RALEIGH, N.C. — It was another day, but the same story for Florida State at NC State on Friday night in Raleigh as the Seminoles lost to the Wolfpack, 21-11. The Seminoles’ road woes continued as they dropped passes, missed tackles, muffed punts, penalties and missed field goals en route to their ninth straight road loss over the last two years.
FSU has not picked up a road victory since Nov. 25, 2023, at Florida.
The look was familiar. For the fifth straight game – and in every road contest this year – FSU was scoreless in the first quarter. The Seminoles started the second quarter on the NC State 33, and got on the board less than a minute later. But the offense stalled from there.
“We had too many missed opportunities, not good enough offensively,” said head coach Mike Norvell. “We moved the ball, but have a dropped pass, missed opportunity to be able to continue a drive. We did have a turnover on the positive side of the field, missed field goals. You’ve got to put points on the board. We’ve been on the road and failed to do that numerous times.”
Despite a dropped pass or two, FSU moved the ball down the field on its first drive of the game. The Seminoles had second down at the NC State 34 when a Tommy Castellanos pass sailed and was intercepted at the 9-yard line by Devon Marshall.
“I had two guys in my face,” Castellanos said. “I was just trying to move in the pocket. That’s a routine throw that I make over and over again. It just sailed.”
The Seminoles managed just three points through the first three quarters against the Wolfpack, which entered the game ranked 118th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 31.6 points per game through their first 10 games. NC State also held Biletnikoff Award semifinalist Duce Robinson to no catches through the first three quarters.
Robinson, who had at least 120 receiving yards in each of the last three games, caught his first pass with just over 12 minutes to play. He then added a 34-yard reception at the NC State 10 that gave the Seminoles their only first-and-goal, and helped pull FSU to within three after his 9-yard touchdown catch and a subsequent 2-point conversion made it 14-11 NC State.
But the mistakes continued. Two consecutive muffed punts helped seal the Seminoles’ fate late in the 4th quarter. The first muff bounced off K.J. Kirkland’s helmet at the FSU 35 and was eventually recovered by NC State punter Caden Noonkester at the FSU 40, the original line of scrimmage. After the Seminole defense forced a three and out, the special teams unit had another miscue. This time, it was Squirrel White’s muff that was recovered at the FSU 16. NC State added a fourth-down touchdown to make it a 21-11 game and cap the scoring.
The Seminole defense was stingy, allowing just 286 yards on the night, but that was enough for NC State to improve to 6-5 and become bowl-eligible.
“We just take stuff day by day. We had a great week of preparation and everyone was locked in,” said Stefon Thompson. “I don’t think that would be a reflection of the season because behind closed doors, we work harder than what it seems like or what it may look like.”
The Seminoles now face a must-win game at Florida on Nov. 29 to become bowl-eligible. Thompson said Norvell’s message to the team after the game was positive.
“Everyone just stick together,” he said. “We have one more, let’s go try to win this and go to a bowl game. We sat there and fought. Stuff just didn’t go our way.”
