LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Florida State followed up its best performance of the season with its worst. Another plane ride, another loss, and the same story that has unfolded over the last thousand days. Resilience and toughness have not traveled with Mike Norvell’s program in recent years. FSU had Louisville on the ropes, and then that wasn’t the case. A dope rope that Muhammad Ali would have appreciated was played at Derby City on Friday night. The Seminoles got off to a good start before their momentum came to a screeching halt on a failed fourth-down attempt early in the game, with FSU leading 14-0. The Seminoles went for the jugular and failed. What followed was chaos that dropped them to the canvas as Louisville running back Isaac Brown ran 97 yards for a touchdown. It was never the same after that. The team that had won the first round was suddenly left reeling, struggling and trying to hold on for dear life. Jeff Brohm’s team at Louisville identified a weakness and exploited it again and again. The Cardinals racked up 400 rushing yards before a pair of kneeldowns to end the game. The FSU offense, which had had success running into the heart of Louisville’s defense on its opening drives, was suddenly unable to find a first down as the score turned away from the Seminoles and quickly began moving in the wrong direction. A great start, something FSU lacked in its strong performance a week ago, was erased in a matter of moments. The Seminoles could have been a contender, but instead, they looked like the same old test horse they have regularly become for league opponents in recent years. Louisville struck again and again, and again and again. Sometimes they were punches and body blows. Other times, they were big blows and knockouts. The Cardinals seemingly made it through the final 45 minutes. For the first time in 2026, it felt like the FSU football team had submitted and accepted its fate with plenty of time left on the clock. The Seminoles didn’t try to make this a fight that would go the distance. It was a disappointing development that reminded me of how the previous two versions of this team faltered when the going got tough and the calendar turned to October and eventually November. A .500 football team now moves on from the Friday night experience to take on the current ACC heavyweight on the road next Saturday. It feels like that fight was already over before it had even started. When the opponent is a hated in-state rival, it’s a pretty disturbing notion. And that brings us back to the most important point, the same one that has been in the spotlight for at least the last 355 days, dating back to FSU’s loss at Stanford last season: the leadership of the football program. Norvell remains employed, by most observers’ estimation, because of the financial burden of what he is owed whether he coaches the Seminoles or not. FSU leaders (those above Norvell who ultimately make the decisions regarding his employment) stand in the corner, watching as FSU is regularly beaten, but they simply don’t throw in the towel. They continue to see the blows land and the knockouts pile up, but they are not willing to say enough is enough.
