By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The Mike Norvell era begins on Saturday September 12, 2020 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

It’s game week for FSU football, which means it’s time for Coach Norvell to unveil his plan to get FSU back to relevancy.

After four seasons as the head coach at Memphis, Coach Norvell was hired to replace Willie Taggart.

FSU comes into the game week as a 12.5 point favorite against Georgia Tech.

One of the biggest questions going into the contest is Mike Norvell; is he the right person to lead FSU back to prominence?

The past two seasons FSU has struggled with costly penalties, turnovers, personnel, alongside other detailed issues.

The first offseason at a new school is always a challenge for a head coach, as they set out to install their offensive and defensive schemes. FSU’s culture and expectations for the program remains high.

This offseason has been even more complicated by COVID-19, Norvell was attempting to operate the offseason remotely. The trying nature of this offseason has taken the anticipation to perhaps an even higher level ahead of Saturday’s kickoff.

Saturday is a great opportunity for the FSU football team and Mike Norvell to show their fans, alumni and supporters that the program is in good hands and is heading in the right direction.

Watching Coach Norvell’s press conference on Monday, Coach Norvell never stopped smiling. He beams confidence and leadership. His job is to rebuild one of the most dominant college football programs from a deflating down period.

Don’t get me wrong, FSU is not competing for a National Championship or even an ACC Championship this season, but Coach Norvell must show positive results on the field. He will be playing his home games on Bobby Bowden Field.

Norvell will be facing a program in Georgia Tech with second year head coach Geoff Collins.

Georgia Tech coming off a very disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2019. The Yellow Jackets look to rebound in 2020.

Saturday’s game is a big game for both teams as the Jackets look to take a big step forward in year two of the Geoff Collins era, while FSU looks to get the Mike Norvell era off to a good start in his first game as the Seminoles head coach.

With both programs having plenty to prove, I expect things to be sloppy at times with missed tackles, blown assignments, and penalties on both teams.

I think it will be a fairly high scoring game, but we do have to take into account the lack of practice time.

The Seminoles biggest problem on offense last year was their offensive line which allowed a whopping 48 sacks, that’s a weakness that Georgia Tech must exploit to win.

Look for James Blackmon to stay upright and FSU’s team speed will be the difference in this matchup, as Florida State simply has too many talented weapons at their disposal and that leads tips the game heavily in favor of the Seminoles.

Final Score Prediction: FSU 34 Georgia Tech 13