Florida State coach Mike Norvell will return for a seventh season with the Seminoles, pledging to make needed structural changes within the program to enhance performance, the school announced Sunday.

Questions that had been mounting about Norvell’s job security reached a boiling point after a 21-11 loss to NC State on Friday night that dropped the Seminoles to 5-6. They need a win at Florida on Saturday to reach bowl eligibility.

Over the past two years, Florida State is 7-16 (3-13 in ACC play) and winless on the road. Norvell, however, did win an ACC title in 2023 and has maintained his optimism for the future.

In a statement, university president Richard McCullough said he, athletic director Michael Alford and board of trustees chairman Peter Collins were in “complete agreement that changes are needed for our program to improve.”

“Coach Norvell embraces our support in that process and agrees that success must be achieved. He continues to demonstrate an unwavering belief in this program’s future, and so do we,” McCullough said. “This decision reflects a unified commitment to competing in the rapidly evolving landscape of college football, while maintaining continuity within the program.”

Sources said more resources would be placed into recruiting and the roster, and changes would be made to the personnel department to allow Norvell the best chance to succeed.

Had Florida State moved on from Norvell, the school would have owed him about $54 million in buyout money. All told, Florida State would have owed about $72 million to Norvell and his staff.

In six seasons with the Seminoles, Norvell is 38-33 with only two winning seasons. Despite its record this year, Florida State has made strides over 2024, when it finished 2-10 — the worst program mark since 1974.

Florida State has gone from among the worst offenses in the country — ranking No. 132 in the nation last year — to one of the best, ranking No. 8 this year and outgaining opponents in 10 games.

“The driving motivation behind this is to make certain that we are doing everything properly to obtain and retain elite players, add critical pieces, and sustain long-term success,” Norvell said in a statement Sunday. “I love Florida State, and I am fully committed to this program, and our shared goals.”

The Seminoles opened the year with an emphatic 31-17 victory over Alabama in which the fans stormed the field, a win that perhaps reset expectations for where the program was.

A 3-0 start quickly unraveled on the road at Virginia, where Florida State lost 46-38 in double-overtime. Another embarrassing road loss to Stanford in October forced Alford to issue a statement saying he would do a full program evaluation after the season.

“Hell no, we haven’t,” Norvell said when asked whether his team has met expectations after Friday’s loss to NC State. “We’re not even close to living up to expectations. No, we have not lived up to expectations. We’re a fully capable football team, and that’s not good enough, and that’s not been good enough for the six losses we have, and it’s extremely frustrating.”

The high point under Norvell came in 2023, when the Seminoles celebrated a 13-0 record and ACC championship.

Despite going undefeated and winning a conference championship, the College Football Playoff selection committee left the Seminoles out of the four-team playoff, in large part because quarterback Jordan Travis was lost for the season with a broken leg.

Since then, Florida State has struggled. Norvell admitted the CFP snub had a much deeper impact on his program than he initially realized, but with a young core of players set to return — including freshman standouts Mandrell and Darryll Desir, Ousmane Kromah, Jayvan Boggs and Micahi Danzy — there is a belief the program can build momentum for next season.

Cal has fired coach Justin Wilcox after he went 48-55 over nine seasons with the Golden Bears, general manager Ron Rivera announced Sunday.

Wilcox’s final game came Saturday, as Cal lost 31-10 to rival Stanford, a game in which Cal was favored. The loss dropped Cal to 6-5 on the season, which marked the third straight year that Cal reached bowl eligibility.

“I want to thank Justin for all of his contributions to our football program, our athletic department and our university,” Rivera said in a statement. “He has always comported himself with class and professionalism. After careful consideration, we believe the time has come for new leadership. We wish Justin the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Per his contract, Wilcox, the sixth-winningest coach in program history, will be owed approximately $10.9 million.

The end of Wilcox’s tenure comes at an interesting crossroads for Cal. It has two co-directors of athletics — Jay Larson and Jenny Simon O’Neill. Cal also hired Rivera, the longtime NFL coach, as its new football general manager to help modernize the program.

Nick Rolovich, the former head coach at Washington State and Hawai’i, has been named interim coach. He’d been working as a senior offensive assistant for Cal this season.

Wilcox’s teams were always solid and competitive, but they’d recently been undercut by a lack of NIL support. A flurry of starters left the 2024 Golden Bears, including Heisman Trophy favorite Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), former first-team all-Pac-12 tailback Jaydn Ott (Oklahoma) and star tight end Jack Endries (Texas).

