FSU head coach Mike Norvell talks LSU game, recaps practice

After starting off the season with a win for the first time in six years, Florida State Seminoles football is gearing up for a primetime showdown in New Orleans vs. the LSU Tigers.

The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, set to be broadcast on ABC.

FSU is coming off of a 47-7 win over FCS opponent Duquesne, setting a school record by having three running backs (Treshaun Ward, Trey Benson and Lawrance Toafili) log at least 100 rushing yards. Quarterback Jordan Travis also showed a steady hand in leading the offense, grading out PFF’s highest-rated quarterback in the country after completing 11 of 15 passes for a 207-yard passing performance.

After practice on Tuesday, head coach Mike Norvell met with the media to talk about his team’s approach to the work week as well as other takeaways from the day.

Norvell said he thought today was a good work day and that there were some things mid-practice that they need to get cleaned up and that they were able to start implementing a game plan for LSU.

“Coming of Sunday we had a good practice, yesterday being the off day, we were able to start implementing game plan and some of the different looks that we anticipate see but really to continuing to focus on our growth and our development.”

He mentioned quarterback Jordan Travis’ confidence and how its a real confidence and not just words before a big game. “There is probably not a whole lot of people or quarterbacks in the country going into the season saying, ‘oh I'm not confident’ everyone says that. It's real with Jordan because you’ve seen the investment, he's seen the benefits of things that he's being asked to do and how well he can do those. That doesn't mean there are not going to be mistakes. That's what I love because even in the mistake he builds confidence” adding, “I think he’s in a great headspace, and that's something that will be contagious.”

When asked about the preparation for LSU he touched on how it’s more about his own team than it is about the next opponent.

“It’s still about us and I’ve said it last week, I’ll say it again this week, I'll say it again for probably the next 10 weeks following. You want to be able to prepare your guys to the best of their ability of what you expect to see, but sometimes the unexpected shows up, but it still goes back to the rules, it goes back to the concepts, the overall understanding, and the adjustments that happen within.”

This Sunday’s matchup will be one filled with emotion and excitement and Norvell knows that. He addressed his players after practice to help make sure they stay in a focused mindset amidst all the noise.

“It's going to be emotional for everybody I was actually just talking to the team about that right now. When you play on this stage, prime time, it's exciting, if you're not excited to play in this game, to coach in that game, go do something else. This is awesome, I’m fired up for it but in that moment can you still maintain the focus, the discipline, the details and we’ve seen that work well for us and we’ve seen that be devastating for us... It’s time to apply the lessons.”

Coach Norvell’s full interview can be seen below: