406 days. 13 months. One whole year since the last ACC win for the Florida State Seminoles. All of the frustration of the last year for the Seminole fans, players, and coaches finally erupted in the 42-7 beat down of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. It was a much needed win for coach Mike Norvell, but a bigger win for a program surrounded by question marks.
Wake Forest received the ball first and looked as if they were going to march the FSU defense down the field. The Demon Deacons quickly picked up
23 yards on four plays before calling a timeout. The pause disrupted the offensive flow for Wake and the drive stalled out. The Seminoles fielded the punt cleanly and turned to Tommy Castellanos and the offensive unit. Samuel Singleton Jr started at running back and quickly picked up a first down but a false start on Lawayne McCoy and a miscommunication in the backfield put FSU behind the chains and they were forced to punt.
Wake’s second drive would have ended in points if the Deacons could have got out of their own way. After leading his team to near midfield, Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford broke free up the middle for a huge 20-yard gain, but the Demon Deacons were penalized for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that backed them right back to midfield. The next play, Wake again broke free for a 25-yard run from running back Demond Claiborne, but it was called back by a hold. With the Deacons behind the chains, the Seminole defense held and forced a punt that hit the endzone for a touchback.
The Seminole’s found success on their second drive, punching in a touchdown for the first points of the game. Two quick plays saw FSU facing a third down before Castellanos found Duce Robinson down the sideline for a huge 65-yard gain to end the first quarter. Three plays later and TC punched it in from six yards out for the score. Wake continued to play sloppy on offense as another big run was wiped out by a holding call (this one 53 yards). The Deacons then fumbled a potential first down before a false start prevented a fourth down attempt. On FSU’s third drive, Robinson nearly hauled in another big gain from TC but a hard hit dislodged the ball. Ousmane Kromah and Lawayne McCoy were able to keep the chains moving with back-to-back first down receptions. The Seminoles offense then faltered after a holding penalty put them behind the sticks. Wake picked up a sack on third down to force the second FSU punt of the game.
Wake began their next drive at their own 11 and picked up two first downs. As the Deacons again looked poised to get their offense rolling, FSU linebackers Elijah Herring and Blake Nichelson made back-to-back stops in the run game to force a third and long. Ashford could not convert and the Seminoles got the ball back with just over three minutes left in the half. On first down, Singleton Jr burst through the middle of the line for a 27-yard run. Two negative run plays took the game to the two minute timeout and FSU faced a third-and-thirteen. Out of the timeout, Castellanos connected with Randy Pittman Jr for 30-yards to the Wake 18. FSU turned to Gavin Sawchuk on the next two plays and he picked up eight yards. Again facing a third down Florida State found success. The Seminoles went back to Singleton Jr, who found a hole and dashed into the endzone for a 10-yard score. FSU’s 14-0 lead was their biggest of the season since week four. With less than a minute on the clock, Wake was moving the ball against the Seminole prevent defense before freshman Mandrell Desir sacked Ashford to effectively end the half. FSU’s first half shutout of the Demon Deacons was their first against an FBS team since the ACC Championship game in 2023.
Out of the half, Singleton Jr ripped off a 20-yard run but the Seminoles could not take advantage of the big gain. After three short runs, Castellanos was stopped short on a fourth down scramble. With their best starting field position of the night (Wake 49), the Deacons picked up a quick first down and had points on their mind. Ashford and co. stumbled over the next few plays which set up a fourth down at the FSU 38. Wake went for it and picked up the first FSU defensive penalty of the night, a pass interference call on Ashlynd Barker. The Deacons were now knocking on the door of their first points of the night but an errant snap led to FSU’s first fumble recovery of the season. The Seminoles quickly marched down the field highlighted by another video game type catch from Robinson (29-yard reception). Another Wake penalty and FSU muscled in their third touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run from Sawchuk.
Down 21-0, Wake Forest came out aggressive on their next drive. Facing a fourth-and-short from their own 34 yard line, the Deacons shoved forward for the conversion. The confidence following the first down quickly faded as two straight incompletions led to another fourth down attempt. Ashford found a crossing Deacon for the first down but the receiver dropped the throw handing the ball back to the Seminoles. FSU wasted no time as Castellanos found his favorite target Robinson for 39-yard circus catch that placed the ball on the Wake 1-yard line. Sawchuk easily punched in the score and FSU was cruising with a 28-0 lead.
The third quarter was quickly ticking away as Wake’s offense took the field again. The Deacons uncharacteristically had played sloppy and self-destructive on offense all game and were looking to reverse their fortunes. Unfortunately for Wake, FSU’s defense brought an aggressive pass rush which crushed Ashford as he released the ball. The wobbling pass was picked easily by Earl Little Jr and the Seminoles once again found themselves in the redzone. Ashford was helped off the field. The Seminoles punched it in four plays later with a Randy Pittman Jr wildcat touchdown.
The hit on Ashford was his last throw of the night and the Deacons turned to Deshawn Purdie. Wake went three and out and FSU continued to unleash a year of pain. On the first play of the drive, TC connected with Micahi Danzy for 66-yards down to the Wake 12-yard line. Three plays later and Castellanos found you-know-who, Duce Robinson for the Seminole’s six score of the night. Another Wake three-and-out and Brock Glenn took over at quarterback for the Seminoles. On the second play of the drive, Glenn fumbled the ball away and handed Wake Forest the ball in the redzone. The Deacons converted to end the shutout bid and bring the score to 42-7. The Seminoles and Deacons traded drives as time ticked away to bring the ACC losing streak to an end. FSU improved to 4-4 on the season, 1-4 in the conference.
