Did we just watch the best half of FSU football in the Mike Norvell Era?

How Florida State dominated in the final 30 minutes of Sunday's win over LSU — scoring 31 straight points — is a memory nobody who played in the game, coached on either side or watched the 45-24 Seminoles win will forget.

FSU's offense scored on five straight drives in the second half. The defense had an interception, a fourth-down stop, forced two punts and only gave up a touchdown in the final few minutes with freshmen on the field.

Was it the best half of football FSU has played since Norvell arrived? When considering the quality of opponent and that it happened in the second half, an argument can be made.

"That second half, that was a glimpse, a glimpse of what I think this team can do and where I think it can go," FSU coach Mike Norvell said. "... I don't think we played our best game but I thought that second half, we were able to really finish the way that we wanted to, and I'm proud of them for the way that they continued to battle, the way they showed the resilience and who they are."

Norvell often reflects on how the Seminoles must respond to adversity, and they stared it straight on in the first half. There were highs — Keon Coleman's two touchdowns and a pair of fourth-down stops, including one on the goal line. But there were lows — drops and a stalled-out run game as well as missed assignments and poor tackling.

"I thought the guys did a good job of just executing," FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said. "Early on, emotions, fans, sometimes it’s the first guys running out there with the Seminole (logo) on. Some of that, you saw the nerves. I think when we settled in and got back to execution, because we work our guys, and once they got back to executing, it was what we expected."

Receiving the ball first to come out of halftime, the Seminoles made a field-goal attempt and then scored four straight touchdowns. FSU had five scores in the second half, while LSU managed just seven first downs in the final 30 minutes.

"It was a 31-0 run — it was really good," defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said, delivering a deadpan understatement.

We were curious about the Seminoles' best four halves in the last three-plus seasons. Sunday's win stacks up among the most impressive, especially when factoring in LSU won the SEC West title in 2022 and was ranked fifth going into the game.

FSU averaged just 6.65 yards per play in the first half on Sunday night. In the second half, the Seminoles averaged 8.26 yards per play.

Of note when you review the above chart, Norvell's teams have scored 31 points in the first half of games but this was his first team to score 31 in the second half. And the 31 points against No. 5 LSU matches the 31 points vs. No. 5 UNC in 2020.

Where does Sunday's second half stack up historically?

From research by FSU's sports information department, "FSU scored 31 points after halftime vs. No. 5 LSU, the most second-half points against a top 5 opponent in program history."

And then there's this gem, also from research by FSU and other sources, which put the scoring output in perspective nationally: "FSU’s 45 points against No. 5 LSU tied for the most points against a top 5 opponent in a season opener in the poll era, dating back to the first AP poll in 1936."

As fans and media, it's easy to get caught up in the moment. But it's not a stretch to say this was the best half of football from one of Norvell's teams in Tallahassee. And it can very well be debated it's among the best in school history, certainly against a highly ranked team.

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