FSU used bye week to evaluate progress, prepare for UMass

With no opponent on the schedule, Florida State coach Mike Norvell spent part of the bye week evaluating his team as it entered the halfway point.

It was a dismal start after losing their first four games but the Seminoles have looked better with back-to-back wins over Syracuse and North Carolina.

Injuries and inconsistencies have hampered much of the progress expected from a young group but FSU appears to have finally found its footing.

“We’ve done a good job as a staff and I see us getting better week in and week out in these last two-and-a-half games,” said Norvell. “In any bye week, you get to take a big-picture viewpoint and we’re moving in the right direction.”

As FSU prepares to host UMass (1-5) on Saturday, a win would give the Seminoles their first three-game winning streak since 2017. It also would feed the growing confidence felt over the past few weeks.

It’s something Norvell has witnessed firsthand since the second half of FSU’s loss to Louisville on Sept. 25, when the Seminoles rallied from a 17-point deficit before losing 31-23.

“We’re becoming a more disciplined team,” said Norvell. “The consistency of how we’re operating over the last two-and-a-half games, there have been fewer missed assignments or mental errors.”

FSU has consistently been one of the worst teams in the country in penalties with the Seminoles flagged 31 times through the first four games, including a season-high 11 against Jacksonville State. Those numbers decreased considerably with 8 combined penalties against Syracuse and North Carolina.

Another improvement has been with turnovers.

The ‘Noles turned the ball over 11 times in the four losses but only twice in two wins, including none against North Carolina.

“We started playing complementary football,” said Norvell. “Putting ourselves in a better position to be successful offensive defensively and then special teams.”

Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham believes some of FSU’s offensive struggles through the first half were about consistency.

“Whether that’s the people on the field, the personnel, not being able to practice and not being available on game days or whether that’s the identity of who we were offensively,” said Dillingham. “Whether that’s getting penalties, dropping the ball, and running the right play, you could see those inconsistencies from Week One through Four.

“[Over] the last two weeks, you saw a team that didn’t get penalties. You saw a team that for the most part, 11 guys were doing the same thing.”

Dillingham credits the return of several starters from injury as a big component of FSU’s strong play, particularly center Maurice Smith against the Tar Heels. Smith was one of several offensive linemen battling injuries. His return gave the Seminoles their original offensive line back for the first time since the opener against Notre Dame.

FSU didn’t allow a sack and just 2 tackles for loss against UNC.

“We played cleaner football,” Dillingham said. “We’ve got to be able to build on that. We’re nowhere near where we want to be but we’re slowly getting better.”

The bye week came at a good time according to Norvell, who said the Seminoles were able to rest some players and work toward getting some back from injury.

“[We had] some guys banged up and we’ve had guys that have played a lot of snaps,” said Norvell. “It was good to see them moving around and in good spirits, their bodies feeling a little bit better. [There are] still a couple of guys we’ll be able to see as the week progresses to their availability for Saturday.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.