Florida State coach Mike Norvell gave an empowering speech to his team after their brutal loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl to end a season that will always be remembered as one of heartbreak for the program.
With all of his coaches standing solemnly around him and with players taking a knee, Norvell left his team with some wise words while holding back tears in the Hard Rock Stadium locker room.
“I told you since the very first day that I came here: hard work does not guarantee success,” Norvell said. “It doesn’t, and it never will. But it will absolutely put you in the best position to be able to achieve it.
“I think it’s one thing that we’ve seen through the course of this season,” he continued. “We got some remarkable men that are sitting in front of me.”
Mike Norvell delivers one hell of a speech after Orange Bowl loss to Georgia
— Zach Blostein (@ZBlostein247) January 2, 2024
🎥 via @FSUFootball pic.twitter.com/uablGnO3Ng
The Seminoles were on top of the world just a month ago when they won the ACC championship to improve to 13–0, surely expecting a College Football Playoff berth. But the team was ranked outside of the top four and given the No. 5 spot, with Alabama instead getting in at No. 4 with a 12–1 record as SEC champion.
The controversial decision caused waves throughout the sports world but it all came crashing down on Saturday when Georgia, the team that lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game, embarrassed Florida State 63–3. Florida State was without several key players who were sitting out of the big game, including injured quarterback Jordan Travis, but it will always be a season of what-ifs for Norvell and his team.
