Florida State football lost its 10th consecutive game away from home as NC State beat the Seminoles 21-11 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, Nov. 21.
It has been 727 days since the Seminoles (5-6, 2-6) have won a game on the road, a November 2023 win over Florida. FSU has lost two neutral-site games and eight true road games in that stretch.
A pair of muffed punts with under four minutes left in the game and FSU trailing 14-11 ended any chance of a Seminoles comeback, as NC State converted a 4th-and-6 with 1:47 left in the game. Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey threw a 12-yard pass to tight end Justin Joly to put the Wolfpack up 21-11.
FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos went 16-of-32 for 203 yards, threw a touchdown and a pair of interceptions, and added 76 rushing yards. He had a few overthrows and struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game.
Nothing summed up the Seminoles’ night more than a back-to-back muffed punts in the final four minutes of the game.
The first was one of the wildest muffs you’ll see, as a shanked punt hit KJ Kirkland’s helmet and rolled back 25 yards back into the welcome hands of NC State punter Caden Noonkester. After forcing another punt on the ensuing drive, Squirrel White muffed his fair catch, and the Wolfpack recovered, setting up the game-sealing score.
In total, FSU missed a pair of field goals and muffed two punts.
The fundamental problems of execution for the Seminoles began early, as on the first drive of the game, Castellanos’ overthrow to Lawayne McCoy led to an interception that stalled a drive inside NC State territory. Castellanos flirted with a few more interceptions throughout the game, but caught a break with some drops from defensive backs.
On the ensuing NC State drive, a third-down stop was negated by an Ashlynd Barker pass interference that gave the Wolfpack a free first down. Bailey threw a touchdown pass on the next play after the flag.
A missed field goal from Jake Weinberg in the second quarter, his third consecutive game with a miss, compounded a drive that featured three penalties, including an illegal formation, false start, and delay of game. Weinberg has missed six field goals this season.
FSU finished the game with eight penalties for 37 yards.