Florida State coach Mike Norvell eyes ACC showdown with Miami after Virginia loss

By Canadian Press on September 27, 2025.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Moments after a surprising loss at Virginia, Florida State coach Mike Norvell was already looking forward to the next game on the schedule.

Moving on is a must for the No. 8 Seminoles ahead of an ACC showdown with No. 2 Miami next weekend.

“You gotta go back to work,” Norvell said after Friday night’s 46-38 loss to the Cavaliers. “We lost the first conference game. We have nothing but an opportunity in front of us this next week in a huge game for us, for our program, for our university.”

Florida State opened the season with a 31-17 victory over Alabama in a physically impressive performance that shifted the expectations for the program after the team went 2-10 last year. The Seminoles rushed for 230 yards while limiting the Crimson Tide to just 87 yards on the ground.

Florida State then cruised to a pair of blowout wins against East Texas A&M and Kent State. But the Seminoles made a handful of costly mistakes in a double-overtime loss in their first road game of the season.

“There’s some big steps we need to take as a football team,” Norvell said.

Florida State rushed for 256 yards against Virginia, but it also surrendered 211 yards on the ground. The Cavaliers went 7 for 13 on third down.

The Seminoles also had two early turnovers that led to the Cavaliers’ first two touchdowns.

Norvell said he didn’t think his team was overlooking UVA and thinking about the looming showdown with Miami.

“You come on the road you’ve got to play disciplined football,” Norvell said. “We had some self-inflicted issues there early in the game that you can’t have. I don’t think any bit of it was looking past.”

There were some positive moments for the Seminoles that they might look to carry into the matchup with the Hurricanes. They erased a 14-0 deficit against the Cavaliers, and Tommy Castellanos threw a tying 11-yard touchdown pass to Randy Pittman Jr. with 36 seconds left in regulation.

Castellanos appeared to throw a tying 22-yard touchdown pass to Duce Robinson in the second overtime. But Robinson juggled the ball as he ran through the back of the end zone. After the play was initially ruled a score, it was reversed on replay.

On the next play, Castellanos heaved a desperation pass to the corner of the end zone intended for Squirrel White. He was intercepted by Ja’Son Prevard, closing it out for the Cavaliers.

“I know our guys will respond,” Norvell said. “We have to go put everything we have into this week.”

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Mike Barber, The Associated Press