Central Arkansas Bears at Florida State Seminoles

Sep 26, 2026·2:00 PM CT·Tallahassee, FL

By JR·2 min read

CARK(2-2)

FSU(1-2)

AT

2:00 PM CT

TLDR: Florida State is 1-2, has 2 straight losses and a head coach who has spent all year hearing about his job. On Saturday, September 26, it gets an FCS opponent at home, and that opponent happens to be the school where Mike Norvell caught more passes than anyone else in its history.

SAT SEP 26, 2:00 PM CT

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Central Arkansas

(2-2)

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Florida State

(1-2)

LLWLL

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Florida State, 1-2 after losses to SMU and Alabama, hosts FCS Central Arkansas in the first meeting between the programs, and Mike Norvell faces the school where he set the career receptions record. The Seminoles' offense scored 36 against Alabama, but the defense has allowed 77 points in 2 games. With Virginia up next, the interesting questions are how clean FSU looks and how long its starters play. The board lists FSU as a 42.5-point favorite with a total of 59.5, and picks are not open yet.

Central Arkansas

FCS side facing a defense that allowed 77 in 2 games
Starters may face FSU backups early with Virginia up next
FCS program on a payday trip to a power-conference stadium
First-ever meeting, no track record against this level

Florida State

Daniels-led offense put up 36 at Alabama
Preseason All-American WR Duce Robinson against an FCS secondary
Home game in clean 83-degree weather
Defense allowed 27 to SMU and 50 to Alabama
2-game losing streak, coach on the hot seat
Virginia next week gives reason to pull starters early

Put the result aside, because an FCS team coming to Doak Campbell is only interesting in what it tells you about the home team. Central Arkansas is making its first trip to Tallahassee and is getting a $450,000 guarantee for it. Norvell starred at receiver for the Bears from 2001 to 2005 and left as their all-time receptions leader with 213 catches. That's a nice story for the broadcast. For a coach who came into the year on one of the hottest seats in the country after 2 straight losing seasons, it's also a game he can't afford to make interesting.

The Seminoles have lost 2 in a row after opening with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State. SMU won 27-24 in Tallahassee in the ACC opener, a game that also sat through a stadium power outage. Then Alabama put up 50 in Tuscaloosa. FSU scored 36 in that one, so Ashton Daniels, the Auburn transfer running Tim Harris Jr.'s offense in Harris's first year as coordinator, is moving the ball. The defense is the problem: 77 points allowed across the last 2 games.

Weather won't be a factor. The forecast is 83 degrees and cloudy with no rain and a 6 mph breeze, which is about as good as late September in North Florida gets. That leaves a clean Saturday afternoon for FSU to show whether the offense against Alabama was real, and whether Tony White's defense in his 2nd year can shut down anybody at all.

Duce Robinson is the name to watch on the FSU side. He came into the year as a preseason All-American and on several award watchlists, and a game like this is where a receiver with that kind of profile should pile up numbers early. Sophomore running back Ousmane Kromah, who is on the Doak Walker watchlist, should get plenty of work too. Kicker Gabe Panikowski, a Groza watchlist name, should mostly be kicking extra points.

Virginia comes to Tallahassee a week later, and that matters for this game. Once FSU gets a comfortable lead, expect Norvell to protect Daniels and his top skill players for a conference game that actually shapes the season. How big that lead gets depends on how fast it happens and how long the backups hold it.

For Central Arkansas, a UAC program, the job is simple: collect the check, stay healthy and try to make FSU's defense look like it did the last 2 weeks. For Florida State, a win doesn't fix anything. A sloppy one would leave people asking questions about Norvell for another week.

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