Florida State coach Mike Norvell criticized the officiating after the Seminoles' 43-35 double-overtime loss at Miami on Saturday. He was angry about a late holding call that wiped out what would have been a game-tying touchdown. CBS Sports reported that he called the flag "absolutely terrible" and said it denied his team a chance to "finish the game on the field." ESPN quoted him calling the penalty an "absolute joke." The two outlets' summaries give different phrases, so it is unclear whether both came from the same answer or from separate remarks.
The game itself was close throughout. The box score shows Florida St trailing 7-0 after one quarter, scoring 14 in the second to lead, and then trading scores. The game was tied after regulation and went to two extra periods. It ended with an Ashton Daniels pass intercepted by Bryce Fitzgerald at the Miami goal line, which was a touchback.
The numbers fit Norvell's complaint only partly. Miami had 583 yards to Florida State's 443, 26 first downs to 19, and 37:20 of possession to 22:40. Miami was also penalized more: six flags for 68 yards against five for 35 for the Seminoles. Daniels threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, and Duce Robinson caught five passes for 113 yards and two scores. Miami's Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, and Malachi Toney had 11 catches for 154 yards. Our box score doesn't show which play was the holding call, so we can't say from the data whether it fell in the first or second overtime.
Other outlets have turned the call into a wider argument. Yahoo Sports ran a piece asking whether the win was "rigged" and saying fans accuse the ACC of protecting its top team. That is how Yahoo framed fan reaction, and nothing in our data supports it. A separate Yahoo item said Fox analyst Joel Klatt devoted part of his show to officiating. He cited this game and Notre Dame at BYU as finishes where he argued officials are "changing results." The same item said Norvell faces firing risk after the loss.
The record gives that second claim some context. Norvell is 79-51 in his career, and his Florida State teams went 13-1 in 2023, then 2-10 in 2024 and 5-6 in 2025. This year's team is 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the ACC and 15th in the conference. It has lost two straight, 44-20 at Louisville on Oct. 9 and now this one. Before that it beat Virginia 38-7 on Oct. 3.
Miami is 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC, first in the conference, on a six-game winning streak. It plays Pitt on Saturday, Oct. 24. Florida State has more time to regroup and hosts Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 31.
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