2023 ACC Football
Championship Game:
Louisville vs Florida State
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Bank of America Stadium
Florida State Seminoles
Coach Mike Norvell
Lawrance Toafili
Postgame Press Conference
Florida State 16, Louisville 6
MIKE NORVELL: First off, just so proud of our football
team. The work they put in, the journey we’ve been on, the
ups, the downs, the adversity that we’ve faced, tonight
starting a true freshman quarterback in the ACC
Championship game, not necessarily how we envisioned it,
as we’ve been going through these last 13 games, but it
was a football team that responded together, and that’s
what we have. We have a real team, no matter how you’ve
got to do it, no matter what it needs to look like, we find
ways to win games.
We’ve got the most Power Five wins over bowl eligible
teams in the country. This is a team that has been resilient
in the way that they have had to overcome, and it shows
up in how they play.
Defense had to show up big tonight, and they did. That
was a really good Louisville offense that’s been playing — I
think they scored 30 points in the last five or six games that
they played, and to hold them to 6 points was awesome.
We made the plays necessary, and that’s what this team is
all about. There’s times that you face challenges and
you’ve got to get yourself up, and we’ve been through that.
We’ve been through that the last four years. I’m grateful
for all those challenges, for this team to go up and show up
in times just like this.
I knew it was going to take everybody, and it absolutely
did. And to be able to finish up 13-0, conference
champions, the schedule which we played and how we’ve
had to work through it, it’s a special group, and I’m just
honored for the opportunity to coach them.
Q. Mike, I asked you yesterday about trying to lobby
for Florida State, and there’s a lot of people
questioning whether you deserve a playoff spot
because you don’t have your starting quarterback, and
that has increased since this game ended. What do
you have to say about why this team belongs in the
playoff?
MIKE NORVELL: Because this is a real team. It’s one that
finds a way to win games. Whatever it needs to look like.
There’s plenty of teams that have talent. There’s plenty of
teams that you could sit there and point to a moment here
or a moment there, but it’s about getting the win. It’s about
making sure that you show up and you do the things
necessary to achieve in each situation, and we’ve done
that on the road. We’ve done it at home. We’ve done it
with a backup quarterback, and now we’ve done it with a
true freshman quarterback. This team continues to find
ways to make it happen.
You sit back and you look, since the BCS was created and
the history of this, there’s never been an undefeated Power
5 team that was denied an opportunity to play for a national
championship over a one-loss team.
There’s a reason. Because you have to earn it on the field.
I don’t care how much talent you have. I don’t care what it
looks like on a game or in a moment. You’ve got to get it
done, and if you have all that ability, well, go finish. That’s
what this team has done. This team has showed up week
in and week out and they’ve worked for it.
We’ve had some one-play games. We’ve had some
challenging moments that they had to respond, and that’s
what makes a champion. These guys are champions.
You know what, if we get our opportunity, which I fully
expect to get, this is going to be a team that’s going to
continue to do all things necessary to put themselves in a
position to go take the next step.
I believe in this football team. It’s funny there’s people that
can count us out. Jordan Travis went down. That was a
special player. He means everything to our program.
When he went down, we still went on the road, and big
rival, found adversity and responded to it and found a way
to get a win.
Tonight, same thing. Adversity shows up, challenges set
in, this team is built for it. I believe in them. I don’t care
where, who, when. I’ve had 13 straight games this season,
and the final six last season, and you know, we beat a lot
of teams from all these different conferences that
presumed are at this other — we show up and play and find
a way to win, and that’s what this team has done.
Q. To follow up on that, do you feel like you could
compete with the other three teams if you make it to
the College Football Playoff?
MIKE NORVELL: I believe in this team 100 percent. I
don’t care who, where, when we play. This team is going
to show up and they’re going to battle. You can take any
stat line. And we told our guys, tonight whatever it takes, if
it’s offense, if it’s defense, we’ve got to help and we’ve got
to respond and we’ve got to have each other’s back in
situations.
We scored 16 points tonight. If somebody said you score
16 points, what’s it going to look like? Tonight it looked like
a win. Something that will be remembered. It’s something
that obviously our football team did what was necessary,
right, to be able to achieve success.
Because that’s what it comes down to. You can have all
the talent in the world, but it comes down to doing the
things necessary to win games, and that’s what this team
just consistently does.
