Miami will head back home this weekend to face off against the Florida State Seminoles at Hard Rock Stadium. The Seminoles are currently 3-3 on the season, recently losing to the Louisville Cardinal 44-20. Here on CanesInSight we've been getting fans ready, providing numerous articles on the website about the upcoming matchup.
Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media ahead of the matchup against the Hurricanes. Here are some key quotes he has to say about the Hurricanes.
Opening statements: All right, it's a big week. This is the game that you train and prepare for, 365 days a year. And, this game means so much to our program, to our players, to everybody part of the program, and the university. So it's definitely exciting for the opportunity. You have to go on the road. You know, It's a very talented team. I think they're leading the country in offensive and defensive scoring. Got a lot of explosive players. They've done a good job accumulating talent across the board. So we got to go and we got to play at an extremely high level. And, we've shown capabilities. I definitely have a lot of high expectations for what our team is going to do. But you have to embrace the challenge and go attack it with everything that we have. And I think our guys have a great understanding of that. It's a big week of work for us, and, through the first part of it, I like the way that we are continuing to ascend through it. And obviously we got to go put it together for the rest of the week and go put it on display there Saturday night at 7. Questions?
Mike Norvell on how Florida State's veteran players are preparing newcomers for the rivalry against Miami: Yeah, it was something that even earlier in the week, I had the guys, for all the guys that have played, raise their hand, and just you get a sense of the newcomers that have come in that have never got the opportunity to be a part of this game, but also the guys that have been through it, guys that have been through it and been on the successful end of it, and then guys that have faced the disappointment, and understanding the importance of what this game means, the intensity that's going to be in it, the challenges and the emotional swings that you'll see each and every time that these two teams play. It's one of the great games in all of college football, and it is an absolute blessing for our players, coaches, everybody involved to be able to be a part of this and to be able to put your best foot forward. And this will be a game that you remember forever. And, I think that the guys that have been here, coaches, obviously we got a lot of coaches on staff that have been either a part of this game playing, but also for many years as a coach, and just understanding the fullness of the rivalry. So I think our guys understand it well. They respect it, and they know what's at stake with it.
Norvell on Florida State regaining confidence after a loss: Yeah, nobody ever likes losing or having disappointing results. But it is a part of the game. It's part of life. You have to train yourself and really put yourself through those situations and be aware of them. You can have a bad game in a win. You can have a bad game in a loss. But when collectively as a team, you don't do the things necessary when there's some inconsistency within a response in a game where you don't handle the adversity, you still have to address it. You have to own it. You still have to learn from those things, and then it's about, are you going to pull back and be upset because you played bad, or are you going to push forward and go improve on the areas where the things that you can control and get your, it's the intensity. It's the importance of the play, of the rep, and that's why you always talk about you got to take it, Coach speak, but it's real, you got to take it one play at a time. And you have a terrible play, looks bad, it wasn't a good result, and you got to be able to flush it in the moment. You got to be able to learn from what just happened, but you control of you. Get your focus on what your responsibility is for the next one and then go fully commit to being the best that you can be. And if you do that, you'll be able to get through the highs and the lows. There's times that you can be riding high and you just take the next play as the next play. But if you don't put everything you have towards it, I mean, things can flip quickly. And so really in both of those situations, it's your approach of how you're approaching the meetings before practice, for walkthroughs, each rep in practice, and the intensity that comes with it. It's part of reasons you coach the way you coach, and you try to challenge and you try to affirm and build the confidence through the work that's being done. But that's the only throughout my years, that is the greatest thing you can point to confidence is work, and then yes, when you see it, when you feel it, when it's done right, and you get to build upon that by staying focused on the things that allowed you to have success. And sometimes, really hard work doesn't give you the result you want in the moment, but you got to be able to learn from that and flip it there for that next play.
On what he wants to see majority wise Saturday: You need to see response. You need to see, guys that take control of the ebbs and flows that'll be in this game. And, there's going to be a time you're getting hit in the mouth on Saturday. That's just every game you're ever a part of. That's going to happen. It's not going to feel good. It's not going to be something that you wanted to occur. But what you do in that moment, I want to see that—like the confidence in the response, because they've been through it. They've handled adversity and shown that they are capable of coming together, putting together the style of play, the discipline in play, the execution in play through some challenging experiences. The atmosphere will be an electric one. You're going to feel the emotion of it. Been down there where a lot of emotion, and we were able to take control of that in a positive way for us. And then there's been times down there and the emotion doesn't go well, or like what we saw here this last week, and you don't handle that well. And obviously those are things you have to prepare for, but that started in January. And there's been times that we haven't applied the best of what we could be, and then, like I said, we have, but there have been times this season we've also shown we're very capable to be able to deal with the adversity that comes with this game.
