STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 18, 2025

Mike Norvell

Postgame Media Conference

Stanford 20, Florida State 13

MIKE NORVELL: Just to start off, just told the team, didn't have them ready to play tonight. You know, unfortunately the things that we knew that it would take, as you come take a long trip, you know, coming off some disappointing results here the last weeks, we needed to come and we needed to play with tremendous energy, effort, but critically just doing things that we needed to do from assignment, obviously technique, fundamental, and also playing with discipline out there on the field; we didn't do that.

We had 13 penalties tonight. We had multiple missed opportunities. That all goes on me. I mean, at the end of the day we made this trip and what we just watched on that field was not anything towards what we invest and work and pour our time into throughout the week or throughout an offseason; you know, everything that I want and that this program needs to be.

That did not show up tonight, so it was beyond disappointing. We had opportunities. There were things that didn't go our way, judgment calls, but at the end of the day there was enough of the things that we did control that we just were awful in.

You know, give Stanford credit for being able to do what they needed to do. At the end of the day we were extremely poor on our part with the things we could control.

Q. When you watch all the things that go wrong in a game like this, where do you go from here? Is your process try to make a plan for whatever is next?

MIKE NORVELL: You know, at the end of the day, I mean, I've said this for the last few weeks: It's about the application. We have been a very disciplined team throughout the season when it comes to penalties. We've been disciplined in being able to, for the most part, maintain our composure and make sure we didn't have some of the focus issues.

I mean, as a team, every week we hold ourselves accountable to those issues and those mistakes. Our team knows it. They know the importance of it. Tonight for whatever reason, we didn't make it happen.

You know, I mean, at the end of the day it's still about the work. It's still about being able to go and identify the issues that cost you, who and what. And ultimately, if the who is consistent in areas of keeping you from being successful, then obviously you have to look at how can we best put people in position to improve for the results to be what we want them to be.

And I believe in the guys that we have. I do. I think they have shown fight throughout. They didn't fight very smart tonight but they did fight to the end even with some adverse situations that showed up. To get us down there and to score on the last play and have a chance, I know it was short, but I felt good about where we were.

Unfortunately we don't get that back. You got to go and you got to be willing as an individual to do the things necessary as players and coaches. You know, that's what we're going to do and how we're going to respond.

Q. Walk us through the final play, the decision to go with that call.

MIKE NORVELL: Multiple option play. You know, the look was -- I thought Kevin did a good job as a push to the edge and shoveled underneath, and you know, ran back, followed the guard, and I thought was laying on the guard and continued to push to try to get himself in.

So...

Q. What's going on with the offense the last few weeks? Seems like it's stuck in neutral, has a hard time getting going.

MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, like I said, we had some missed opportunities, penalties, dropped balls. Sometimes we were trying to force things that maybe didn't need to necessarily be forced.

But that's is -- there has been a lot of good things that our offense has done. Obviously tonight was not the performance anybody expected or what we are used to or accustomed to, but there has been -- there have been a lot good things we have been able to do. Last week in the second half obviously due to some injuries and things kind of stalled out. That was a big hurt for us.

And then tonight I think a lot of self-inflicted, Stanford trying to bring different pressures, but we had opportunities and we put ourselves behind it some and then we just missed some of the others.

So I thought it was just a night that we struggled to got to into rhythm and obviously did some uncharacteristic things from what we've seen over the last six weeks.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

MIKE NORVELL: I mean, like I said, they did a good job on some of their pressure packages, some of the line movements. They really get some free hats I guess to affect some of the things we were doing.

We had opportunities tonight and all of us need to be better in it. There was -- we had some chances.

Q. After four straight losses and coming off last year, where do you feel you stand with the administration at this point?

MIKE NORVELL: You know, I'm pouring everything I have into this university with every bit of work, the focus, the absolute edge and urgency to get this better.

At the end of the day it's about the results and we've come up short and not done anywhere a good enough job in being able to finish games and to do things and for it to look the way that I want it to look, and I believe what we're capable of.

So I've always said this administration, it's a great group of people leading this university, our athletic department, and our football team. I believe in all the things that we stand for, what it needs to be, and how we need to do it.

But the last results have not been good enough and they have to get better. That's something that I'm going to continue to put everything I have into making sure that gets done and that gets done as fast as possible.

You know, going to a bye week and having an opportunity to heal up, get guys back to full time in practice, and make sure we do the things we need to do as a football program so when we step on the field it looks like Florida State football.