Q. Can you talk about going to LT in the wildcat,
getting a spark defensively, and just the decision to do
that with UL’s defense being very good?
MIKE NORVELL: We talked about it all week. It’s a
defense that doesn’t give up much in the run game. We
felt we if we could gain a little bit of an advantage if we
were able to implement a little bit of wildcat into it. We
really put it in late in the week, and it was something that
these guys, they did a wonderful job of being able to adapt
to it.
LT had an unbelievable game. The big run, the
touchdown, it was a spark we needed, and our offensive
line, we knew there was going to be some challenges.
That was a really good defense that we played against, but
they rose up in the moment and were able to get it
accomplished.
Q. How scary is the defense now after tonight?
Because I feel like going into this College Football
Playoff, some of these three teams you got to look out
for our defense.
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, I think our defense has played at
an extremely high level. We have gotten better throughout
the season. You look at the way they played in the second
half of games. They can adapt, they can adjust, they can
go out there and execute.
They got put in challenging situations tonight. To be able
to get the interception there, with Tatum in the end zone,
that was such a huge play.
These guys have such heart. They’re such competitors.
Whoever lines up across from us, we know we’ve got to
embrace the challenge. We’re built for challenge. That’s
the way that we work, the way that we push the standard of
what’s necessary here at Florida State. It’s how we’ve
gotten the program back to where it is, because of guys
like this.
It’s just a great group, and I thought our defense was lights
out tonight and helped carry us to the championship
tonight.
Q. Brock Glenn showed some poise at different times;
made throws when you guys needed to; he obviously
did enough, like you mentioned, to win the game. Talk
about his performance.
MIKE NORVELL: You know, it was remarkable. To be
able to go in there — that’s the thing, he’s a true freshman,
but he missed the better part of the middle of the season
due to injury.
He’s got great confidence. He’s going to be a special
player. I’ve got a lot of confidence in where his career is
going.
But he does have poise, and he’s able to go out there and
execute. We put a lot on our quarterbacks, and he
embraces that, as well.
For a few freshman just to get his first start in the ACC
Championship game, I don’t think that’s happened in, what
was it, 20-something years for a first-time starting
quarterback? Two times in the last 20 years that that’s had
to show up, and we got it done.
LAWRANCE TOAFILI: We’re extremely proud of him. He
comes to work every day, and he just has the mindset that
if anybody goes down, he’s got to be ready. I’m very proud
of him and showing the moments and just being ready for
his moments. I’m definitely proud of him for that.
Q. We were watching on Instagram waiting to see
Braden and Jared break the rock. Talk about the
defense; it seems like everyone in that unit played at a
level to contribute tonight?
MIKE NORVELL: It was a talented offensive line group,
too, from Louisville, too, but those guys knew it was going
to take all of them.
You could go down the line like you mentioned. Pat;
Fabien had a couple big plays; Josh Farmer; Jared;
Braden. I don’t want to leave anybody out because all of
those guys were impactful. I thought our linebacking corps
really flew around the ball. Our secondary embraced the
challenge in huge plays and in one-on-one situations
where guys just — they got the job done. We wanted to be
aggressive. We wanted to attack.
I’ve got all the respect in the world for Coach Brohm and
the offensive mind that he is and the players that they have
on that team, but our guys were special tonight.
Q. LT, what was your reaction during the week as it
became clear the wildcat was going to be a bigger part
of the package and what did you see on the 73-yard
run?
LAWRANCE TOAFILI: I was just trying to be ready for my
moment, trying to make it happen if it needed to be done.
On that play, it actually just opened up. It was a perfect
block by the lineman and running back in the backfield. He
blocked for me, too, so it was really just me running, so
definitely grateful for them.
MIKE NORVELL: You did it fast, and I liked it.
Q. Mike, are you surprised it’s even a conversation?
Going undefeated in a Power Five conference, the
whole point is to win the games and other teams
haven’t. Are you surprised it’s even a conversation?
MIKE NORVELL: Yeah, it’s entertainment in some things
to be able to have the conversation, but I don’t think there
is a conversation. We’re at Florida State. We open up a
season with LSU on the road, maybe a Heisman Trophy
candidate, maybe winner in their quarterback that — you
know, we showed what we were about then defensively,
special teams-wise, offense, the talent that we have.
