Like it or not, Florida State’s offense is back in Mike Norvell’s hands for 2026. With Gus Malzahn retiring, Tim Harris Jr. got the bump to offensive coordinator — but Norvell will be the one calling plays. Honestly, it makes sense. If this really is a make‑or‑break year for him, he might as well put the weight on his own shoulders and either rise from the ashes or go down with the ship.
Reactions to Malzahn stepping away were all over the place, and a lot of the negativity came from the announcement that Norvell would be calling plays again. Unfortunately, the freshest memory anyone has of a “Norvell offense” is 2024 — and that was one of the worst units in program history. But there is another way to look at this, and that’s what pushed me to write this.
Once the dust settled, I kept coming back to this: Norvell’s offense has a lower floor than Malzahn’s (see: 2024), but it also has a much higher ceiling (see: 2022 and 2023). The problem is that he’s been very boom‑or‑bust since arriving in Tallahassee. Across his career as a play caller, he’s produced 10 top‑20 scoring offenses in 15 years — but only two in five years at FSU (not counting 2025, since Gus was calling plays).
For context:
• The 2022 offense averaged 36.1 points per game.
• The 2023 offense averaged 34.6, even with Jordan Travis missing the last 3.5 games.
• Gus Malzahn hasn’t fielded an offense averaging 34+ points since 2014.
• Norvell has done it eight times in that same span.
And when you zoom out to top‑20 scoring offenses:
• Norvell has 10 in 15 years.
• Malzahn has 5 in 20 years — and none since 2014.
That’s the ceiling I’m talking about. People forget Norvell was hired because of his offensive chops. Yes, 2024 happened. But so did 2022 and 2023. If we’re going to hand out blame, we also have to hand out credit.
The floor is low — we all saw 2024 — but that season is the outlier, not the norm. And there’s important context behind why it fell apart, which I’ll get to.
The other concern is Norvell’s split with and without Jordan Travis: he averaged 37 points per game with Travis, and only 20 without him. He won’t have a sixth‑ or seventh‑year QB in 2026, but he will have a dual‑threat option, which is when his offense has looked its best at FSU.
Let’s start with Gus. Technically, he improved the offense in 2025 — though that’s not hard when you’re climbing out of the 131st/132nd rankings from 2024. On paper, finishing 6th in total offense and 22nd in scoring looks great. But once you dig in, the shine fades a bit.
First off, total offense is basically useless. Yards don’t win games — points do. FSU led the ACC in total offense last year but finished 11th in scoring offense against ACC opponents, which is how you end up 15th in the conference.
Then, when you filter scoring offense down to Power 4 opponents only, FSU drops to 46th because the stats were inflated by East Texas A&M and Kent State. And the biggest red flag: scoring on the road. FSU ranked 102nd in road scoring at just 18.6 points per game. They scored 11 touchdowns in five road games — the same number they scored against ETAM alone.
That’s why context matters.
Malzahn’s offense was outdated and predictable. It still works to a degree, which gives it a high floor, but the ceiling is low. His best offenses were a decade ago when his system was still fresh. As long as FSU doesn’t recreate the disaster of 2024, the 2026 offense has room to be better.
Norvell still deserves blame — he’s the head coach, and the staff and roster were his. But players have to own their part too. No coach tells his guys to miss blocks, throw ducks, or drop passes. FSU had a perfect storm of issues that snowballed into one of the worst offenses we’ve ever seen. Here’s why it happened — and why I don’t think it repeats in 2026.
Everything started up front. FSU couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t protect the quarterback, and couldn’t build anything consistent. One of Norvell’s biggest missteps was not moving on from Alex Atkins sooner.
Look at the Pass Block Efficiency numbers from PFF:
• FSU had been at least decent every year since 2021, even cracking the top 50 once.
• Then 2024 hit, and they plummeted from 32nd to 124th.
• Herb Hand took over in 2025 and immediately jumped the unit 100 spots to 24th.
Run blocking told the same story. FSU’s yards-per-carry average fell off a cliff in 2024, but went from 113th to 35th under Hand.
