On one side of the state, you've got Miami and Mario Cristobal loving life, with Darian Mensah looking like a Heisman Trophy contender. Let's go ahead and take a look at how things are going for Florida State... Yup, not ideal for the Noles!
Mike Norvell's seat remains scorching hot, with an ugly win over New Mexico State to start the season and a brutal loss to SMU following in Week 1. This week, Norvell has made headlines as he called out Ashton Daniels for essentially not being good enough to run the offense thus far. That's fair, as Daniels has looked nothing like someone ready to lead FSU to a memorable season.
With that said, this is all on Norvell. Why? Because if he were serious about Florida State turning things around, he would have gone all-in financially with the administration to make sure FSU brought in a top QB. Daniels entered the season 5-20 as a starter at both Stanford and Auburn in previous stops. Florida State got exactly what it paid for, period.
“We’ve got to make sure that we get into our rhythm,” Norvell said of Daniels' play. “Everything we’ve called, I’ve seen executed at speed and competition at a high level (during practice). We got to be able to translate that into the game.”
Mike Norvell says he's seen Ashton Daniels execute the offense at speed in practice, but it hasn't translated when there are other factors out there in a live game.
— John Evans (@_jpevans_) September 10, 2026
Miami fans can sit back and enjoy the Florida State disaster under Mike Norvell
It was reported that both DJ Lagway and Anthony Colandrea were interested in potentially taking the offense over for Norvell. However, Florida State was rumored not to be willing to cough up the dough that both players were looking for. Lagway, a former 5-star prospect who signed with the Gators, ended up at Baylor. Colandrea made his way to Lincoln to play for Nebraska.
With Colandrea in particular, think he would have let SMU get away with four turnovers in a game and still lose? Not a chance. Daniels has shown glimpses of strong play at times, but he's just way too inconsistent. The main issues that hurt him at both Stanford and Auburn, including not making the right reads, have presented themselves once again, this time in Tallahassee.
The first two weeks of the season have been far from convincing out of the Seminoles, and honestly, the morale around the program couldn't be lower. The exact OPPOSITE can be said about things in Coral Gables, as Cristobal and Co. are fresh off a 77-7 win over Florida A&M to start the Week 2 action.
And with Mensah in particular, he keeps giving people reasons to believe that the Canes can push for a national title this season. Through two games, even if it is against inferior opponents, he has thrown for 653 yards and eight touchdowns. That's what Miami gets for investing top dollar in one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
This is something Florida State should have made a top priority, but the Noles settled for mediocrity instead, which has it paying a difficult price. Norvell can be upset with Daniels all he wants, but trying to blame the FSU issues on him is a joke. It's also something Miami fans can laugh about, as Norvell keeps digging himself into a bigger hole. Not a great look for him overall, too.
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