There was relief in the moments of finality to the miserable 2024 campaign. It was done and Florida State could try to save what could be salvaged after the unprecedented fall.

Moves were made. Assistants were fired. Expensive coordinators were hired. A roster was overhauled to the tune of 50 newcomers. And Mike Norvell made a promise to his players and the outside world alike.

“It’s going to be an immediate, fast fix,” Norvell said last November. “We are going to make sure that every person a part of this program is all in that process for what’s necessary to go be better in how we respond, in how we continue to fight, develop, to execute, to go out there and perform to win the game and putting everything that we have to be the best we can be.”

Fast forward nearly a year, and FSU is on the brink in the Norvell Era. The Seminoles, after a remarkably fun and impressive upset win over Top 10 Alabama, went from 3-0 to 3-3 with all three consecutive losses coming at the start of ACC play.

Norvell, on Monday, said he thought that the chance that this season could still lead to meeting the criteria of “an immediate, fast fix” still existed.

“Absolutely,” Norvell said ahead of Saturday’s late-night contest at lowly Stanford. “It starts with this week. It starts with this game that’s in front of us. We lost the last three games by one possession there on the scoreboard. I thought there was plenty of opportunities for us to be successful. We didn’t get the job done.

“It comes down to all of us being able to take the steps necessary to go win.”

In his answer, Norvell likened this season to the 2022 campaign which the last time he was in a “prove it” year. FSU began FBS play that year with a key win over an SEC team and moved to a 4-0 record before dropping three games in a row ultimately to win its next six games to end the campaign.

There are similarities to how both seasons started, yes, but the pressure mounting during this current three-game skid feels different because we’ve now seen the highs (13 wins in 2023) and the lows (2 wins last season). That most recent dataset being a damning low that’s been hard to forget and, maybe more importantly, forgive. 

Norvell acknowledged fan angst this past Saturday, saying bluntly that “you should be frustrated with the results.” On Monday, he was asked about the outside noise – from fan complaints on social media, to in-game jeers, to unfavorable words uttered on podcasts –  and if it was too much for his team to deal with.

“Pressure… I can answer for myself. Hell, no,” Norvell said. 

And as for his players? 

“No, I don’t think the pressure’s going to be too much,” he said after a reflection on the way distractions derailed last year’s team, but how examples like Jordan Travis responding to criticism with perseverance existed as well. 

The coach also said that he’s seen the team remaining to fight. That’s been evident with each game this season, even in losses and the flaws that’ve come in defeat.

But regardless of how Norvell thinks his team will handle the mounting pressure around its coach, it’s an unknown variable that no one can ultimately know.

And beyond whatever outside noise – if any – is leaking into the locker room, there are still areas that have to be cleaned up and addressed even as a three-score road favorite amid a losing streak. The Seminoles’ defense has taken a major step back seemingly each loss, with Norvell describing some of the play as “a little hesitant” and the offense is dealing with injuries en masse after finishing this past game without its top three receivers, a starting tight end, its starting right tackle, and a co-starting running back.

The fix still isn’t complete, as evidenced by the .500 record which isn’t to anyone’s – including Norvell’s – standards. He mentioned the word “fix” in responses to cleaning up ball-security issues (FSU has lost a fumble in all three of its losses) and coverage issues among the linebackers as specific areas for improvement. 

But Norvell goes back to that 2022 campaign and that losing streak, and what was learned from it.

“I don’t like it. It doesn’t make me happy in any regards,” Norvell said of this recent three-game skid. ” When you play good people, which last three opponents are all very capable football teams, if we don’t play to the level that we’re capable of, you’re going to get beat. We got beat. 

“It’s about us fixing it. It’s about us getting better. But I believe in the potential of this team. We’ve shown what we can do. We’ve got to do that this Saturday. If we’ll do that, then we’ll build upon that for the rest of this year. I know what that can equal to, as well.”