of his lack of mental toughness.
So, go ahead Mike, get mad, raise some hell in a postgame press conference, and send a sternly-worded memo to the ACC. It won't make a difference to them, and it won't make a difference in the losses that FSU has coming as long as you continue to steal money from that program.
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