On keeping Florida State focused on execution against Miami: No, I mean, it comes down to, with big games, big moments, you got to make them small. You got to make them small by focusing on the details, whatever the play call is, whatever the assignment is, it comes down to the technique, the fundamentals. It's the same thing when you're dealing with the emotions that we're talking about. It goes back to that one play. Where do you allow your focus to go? And there's plenty of distractions in this world. There's plenty of distractions in the game. Distractions that sometimes we can be our own biggest distraction just with the ups and downs that we allow ourselves to go through emotionally. But if you'll stay true to the simple process of getting the call, knowing your technique, your assignment, your fundamentals, and then you'll be able to go put that on display with great technique and wonderful effort, and the best of you will be put forward. And, there's always going to be a lot around this game, as you want to see guys grow in just the maturity of how they handle all of that, and this is a great opportunity.
On Darian Mensah: Yeah, he's playing at an elite level, and he's got good skill around him. But where he's locating the ball, you look at just the challenge to get pressure on him because he gets the ball out so quick, is something that's impressive. And just the way that he's been able to locate and operate, times throwing receivers open, at times being able to fit the ball in tight windows, still pushing the ball down the field with the opportunities that they have there. The first half of the season, he's played as good as anybody out there. And I would say, if you look over recent years, he's probably played as elite of a start as you could say a quarterback's had. So it's going to be a great challenge for our guys to go try to create disruption for him, and you've got to be able to play at a high level and then take advantage of the opportunities that you do get.
On Miami's pass rush: Yeah, they roll through their defensive front. They've got some really talented pass rushers, some guys that played a good amount of football, whether it's there or at other places. It's an aggressive defense. I mean, they're going to blitz probably 50% of the time, if not more. And it's not all-out pressure all the time, but, I mean, they're going to force the issue, and they do a good job of being able to work matchups and get defensive ends on guards, being able to show different pressure packages, you take talented guys getting to the quarterback can really be challenged with things that you do in your protections. At the end of the day, still they're going to put their four out there, and it's about us going out there and playing at a high level against them, and for our offensive line and tight ends, backs, anybody that could find themselves in a position in protection. We've got to strain, receivers got to do a great job of getting separation, quarterback's got to do a great job working through progressions and make sure we're getting the ball out.
Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media ahead of the matchup against the Hurricanes. Here are some key quotes he has to say about the Hurricanes.
Opening statements: All right, it's a big week. This is the game that you train and prepare for, 365 days a year. And, this game means so much to our program, to our players, to everybody part of the program, and the university. So it's definitely exciting for the opportunity. You have to go on the road. You know, It's a very talented team. I think they're leading the country in offensive and defensive scoring. Got a lot of explosive players. They've done a good job accumulating talent across the board. So we got to go and we got to play at an extremely high level. And, we've shown capabilities. I definitely have a lot of high expectations for what our team is going to do. But you have to embrace the challenge and go attack it with everything that we have. And I think our guys have a great understanding of that. It's a big week of work for us, and, through the first part of it, I like the way that we are continuing to ascend through it. And obviously we got to go put it together for the rest of the week and go put it on display there Saturday night at 7. Questions?
Mike Norvell on how Florida State's veteran players are preparing newcomers for the rivalry against Miami: Yeah, it was something that even earlier in the week, I had the guys, for all the guys that have played, raise their hand, and just you get a sense of the newcomers that have come in that have never got the opportunity to be a part of this game, but also the guys that have been through it, guys that have been through it and been on the successful end of it, and then guys that have faced the disappointment, and understanding the importance of what this game means, the intensity that's going to be in it, the challenges and the emotional swings that you'll see each and every time that these two teams play. It's one of the great games in all of college football, and it is an absolute blessing for our players, coaches, everybody involved to be able to be a part of this and to be able to put your best foot forward. And this will be a game that you remember forever. And, I think that the guys that have been here, coaches, obviously we got a lot of coaches on staff that have been either a part of this game playing, but also for many years as a coach, and just understanding the fullness of the rivalry. So I think our guys understand it well. They respect it, and they know what's at stake with it.