Even with all the high-profile defections, it’d been a season of relative optimism for Cal until the loss to Stanford, the tenor of which was unexpected. Cal had recruited perhaps the country’s best true freshman quarterback, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who flashed the promise of being a linchpin for the future.

It also reloaded with a solid transfer class that helped it with solid wins against Minnesota, North Carolina and an upset win just last week at Louisville.

Cal is in its second season in the ACC, and Wilcox was just 5-10 in ACC play the past two seasons. In none of his nine seasons at Cal did he manage a winning record in league play, which included seven years in the Pac-12 and two in the ACC.

Wilcox, 49, is a well-regarded coach with strong ties to the West Coast, as he has been defensive coordinator at spots such as Boise State, Washington and USC. He has also been a coordinator at Tennessee and Wisconsin, where he worked in 2016 prior to getting the Cal head coaching job.

Oregon returned to the top five of The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday, while five ACC teams were ranked for the second time this season after Georgia Tech took the biggest fall following its second loss in three games.

Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remained the top three teams for a sixth straight week, and Georgia was No. 4 for the second week in a row.

Oregon jumped over idle Ole Miss to No. 5 — its highest ranking since it was No. 3 in the Oct. 5 poll. The Ducks strengthened their College Football Playoff résumé with a 15-point victory over then-No. 16 USC, extending their winning streak to five games.

Ole Miss was followed by Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama.

Ohio State is No. 1 for a 13th straight week going into its game at No. 15 Michigan. The Buckeyes received 58 first-place votes and were 53 points ahead of Indiana, which was listed first on seven ballots. Texas A&M got the remaining first-place vote.

Miami, which beat Virginia Tech by 17 points on the road, moved up a spot to No. 13 and was the highest-ranked ACC team. Virginia climbed two spots to No. 17. Georgia Tech, beaten 42-28 at home by Pittsburgh, dropped eight rungs to No. 23.

Pittsburgh, which has three losses, was one spot behind the two-loss Yellow Jackets as the Panthers returned to the poll after a one-week absence. No. 25 SMU, which beat Louisville by 32 points for its third straight win, reentered the poll for the first time since Sept. 2. The Mustangs can return to the ACC championship game with a win at California.

The ACC, in addition to this week, had five teams in the poll Nov. 9. That makes this the fourth straight year the ACC has had five teams ranked in two or more polls.

No. 20 James Madison of the Sun Belt remained the highest-ranked Group of 5 team in the AP poll. The Dukes, up one spot from a week ago, came from behind to beat Washington State 24-20.

No. 21 North Texas of the American Conference was one spot ahead of Tulane. The Green Wave were the only Group of 5 team in the CFP selection committee’s rankings last week, at No. 24.

Five teams from the state of Texas are ranked for a second straight week. The Lone Star State hadn’t had five teams in back-to-back polls since 2016.

Missouri (No. 23) and Houston (No. 25) dropped out.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC (8): Nos. 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18
ACC (5): 13, 17, 23, 24, 25
Big Ten (5): 1, 2, 5, 15, 19
Big 12 (3): 7, 11, 14
American (2): 21, 22
Independent (1): 9
Sun Belt (1): 20

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) at No. 15 Michigan (9-2, 7-1, No. 18): The Buckeyes have lost four straight to Michigan. They haven’t dropped five in a row to their archrival since they lost six straight from 1922 to 1927.

No. 3 Texas A&M (11-0, 7-0 SEC, No. 3 CFP) at No. 16 Texas (8-3, 5-2, No. 17): The Aggies can lock up a spot in the SEC title game with a win Friday; they would need lots of help to get to Atlanta if they lose. Arch Manning‘s six-touchdown day against Arkansas gives the Longhorns mojo for this rivalry game.

No. 4 Georgia (10-1, No. 4 CFP) at No. 23 Georgia Tech (9-2, No. 16): The Bulldogs have won seven straight in the series and haven’t lost to the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta since 1999.

No. 12 Vanderbilt (9-2, 5-2 SEC, No. 14 CFP) at No. 18 Tennessee (8-3, 4-3, No. 20): The Commodores are going for a 10th win for the first time in program history. They are 12-41-2 all time in Knoxville, and only four of those wins have come in the past 50 years.

No. 13 Miami (9-2, 5-2 ACC, No. 13 CFP) at No. 24 Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-1): Both teams still have narrow paths to the ACC title game; Miami is clinging to playoff hopes, and Pitt is trying to land the best possible bowl.