Maybe it will be different this time.
Maybe, after a 35-point win over Wake Forest, something will change. Perhaps the players believing in the phrase “new November” would spark the group to a phenomenal
finish. Maybe this team wanted to play for their embattled coach.
All the reasons pointed to Saturday night being different. Vegas thought so, listing Clemson as a slight 1.5-point favorite with an over/under of 56.5, expecting a high-scoring game. Saturday also seemed to be the perfect time to get the Tigers, after Dabo Swinney’s team fell at home to Duke and lost three in a row inside Death Valley. The FSU players and coaches all said the right thing during the week, and maybe Saturday night could be a catalyst to end the year strong and climb out of the cellar of the ACC.
How foolish was I for believing?
Of course, nothing is different, because as I covered after Pitt and after Stanford, results like tonight are what the Norvell program is defined by: awful situational football, horrendous penalties, and a litany of boneheaded mistakes.
“We could not get ourselves into a rhythm because of a lack of getting some of those plays that were left out there. We got to have them. We were playing a defense that was very aggressive in what they were doing. But, when someone is going to heat you up and bring that type of pressure, it creates space, and we had space.”
“There were too many things that we left out there.”
While all the blame at the end of the day falls on Norvell’s shoulders (more on that later), tonight also confirmed another difficult truth: the Tommy Castellanos experiment did not work. At the start of the season, it seemed like (maybe) FSU solved its quarterback woes after a disaster with DJ Uiagalelei. Once again, I got got. Gus Malzahn put the training wheels back on the offense tonight, consistently calling trick plays and using smoke and mirrors to generate offense as his quarterback floundered. In the offseason, the coaching staff and players told the public that this was a different version of Castellanos and that what happened at Boston College was behind him. In case you were wondering what his completion percentage was in the last two years:
- 2024: 61.5 %
- 2025: 61.5%
The craziest part about the last 19 games, dating back to last season, is how nothing has changed. A roster overhaul, a coaching overhaul, a facilities overhaul, and still these games are all different scripts in the same movie. Take a look at the Memphis game from a season ago and see how many parallels can be drawn to tonight. After that, check out the first 20 minutes against Stanford and line them up against the first half against Clemson. It is all the same nonsense and the same feeling as Florida State and Mike Norvell have sucked all joy out of the fan base and program.
They are an awful watch, and almost anyone would enjoy their Saturdays more if they did not turn them on. The head coach looks shell-shocked, half the players appear apathetic, and the other half commit horrible penalties. The fans at home berate the team, and those on the road mock the institution. The only productive part of the ACC Network broadcast was the juxtaposition of the camera panning from Norvell and Swinney, one man in a daze and the other leading from the front with energy and joy. This team is lifeless, and there is no one coming to drag them out of it. At the beginning of the season, the team’s dancing during the two-minute timeout might finally inject life into the program. Who were they kidding?
To use a phrase from Jeff Passan, Florida State is in a fun house of what they should be and what they are — with no way out.
For the weekly reader, these columns are now starting to sound the same, because they are. FSU committed two turnovers, along with a turnover on downs on its own side of the field, lost the penalty and time of possession battle, but outgained and picked up more first downs than its opponent. Of course, it sounds familiar because it is the story of the season. Any one individual mistake can be blamed on a player, but the fact that all the mistakes are the same and happen consistently falls on the coaching staff. The missed tackles, the drops, the penalties, the turnovers — these are day-one fundamentals that are non-negotiables on most teams and non-existent on Florida State.
The Seminoles were not in Saturday’s contest from the second the ball was snapped, falling behind 15 in the first half and 17 in the second. Even though they attempted to make it a game and the stats bear that out, the worst team of the Dabo Swinney era outclassed them.
Why is it that Florida State makes the same mistakes every game?
How could they be this infuriating?
How does UConn have more ACC wins since 2024 (3) than FSU (2)?
Ultimately, after the failed 2024 season, the Seminoles did not make the correct choices or make enough changes, and they are back to square one.
How could I get fooled this bad?
First thought: Dropping the ball like it’s going out of style
Just like the other losses, a few plays that went Florida State’s way could have vastly changed the outcome. Even though Castellanos did not play great, he received zero help from his skill players, outside of Duce Robinson. On the first drive of the game, seldom-used running back Jaylin Lucas dropped a would-be first down, and FSU punted two plays later. In the second quarter, tight end Randy Pittman Jr., one of the most reliable players this season, muffed a catch with no one near him as the Seminoles could not convert on fourth down. The drops became a microcosm of the season for FSU — close enough to make the play, but not good enough to finish the job.
With the offense sputtering due to self-inflicted errors, the Noles only converted 33% of cash downs (3rd and 4th), averaged five yards per play and went 2-4 in the red zone in a game they lost by two possessions. After a magical offensive run to start the year, FSU’s offense can no longer be relied upon to win them football games with 10 points against Clemson and 13 versus Stanford.
“Offensively, really struggled to get things started, sustained. We just weren’t good enough. We had five-plus drops, which is very uncharacteristic of what this team has done…We were not good on our conversion downs. Things that we had been really good at over the course of the year did not show up tonight.”
Second thought: Starting on time
Because Clemson is located in a secluded area, visiting teams often stay in nearby Greenville, South Carolina, and take a 45-minute to 1-hour bus ride to the stadium. Perhaps the long trip made the Seminoles groggy, as they lost the game due to their slow start. On the opening possession of the game, Clemson marched down the field for a 13-play 75-yard touchdown drive that chewed up 6:35. Florida State’s response? A 1:37 drive that amounted to four plays and 17 yards. Later in the first quarter, the Noles took over at the plus-35, but a red-zone fumble kept Norvell’s team off the scoreboard and shutout in the first quarter for the fourth time in their seven games against P4 opponents. Every week, I write a column about the three keys for a Florida State win, and every week, I mention the need to start on time. Once again, Norvell did not have his team ready to play, and they paid the price. Someone needs to check and make sure the coffee machines are not churning out decaf by mistake.
“Looking back throughout it, that first drive, defensively, we missed a lot of tackles. We were a little sloppy in some of our fits…I thought our defense settled in as the game got going.”
Third thought: Uncomplementary football
The mark of a good team is the ability to play complementary football, so it makes sense that Florida State compounded on its mistakes across all three phases.
Besides FSU’s inability to capitalize on the strong field position handed to them by the defense and special teams, they also displayed awful complementary football throughout the game. In the second quarter, a dropped pass meant Florida State would turn the ball over on downs on their own side of the field. Two plays later, Clemson went up 15-0 on a flea-flicker, the second time this season a team has run a trick play for a touchdown on the Noles on a sudden change.
In the second half, all three phases worked together to sink the Seminoles. Florida State started with the ball after the break and marched down the field into the red zone. However, Castellanos took a sack, FSU shanked a 40-yard field goal, and the defense allowed a 10-play 73-yard drive that took up over five minutes, allowing the deficit to swell to 14. As usual, when something goes wrong for this team, they begin to fall apart, and their inability to play complementary football resulted in another deserved defeat.
“Our job is to keep fighting, keep finishing, and to play better,” Tommy Castellanos told the local media after the game. “I apologize to the community, the fans, and my teammates. We got to play better for the defense. I feel like the defense played outstanding tonight. We had a lot of times where they got off the field and we had to capitalize and play complementary football, and we didn’t do that.”
