No. 4 Florida State Head Coach Mike Norvell Discusses Upcoming Matchup Against Pittsburgh

"Each week, I get up and say the same thing about defenses that like to blitz and attack; you know, we found another one."

The No. 4 Florida State Seminoles have seen a drastic turnaround under head coach Mike Norvell. The 'Noles are currently 8-0 and on the way to their first College Football Playoff appearance in nearly a decade. It seems that the mood for fans around Tallahassee, and to a broader extent, across the country, has changed; even happy to have FSU on the fast track to the promised land.

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Norvell met with the media on Monday morning to discuss the upcoming matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers this Saturday and preview what he thinks is waiting for his team when they arrive.

"A place that is a challenge to play. You just look historically, I mean, even this year. You gotta go, and you gotta play at a very high level, and this is a football team that is going to be tough; it's going to be physical," Norvell said about the upcoming road matchup. "They're going to be aggressive. Each week, I get up and say the same thing about defenses that like to blitz and attack; you know, we found another one."

Pittsburgh is 2-6 on the season, but every road game has challenges. Defensively, the Panthers have faired well on the stat sheet but haven't yet found a rhythm as a team overall. They're holding opponents to 3.3 rushing yards per attempt this season.

"Coach (Pat) Narduzzi does a wonderful job defensively in being able to create a challenge for opposing offenses in what they do," Norvell said. "The last game was really kind of an anomaly for them with the lack of TFLs or sacks in the game, but they were still able to create a couple of takeaways."

The Panthers have had a rough start in 2023 under Boston College transfer Phil Jurkovic. They've turned to quarterback Christian Veilleux midway through the season, who has 774 yards and five touchdowns to six interceptions. 

"Offensively, they went through a quarterback change midway through the season, so you're working to figure that out," Norvell said. "I know when they played Louisville, I think they scored 38 points against a really good team."

With questions at quarterback, a strong ground game could help the Panthers gain an edge. Still, as good as the rushing defense that they have, alternatively, they are averaging 3.4 yards per attempt.

"We know they're going to want to run the football. That is something that is in their DNA. It's what they want to be. They've got some big-play receivers, some guys that really can run on the outside, and obviously, the quarterback has shown potential."

Florida State travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this Saturday to face the Panthers at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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