Crazy. Things. Happen. In. Raleigh.
Florida State fumbled three times, including two punts — one off Squirrel White’s hands and another off KJ Kirkland’s head in the fourth quarter. Jake Weinberg missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt. Too many drops. And eight penalties.
The Seminoles’ road show — one filled with self-inflicted mistakes — continued in a frustrating 21-11 loss to NC State on Friday night. FSU finished 0-4 on the road in the ACC in 2025.
NC State capitalized on the second muffed punt, converting on fourth-and-6 with CJ Bailey’s touchdown to Justin Joly.
FSU trailed throughout, including 14-3 early in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles responded and built their best drive, with Tommy Castellanos connecting with Duce Robinson on a 34-yard catch. A few plays later, Castellanos and Robinson connected on a 9-yard touchdown pass, and FSU tacked on the two-point conversion pass to cut the deficit to 14-11 with 8:17 left.
But with FSU’s defense twice doing its job and making a stop, the Seminoles’ special teams let the team down.
Robinson caught four passes for 74 yards, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark.
FSU (5-6, 2-6 ACC) played without Samuel Singleton Jr., who was declared out on the availability report pregame. Tommy Castellanos was FSU’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 76 yards as the Seminoles had 180 rushing yards (5.3 yards per carry). Gavin Sawchuk had eight carries for 35 yards.
Castellanos connected on 16 of 31 passes for 203 yards. He tossed an interception on the game’s final play.
But the result was again the same as FSU lost for the fourth straight time to NC State at Raleigh.
“Tonight, too many missed opportunities,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “Not good enough offensively. We were able to move the ball but we would have a dropped pass, missed opportunity to be able to continue a drive. Missed field goals. We got to put points on the board.”
Defense
Linebacker Stefon Thompson had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Defensive tackle Mandrell Desir had a third-down sack of CJ Bailey. A true freshman, Desir now has a sack on four straight games.
Darrell Jackson and Darryll Desir each had seven tackles.
FSU held NC State to just 286 offensive yards. While the Wolfpack had 134 rushing yards, they were held to 3.2 yards per carry.
Of note
FSU did not score in the first quarter for the fourth straight road game.
NC State defensive end Caden Fordham had 15 tackles. Fordham is the son of FSU offensive lineman Todd Fordham. Caden’s brother, Corbyn, is a tight end who is committed to FSU.
The Wolfpack (6-5) are now bowl-eligible.
Up next
FSU plays at Florida at 3:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 29.
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