And the Yards Before Contact/Yards After Contact charts paint a clear picture. (Yards Before Contact indicate a better OL/Run scheme – Yards after contact indicate a better running back)
• In 2024, UCF (Hand’s old line) led the nation in YBC.
• FSU was second‑to‑last — only Kent State, the worst team in college football that year, was worse.
• In 2025, FSU moved back into the respectable range.
The biggest reason I don’t think 2026 will look like 2024 is Herb Hand. Even with five new starters, he’s shown he can build a competent unit quickly. If the line is even close to last year’s level, FSU is already in a much better spot.
The trenches weren’t the only issue. The quarterback situation was a mess. DJU looked hurt most of the year, wearing a leg sleeve and losing the mobility that made him dangerous. Without that, he was basically a limited passer behind a collapsing line. Luke Kromenhoek was young, Brock Glenn never developed, and the group took 49 sacks — near dead last in the country.
Accuracy was bad across the board, but even when the QBs got a throw off, the receivers didn’t help. Outside of Ja’Khi Douglas, the group struggled with drops. Again, 2024 was the outlier, and 2025 showed improvement (see below).
The good news:
• The offensive line should be better than in 2024. It’s almost impossible to be worse.
• The receivers are better. Duce is a proven 1,000-yard receiver, combined with the young talents of Danzy and Boggs.
• The backfield is better — Trey Wisner was a 1,000‑yard back on a playoff team, and Kromah/Singelton Jr. are legit.
Quarterback is the big question. Ashton Daniels feels like 2021 Jordan Travis — dangerous runner, raw passer. But when Auburn put him in a system that fit his skill set, he flashed. Kevin Sperry is a talented but young dual‑threat, and Malachi Marshall might be the best pure passer. Norvell won’t have Jordan Travis, but he has better options than he did in 2024 — and when he has pieces, he produces.
One last comparison I came across that helps paint the picture I’m trying to paint is comparing past scores.
vs Clemson
• In 2025, Gus’s offense scored 10 points at Clemson against the No. 30 scoring defense.
• In 2023, Norvell scored 31 in Death Valley on the also 30th-ranked defense.
• In 2021, he scored 20 against Clemson’s No. 2 defense.
vs NC State
• In 2025, Gus’s offense scored 11 points in Raleigh against the No. 82 scoring defense.
• In 2022, Norvell scored 17 in Carter-Finely on the No. 11 scoring defense.
It’s a small sample size, but it shows how Malzahn’s offense struggled against conference competition, especially on the road, and Norvell has the higher ceiling, even if it’s only been slightly higher at times.
Malzahn wasn’t the problem early in 2025, but the offense faded late — 13 vs Stanford, 10 vs Clemson, 11 vs NC State. Those were some of the lowest totals those defenses allowed all year. He has a history of feasting on lower competition, but can struggle against better defenses… except Alabama apparently.
This isn’t a guarantee that Norvell suddenly produces a top 10 scoring offense with the pieces they have. It’s simply a statistical reminder that 2024 was the outlier, not the norm — and that the ceiling for 2026 feels higher with Mike Norvell calling plays again.
The system will still look familiar, since Norvell’s offense is built off Malzahn’s, but it’s a more modern, pass‑leaning version. And honestly, the stakes couldn’t be clearer: if the offense looks like 2024, he’s probably getting fired; if it looks like 2022 or 2023, FSU is winning games. In a weird way, that makes this a win‑win for the program. What FSU can’t afford is another middle‑of‑the‑road offense that leads to another middle‑of‑the‑road season, leaving everyone stuck in college football purgatory.
As things stand, Norvell is back at the controls in the most important year of his coaching career. Ideally, we see “Killer Mike” — or “Grey Hoodie Mike,” pacing the sideline again. If you go back and watch some of his best games from 2020 and 2021, you can see the creativity and the ability to scheme guys open. The big question this offseason is whether that version of Norvell is still in there, or if the snub and the chaos of 2024 buried it too deep.
It feels like a boom‑or‑bust season coming in 2026, and only time will tell which way it breaks. But there’s a real chance the offense hits a higher ceiling next year. Thanks for reading, and Go Noles!
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