Buried deep in the primetime college football slate, Florida State and Virginia Tech, two programs much more alike than they are different, took the field on Saturday for a forgettable night of football.
Florida State only had three drives in the first half and eight total in the game. Each team rushed for over 225 yards, but each side only had one rush for over 20 yards, meaning three yards and a cloud of dust was taken to a new level, and the clock mercifully drained quicker because of it. The biggest question for each team during the game was not about who was playing, but about who could roam the sideline next season. It would take a special moment to cut through the mess.
Enter wide receiver Duce Robinson.
Robinson caught six passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, his third-straight game of over 100 yards and his fourth-straight game over 98 yards (Stanford). Robinson averaged 22 yards per completion and had 134 of quarterback Tommy Castellanos’ 189 passing yards. The son of FSU legend Dominic Robinson ranks fifth in the country in receiving yards, ahead of Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, with 947, just 53 shy of finishing as Florida State’s first 1,000-yard receiver this decade. The transfer portal can be hit or miss, but there is no denying Robinson as the MVP of Florida State’s season.
“He’s a great young man that loves to work,” head coach Mike Norvell told the local Tallahassee media after the game about Robsinson. “He came into my office on Monday and he said, Coach, what else do you need from me? What else do you want from me? I want to help this team and I want to be the best I possibly can be. And I challenged him. I said, every day has to be your championship game. Every day you’ve got to be willing to be the example.”
“My favorite play of him tonight wasn’t any of the catches. He hit a big block on one of the swing passes that we threw. That’s something I challenged him with. I want to see you play without the ball in your hands. And he showed up.”
The head coach summarized Robinson perfectly. Much of what made these last two seasons difficult (outside of the result) was the lack of connection between the fans and the team. When the roster turns over 40% every season and the team checks out halfway through the year in back-to-back seasons, why even pay attention to the outcome anymore? What brings fans to the game or to the television? FSU struggled to market its program since the departure of Jordan Travis, but at least for the 2025 season, they found a worthy spokesperson in Robinson.
From his first time talking to the media back in February, he brought a different energy. He understood and cared about putting on the garnet and gold due to his upbringing. He also internalized the pain of 2024, despite not being part of that team, and wanted to be part of the solution. Here is a quote from Robinson back in February during his newcomer availability.
“Florida State has always been a very special place to me. Growing up, my pops went to Florida State, my mom went to Florida, it was always a fun rivalry. Me and all my brothers were all Florida State fans. One of my earliest memories was when we watched the (2013) National Championship game…That’s one of my fondest memories growing up. Ever since then, I always held a special place (for Florida State). Now that I am a Seminole, I hope to recreate some of those memories.”
Unfortunately for Robinson, those memories cannot be recreated through no fault of his own. But what is clear is the impact he brings to other people. Last night, tight end Randy Pittman Jr. glowing spoke on his teammate and how he always believed that Robinson could turn into one of the best players in the country.
“I’ve seen the work he’s put in. Back in January, when we both got here, he was the first guy (in the building), last guy to leave. To see the amount of time, the amount of balls that guy has caught throughout this year is really translating. He’s doing things to put himself in position to be who he is, so kudos to Duce.”
As Florida State trudges through another forgettable season and the discussion already firmly fixated on 2026, players like Robinson remind the public of the beauty in college sports and what makes it different from anything else. A 1,000-yard season is remarkable for any player, but Robinson makes it special and will be what drives fans to the television screen the next couple of weeks to root him on even as the rest of the season drifts away.
First thought: A special night in Doak
I do not want the fact that the football was forgettable to be confused with what happened off the field. Ethan Pritchard joining the team in practice, during the legacy walk, and on the field before the game is the greatest win of the season for Florida State. Three months after being shot in the back of the head, Pritchard was discharged from an outpatient facility in Jacksonville on Thursday and attended his first game since the tragedy. All four players who spoke with the local Tallahassee media after the game mentioned the emotions and what it meant to them to have Pritchard around the last few days, but Norvell encapsulated the moment perfectly in his postgame press conference.
“He’s such an incredible young man. Obviously, it was an awful tragedy that happened to him. You never know why. But nothing that he did, it was just really wrong place, wrong time. But he is the one — he lives the effects of it. He has fought throughout this process. Not once has he ever said anything negative about the situation, other than he was going to work.”
“I hate — hate — what happened to Ethan Pritchard. It should never happen to any person. You watch him. If
you need inspiration, you need motivation, you want to understand how to go about doing things in life, watch him, because I know where he’s going, I know what he’s going to be able to accomplish. He’s an inspiration to me. And I just love the young man.”
Second thought: The James Franklin Bowl
News leaks whenever somebody wants it to leak, so it was no surprise that a story tying James Franklin and Virginia Tech dropped by multiple sources Saturday morning, including ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
This tweet says nothing, yet it is clear that the Hokies wanted it out. Why? Because of their opponent last night. There is still no resolution on what will happen with Mike Norvell after the season, and a 20-point win over a bad Virginia Tech team does not sway any decision. Could applying external pressure to Franklin try to force him to commit to the VT job instead of allowing him to wait and see what new opportunities become available? That appears to be their strategy. Who knows what Franklin or Florida State has in mind, but the timing of the news was intentional.
As far as the future of the Florida State program, yesterday’s outcome meant nothing. Part of what made last night so meaningless was the fact that a win or loss would not change anything (FSU would not fire its coach on a short week). However, with a win, Florida State stands one victory shy of becoming bowl eligible and will need a road W to do so. For as crazy as the season has been, if the Seminoles triple their win total, make it to a bowl game, and beat Alabama + a school they always struggle to win on the road at, it would be hard to consider the campaign a failure. What makes sports fun is how complicated all the storylines can be, and the Noles will be in an incredibly odd situation with a win over the next couple of weeks.
Third thought: Freshman Frenzy
In an effort to try to recruit high schoolers, Florida State continues to promote how often they play true freshmen. On Saturday, four freshman came to the forefront as RB Ousmane Kromah, the Desir twins and DB Shamar Arnoux played extensively and provided a positive impact.
On the offensive side, Kromah led the Seminoles in rushing yards with 59 on 11 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per rush. Even with FSU’s depth at the running back position, he is easily FSU’s most talented rusher and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has started to turn the running game over to him since the bye week. On the defensive side, there are not many superlatives left to describe the Desir twins. Mandrell Desir recorded three tackles, a sack and forced a fumble in the second half while his brother, Darryll, recorded two tackles and finished with an overall defensive grade from PFF over 70. While some of the veterans along the defensive front have been a disappointment, the Seminoles back-doored their way into these phenomenal freshmen who should be roadblocks for years to come. Along with the Desir twins, Arnoux, a true freshman, will be critical for FSU on the back end to finish out the year with #2 DB Ja’Bril Rawls and #3 DB Quindarrius Jones out for the season. According to PFF, Arnoux played the fourth-most snaps of anyone on defense and picked up three solo tackles.
In the age of the transfer portal, who knows how many of these players stick around, but there is a foundation for whoever coaches at Florida State next season.
