Mike Norvell’s Noles taking center stage in Ireland for week zero
Florida State Coach Mike Norvell glances up at the scoreboard during the first quarter against LSU Sunday September 3, 2023 at Camping World Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
The ACC will have the spotlight this Saturday to kickoff the 2024 season, and all eyes will be on Florida State for many reasons.
After all, the Seminoles are the reigning ACC champs, a top-10 team in the Preseason AP Poll and have won 12-straight conference tilts. Many consider Mike Norvell one of the best head coaches in the country, and he has won 19 of his last 20 games overall.
However, Norvell has a tremendous rebuilding job on his hands replacing 10 NFL Draft picks from this past April. It helps that Norvell has two-straight, top-10 recruiting classes under his belt. Which is why the fans believe the Seminoles are going to simply reload. There’s some uncertainty though.
The opener in Ireland against Georgia Tech will answer a lot of questions. The Yellow Jackets have a lot of experience, and momentum heading into this matchup, despite being double-digit underdogs. The College Football world is anticipating a dogfight. The fact that the Yellow Jackets haven’t beat a top-10 team since 2014, only adds more fuel to the fire.
Despite all of the voids on both sides of the ball, Florida State’s roster is in good hands, thanks to Novell’s stellar recruiting and key additions from the transfer portal. Norvell landed veteran gunslinger DJ Uiagalelei from Oregon State, edge rusher Marvin Jones from Georgia, running back Roydell Williams, defensive back Earl Little and linebacker Shawn Murphy from Alabama.
He’ll be fielding a hungry team that wants to prove their ranking is no fluke. The 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl is what the team wants to put in the rear view mirror.
Uiagalelei has a ton of ACC experience from a couple of seasons as Clemson’s starter, and he’ll have some weapons to operate with.
Although there’s no Keon Coleman or Johnny Wilson around, Uiagalelei will have former SEC studs Malik Benson and Jalen Brown to throw to. Elijah Moore and Hykeem Williams will also be in the mix for catches, along with Landen Thomas, who was the No. 2 tight end in the 2024 recruiting class.
The defensive side is where Norvell is going to have to put in the most work, considering five Seminole defenders were Draft picks. It remains to be seen how the defense is going to look without Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Renardo Green, Jarrian Jones and Tatum Bethune. Florida State fans are hoping nothing like the last game.
Georgia Tech has one of the ACC’s best signal-callers in Haynes King, who led the league in touchdown passes and total offense. King will definitely put the Seminoles’ defense to the test. The Yellow Jackets are more than capable of pulling off an upset in Dublin. Not to mention Georgia Tech has won three of its’ last four games in ACC play, and Coach Brent Key is on the rise with a team full of experience.
Saturday’s matchup has all of the ingredients for a shootout, and it’s at a neutral site. Conference openers are usually grinders, and this one could very well come down to which offense has the ball last. The No. 10 Seminoles will try to exert their power and depth in the trenches in the second half. Field position should be in Norvell’s favor because he has arguably the best punter in the FBS in Alex Mastromanno.
At the end of the day, it’s going to be up to Norvell to take advantage of the spotlight, and start out Florida State’s season on a high note. This could potentially be his best coaching task yet, keeping the Seminoles among the nation’s elite. He won’t have to worry about getting snubbed out of the Playoffs with another double-digit win campaign either, because of expansion.
The quest for the Seminoles to defend their ACC crown will start this weekend, and College Football fans need a fix. This game should feature enough of everything to satisfy everyone’s hunger until week one.
