January 1, One Player Exposes Shocking Truth About Overrated College Coach

Wyatt’s Take

• Florida State’s embarrassing 17-point scrape past New Mexico State reveals how far the program has fallen under Mike Norvell, who’s now 8-17 since 2024 began.
• Jordan Travis masked Norvell’s coaching deficiencies so well that folks were floating him as Nick Saban’s successor — now FSU fans are begging someone to take him off their hands.
• Without Travis, this once-proud program went from averaging 38.8 points per game to a pathetic 14.3, proving one man carried an entire coaching staff on his back.

A lot has already been made about Florida State’s lackluster 17-point win over New Mexico State on Saturday night. To most Seminoles fans, their week zero showing was just a microcosm of how rotten things have gotten in the past few years under the tutelage of head coach Mike Norvell.

With the win, Norvell improved to a paltry 8-17 since the beginning of 2024. Failing to cover a 31.5-point spread against an undermanned G6 school did little to quell the bloodthirsty masses in Tallahassee.

But it wasn’t always this way between Norvell and the fans. There was a time not too long ago when all was right in the land of garnet and gold.

You see, prior to 2024, Norvell and the Seminoles were seen as a program on the rise, due in large part to a 23-4 stretch between 2022 and 2023 that featured an ACC Championship, back-to-back top-10 finishes, and dominant wins over perennial rivals like Miami and Florida. What went wrong?

Saturday night’s performance prompted a notable number of observers to focus on one name in particular — someone they argue carried Norvell to an inflated record and, in turn, a lucrative contract extension that has since bound him to Florida State for the foreseeable future. Jordan Travis.

On the surface, it seems like an absurd claim that Travis would be in the discussion for greatest college quarterback of all time, let alone one of the best players overall. He certainly is far from the most accomplished.

A one-time conference champion, a two-time All-ACC selection, and the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, Travis carved out a solid career with plenty of great stats and moments to make him one of the more revered Seminole quarterbacks post-Jameis Winston. But if you juxtapose how bad this Florida State team has been since his departure, it almost perfectly explains the downfall of this once-proud program.

To be fair, plenty of other players on those 2022 and 2023 FSU teams had a part in Norvell’s rise. Look across the NFL landscape, and you’re bound to spot guys like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Keon Coleman, and Jammie Robinson on professional rosters.

But Travis was the engine that made it all run so smoothly. Even that 2023 team that went undefeated in the regular season dropped off a cliff the instant Travis suffered his unfortunate injury that would ultimately end his playing career.

Before losing Travis, the Noles were averaging a robust 38.8 points per game on offense. That number cratered to just 14.3 without him.

Granted, it’s a small sample size, but the way the team played without him even in that short stretch backs up this theory. FSU escaped an absolute dogfight against a five-win Florida team, then immediately followed that up with a season-low 16 points against Louisville in the ACC title game.

I won’t even include the 63-3 beatdown against Georgia in the Orange Bowl because I don’t feel like arguing with rabid Noles fans, but the point remains the same. The very next year, despite signing yet another loaded portal class, the Seminoles bottomed out with a 2-10 record.

Things didn’t get much better in 2025, which brings us to now. Together, Travis and Norvell posted a 29-10 record.

If you look at Norvell’s overall record at Florida State (39-34), you don’t need to be a math wiz to figure out the former had a lot to do with the latter’s success. Numbers don’t even tell the whole story, either.

Travis was basically the football equivalent of Houdini, consistently bailing Norvell out of suboptimal play calls with his wizardry both in and out of the pocket. So, is Jordan Travis the greatest college football player of all time?

Probably not, but you could certainly make the argument that he is perhaps the most underrated or underappreciated player of all time. For crying out loud, Mike Norvell was getting floated as a successor to Nick Saban at Alabama just two and a half years ago.

Now FSU fans are practically begging another program to come along and take their embattled head coach off their hands. Call that the Jordan Travis Effect.

Here’s hoping anytime the two are in the same city, Norvell picks up the tab when they have dinner together. After all, it’s the least he could do for the guy.

Wyatt Matters

This is what happens when talent covers up mediocrity for too long. Jordan Travis gave Mike Norvell everything — wins, prestige, a fat contract extension — and the moment that quarterback walked away, the whole house of cards collapsed. It’s a reminder that great players can make average coaches look like geniuses, and when the smoke clears, the truth always comes out. FSU faithful deserve better than fool’s gold dressed up as championship coaching.