NEW ORLEANS – So many aspects of the work Mike Norvell has done rebuilding the Florida State football players were on display Sunday night.

From hitting on transfer portal additions at an alarmingly high rate to developing long-tenured members of the FSU roster he inherited who the fanbase had all but given up on, the work he’s done rebuilding the roster should be commended. And there's no doubt it was on display through the Seminoles' game against LSU.

But the intangible work he’s done rebuilding the Seminoles’ culture, the heart, is equally as impressive. And it may be what pushed FSU past the finish line against the Tigers.

Look no further than the individual moments that led to the Seminoles doing just enough to beat LSU 24-23 in the Caesar’s Superdome, the biggest of which no doubt was Shyheim Brown’s blocked extra point with no time left which prevented overtime.

“We talked to our team all week that this game could come down to one play, to one opportunity. As you watch throughout the course of the game, I thought our guys put on display an incredible heart,” Norvell said after the game. “The passion which they played, just the effort, the physicality, I thought we dominated the game for the majority of it. Obviously, there at the end, we had some things that happened that we just can't have. But the one thing that happened on the last play is what we absolutely need.”

It’s hard to imagine many FSU teams of the last few years having that type of resilience. The players may have thought the game was essentially over when the Seminoles led 24-10 with less than five minutes left. They had to think it was over when Brendan Gant recovered a muffed punt deep in LSU territory with just over two minutes left and a seven-point lead.

But an inexplicable fumble gave LSU one more shot and the Tigers took advantage, marching 99 yards in 80 seconds against FSU’s prevent defense and scoring what should have been the game-tying touchdown on the final play of the game.

It’s the type of disheartening momentum swing that could be too much for even some established teams to overcome mentally. Not this FSU team that Norvell has built, though. Brown seized his moment and created a highlight play that will live on long past his playing career with the Seminoles.

“Somebody is going to come free,” Brown said. “That’s what we say in meetings, someone is going to come free. You’ve got to approach every rep like you’re the one coming free and that’s what we did out there…

“I liked the way we finished. We’re built like that. Last year, we weren’t a big finishing team. We started fast and we finished good so that’s all that really matters to me.”

Brown’s moment was far from the only play that turned the tide in the Seminoles’ favor. There was the blocked field goal earlier in the game by Jared Verse.

There was the touchdown pass Jordan Travis threw to Ontaria Wilson while taking a huge hit from LSU defensive lineman Ali Gaye, which was egregious targeting.

There were the fumble recoveries by Wyatt Rector and Brendan Gant, who hustled downfield and fielded punts that had been muffed by LSU returner Malik Nabers.

Wilson, who is now in his sixth year with the FSU football program and has experienced the end of Jimbo Fisher’s tenure, the entirety of Willie Taggart’s and all of Norvell’s to date, knows those aren’t moments that a number of FSU teams he’s been a part of would have made.

“We’ve grown together as a family,” Wilson said. “Becoming closer as a team gives you the opportunity to win big games rather than being separated. We came in more like a fist rather than a hand.”

You saw how much this meant to the FSU football family on the field after Brown’s miraculous play. You saw the pure joy, hugs that were relieving quite a bit of built-up tension and even tears from a few players.

FSU has had quite a few heartbreaking losses of late. The Notre Dame, Jacksonville State and Clemson games from last year were each particularly brutal losses in their own ways.

Had the Seminoles somehow fallen to LSU, that may have topped this list of brutality. But the Seminoles changed the ending for what could be a tenure-defining win for Norvell.

“We needed that game. It's big for our program. It's big for those kids that are in that locker room,” Norvell said. “It's big for everybody because we did have a great stage to put on display the identity of what I believe this team is made up of. It's young men with character that love to work, that believe in each other, that believe in the process.

“I would have liked to have probably finished that game a lot cleaner than what we did. But as I've said before, sometimes you need to go through what you need to, to prove you can get there. And even in that moment, it came down to one play, and our guys rose to the occasion for that last play. So very proud of them. It will be a lot to grow from, this game. A quality opponent, a lot of draft picks out there on that field. And our guys, they rose to the occasion there at the end to be able to finish it. Proud of our football team.”

The new shirts FSU has been wearing this season may sum it up best. Their message is a simple, “(We) All we got. (We) All we need.”

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