The way that we’ve won games. To go on the road at
Clemson. Nobody else was able to accomplish that.
Some ranked teams went in there, but we were the only
team that was able to beat them on the road, and it was
tough.
We’ve been down in games. We’ve been down 10 points I
think in three or four different games, and we responded.
It’s not just like we came back — we came back and
finished games. We came back and were able to do the
things necessary to achieve victory.
I don’t think there is a conversation. This is a team that is
well deserving. This is a team that has earned it. This is a
team that has showed up consistently and proven that they
have what it takes to win, and we’ve done it against more
Power Five bowl eligible teams than anybody else out
there.
So I don’t want to hear about the schedule. Actually we
schedule a tough non-conference. We put ourselves out
there, and then you embrace it in how you go about your
business. This team, they’ve earned it.
Like I said, each week it changes what’s the hot team or
the most talented team, but then when they lose a game,
there’s a reason. This team has all the ability, and they just
get it done.
Q. Coach, playing with a third string quarterback in
the ACC Championship game and winning it is an
amazing and phenomenal feat, so just talk about the
adversity your team has had to overcome along with
the grit and determination that the team has portrayed
during this game and throughout the whole season.
MIKE NORVELL: They’re built for it. Like I said in my
opening statement, I thank God for the challenges we’ve
had over the last four years, because like I said, through
that journey sometimes you have to go through what you
need to prove you can get through.
Well, we can get through a lot of things. We can get
through a lot of challenges. We can get through a lot of
adversity that’s thrown at us. I believe in these players.
That’s what gives me such great confidence, because I
watch them every single day.
It’s not just on the field. Everybody can get excited about
13 wins or whatever, 19 straight wins that these guys have
been able to take those steps. I also watch them in the
classroom. We’ve got a football team that has over 3.0
team GPA. That is best ever in program history.
There are challenges that they embrace and a lot of things
that they don’t necessarily like to do, but they’re willing to
do it because they want to uphold the standard of what
Florida State deserves. They love and care about each
other, and I think you see that in how they play.
We push them, and I’m not going to stop pushing them
because I believe in where they can go and I believe all
that they can accomplish.
Q. LT, why do you feel like you guys should make the
playoff? Does it anger you that people are talking
about you not making it?
LAWRANCE TOAFILI: Honestly, I feel like we go out there
and work every day, you know what I’m saying? We play
for each other. We are a close-knit team. I feel like we
haven’t lost a game yet, so we’re proving our point and
showing what we can do. That’s how I feel, honestly.
Q. Your resume is incredible, obviously, but what
would you say to the committee if they were saying,
hey, that team that you had tonight is not the team that
won all those games? How do you put that together
with such a big part of your offense missing?
MIKE NORVELL: We just beat a top-15 team with a true
freshman quarterback. Like that doesn’t matter. I don’t
care perspective what people think. We win. We win. You
know what, if we get the opportunity to go play in the
national semifinal, it’s going to be a challenge. I believe in
this team. I believe in what they can do. I believe in who
they are. You know what, they showed up every single
week and done it.
So I don’t really care about what everybody else’s opinions
are. I know who I coach, and I know we get the
opportunity, they’re going to go fight for everything they get
because they’ve been doing it the last four years, and
whatever the next opportunity is, I promise you they’re
going to show up.
Q. LT, Coach talks a lot about adversity, that the
running back room has faced adversity throughout
this entire year, an example being the Clemson game.
How motivated has this team been, the running back
room playing with a chip on its shoulder to just have
that game, and you really had that game tonight.
LAWRANCE TOAFILI: Yes, sir. All of us together, we’re
just pushing each other. We feed off each other’s energy.
We’re really just playing our part. Like Coach Atkins says,
we’re on fries, you know. We’re doing our part. We had a
big part today so we had a big role. We had to step up to
the plate.
Q. LT, Coach is really amped right now. Was there
any extra emphasis on physicality today for you guys?
There’s been a lot of talk about the injuries. Was there
any extra motivation to come out and make a
statement?
LAWRANCE TOAFILI: That’s every day. Early in the
morning, 6:00 in the morning, you know what I’m saying?
Ready.
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