Norvell on Florida State regaining confidence after a loss: Yeah, nobody ever likes losing or having disappointing results. But it is a part of the game. It's part of life. You have to train yourself and really put yourself through those situations and be aware of them. You can have a bad game in a win. You can have a bad game in a loss. But when collectively as a team, you don't do the things necessary when there's some inconsistency within a response in a game where you don't handle the adversity, you still have to address it. You have to own it. You still have to learn from those things, and then it's about, are you going to pull back and be upset because you played bad, or are you going to push forward and go improve on the areas where the things that you can control and get your, it's the intensity. It's the importance of the play, of the rep, and that's why you always talk about you got to take it, Coach speak, but it's real, you got to take it one play at a time. And you have a terrible play, looks bad, it wasn't a good result, and you got to be able to flush it in the moment. You got to be able to learn from what just happened, but you control of you. Get your focus on what your responsibility is for the next one and then go fully commit to being the best that you can be. And if you do that, you'll be able to get through the highs and the lows. There's times that you can be riding high and you just take the next play as the next play. But if you don't put everything you have towards it, I mean, things can flip quickly. And so really in both of those situations, it's your approach of how you're approaching the meetings before practice, for walkthroughs, each rep in practice, and the intensity that comes with it. It's part of reasons you coach the way you coach, and you try to challenge and you try to affirm and build the confidence through the work that's being done. But that's the only throughout my years, that is the greatest thing you can point to confidence is work, and then yes, when you see it, when you feel it, when it's done right, and you get to build upon that by staying focused on the things that allowed you to have success. And sometimes, really hard work doesn't give you the result you want in the moment, but you got to be able to learn from that and flip it there for that next play.
On what he wants to see majority wise Saturday: You need to see response. You need to see, guys that take control of the ebbs and flows that'll be in this game. And, there's going to be a time you're getting hit in the mouth on Saturday. That's just every game you're ever a part of. That's going to happen. It's not going to feel good. It's not going to be something that you wanted to occur. But what you do in that moment, I want to see that—like the confidence in the response, because they've been through it. They've handled adversity and shown that they are capable of coming together, putting together the style of play, the discipline in play, the execution in play through some challenging experiences. The atmosphere will be an electric one. You're going to feel the emotion of it. Been down there where a lot of emotion, and we were able to take control of that in a positive way for us. And then there's been times down there and the emotion doesn't go well, or like what we saw here this last week, and you don't handle that well. And obviously those are things you have to prepare for, but that started in January. And there's been times that we haven't applied the best of what we could be, and then, like I said, we have, but there have been times this season we've also shown we're very capable to be able to deal with the adversity that comes with this game.
On keeping Florida State focused on execution against Miami: No, I mean, it comes down to, with big games, big moments, you got to make them small. You got to make them small by focusing on the details, whatever the play call is, whatever the assignment is, it comes down to the technique, the fundamentals. It's the same thing when you're dealing with the emotions that we're talking about. It goes back to that one play. Where do you allow your focus to go? And there's plenty of distractions in this world. There's plenty of distractions in the game. Distractions that sometimes we can be our own biggest distraction just with the ups and downs that we allow ourselves to go through emotionally. But if you'll stay true to the simple process of getting the call, knowing your technique, your assignment, your fundamentals, and then you'll be able to go put that on display with great technique and wonderful effort, and the best of you will be put forward. And, there's always going to be a lot around this game, as you want to see guys grow in just the maturity of how they handle all of that, and this is a great opportunity.
On Darian Mensah: Yeah, he's playing at an elite level, and he's got good skill around him. But where he's locating the ball, you look at just the challenge to get pressure on him because he gets the ball out so quick, is something that's impressive. And just the way that he's been able to locate and operate, times throwing receivers open, at times being able to fit the ball in tight windows, still pushing the ball down the field with the opportunities that they have there. The first half of the season, he's played as good as anybody out there. And I would say, if you look over recent years, he's probably played as elite of a start as you could say a quarterback's had. So it's going to be a great challenge for our guys to go try to create disruption for him, and you've got to be able to play at a high level and then take advantage of the opportunities that you do get.
On Miami's pass rush: Yeah, they roll through their defensive front. They've got some really talented pass rushers, some guys that played a good amount of football, whether it's there or at other places. It's an aggressive defense. I mean, they're going to blitz probably 50% of the time, if not more. And it's not all-out pressure all the time, but, I mean, they're going to force the issue, and they do a good job of being able to work matchups and get defensive ends on guards, being able to show different pressure packages, you take talented guys getting to the quarterback can really be challenged with things that you do in your protections. At the end of the day, still they're going to put their four out there, and it's about us going out there and playing at a high level against them, and for our offensive line and tight ends, backs, anybody that could find themselves in a position in protection. We've got to strain, receivers got to do a great job of getting separation, quarterback's got to do a great job working through progressions and make sure we're getting the ball out.
