Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles entered Week 2 riding high after stunning the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 1. It was an improbable victory for the Seminoles, and even against an FCS foe, it would have been easy for the team to come out sloppy in Week 2.
That’s the opposite of what happened, however. The Noles came out on fire, and had a 21-0 lead after the first quarter. The first score of the game came on a Gavin Sawchuck run, and then Tommy Castellanos found Duce Robinson for an 82-yard score shortly after to make it 14-0. The final score of the first came on another huge pass to Robinson.
Castellanos ended the game having completed 8-of-11 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Robinson had five catches for 173 yards and two scores, whie Samuel Singleton Jr. led the team in rushing with 82 yards and one score.
In total, the Noles racked up a whopping 729 total yards of offense. The Lions, meanwhile, were held to just 197 total yards and three points, as the Noles came away with a massive 77-3 win.
After the game, Norvell was obviously happy with his team’s showing.
“I thought they really truly came with a purpose and a passion to go get better,” head coach Mike Norvell told media following Saturday’s win. “That was the focus. I wanted to see their response. I wanted to put on film — to go compete as a team that’s passionate to get better.”
It’s easy for teams to sometimes overlook lesser opponents, especially after the emotional high of a massive win the previous weekend. However, the Noles did not get caught up, and instead proved that they are a different team than they were in 2024.
“It was a dominant performance, and offensively, defensively,” Norvell added. “I thought the coaching staffs both sides of the ball, special teams, I thought everybody did a wonderful job in preparing because I wanted to see this team go take a positive step, and they definitely did that.”
The Noles will play Kent State next weekend, in another game that should be a decisive win. After that, though, the team gets started with conference play against the Virginia Cavaliers, who have looked better than expected through two weeks.
