Florida State football’s first road test turned into a thrilling disaster on Sept. 26 as it fell to UVA in double overtime, 46-38. No. 8 FSU suffered its first loss of the season and will start ACC play 0-1.
Over 50,000 fans rushed down to the field at Scott Stadium.
Things didn’t go right early on for the Seminoles, who struggled with turnovers that put them in hole. The eighth-ranked Noles did not phase Virginia, as it took advantage of FSU’s mistakes both offensively and defensively.
“Obviously, extremely disappointed with the outcome of tonight,” FSU coach Mike Norvell told the media after the game.
“We knew this would be a highly emotional game. We knew that we were going to get their best shot throughout it.”
Here’s how we graded the Seminoles in their first road test:
Tommy Castellanos: D
Quarterback Tommy Castellanos had a rough night. UVA brought a ton of pressure that disrupted his timing, and he missed on some throws and threw two interceptions. One was in the first quarter inside UVA’s 5-yard line, and the last one sealed the game in double overtime.
“We started out pretty slow,” Castellanos said.
“Obviously, that’s not us. That’s not our brand of football. We made a lot of care mistakes early.”
After finding some rhythm, he would lead the Seminoles to three scoring drives, including a rushing score for himself that gave them their first lead, 21-14. But UVA’s defense got aggressive in the third quarter, shutting down Castellanos whenever he pulled on a read option play. Castellanos played with urgency and tested his deep balls while under pressure, hoping that his receivers would catch them. He got lucky on a few and not so much on others.
He finished the night completing 18 of his 32 passes for 252 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 78 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
Offense: C-
The offense as a whole had its miscues and even had missed opportunities to put more points on the board. The Seminoles still ran the football well, with 258 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Wide receiver Duce Robinson was a reliable target with nine catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. However, he could’ve had two touchdowns that could’ve led to a third overtime, but didn’t have full possession of the ball, resulting in an incomplete pass.
Gus Malzahn made use of his wildcat plays inside the red zone and scored three times. Two of which tight end Randy Pittman was behind center.
Pittman scored three touchdowns in three different ways. Running back Gavin Sawchuk also scored on a wildcat play on FSU’s scoring drive, and he finished with 74 yards. Freshman Ousmane Kromah shared the load in the backfield as he was the third leading rusher with 63 yards, averaging 5.3 a carry.
Defense: D+
FSU’s defense was in the middle of a physical spat with UVA. The Seminoles struggled against the run, especially from their running back J’Mari Taylor, who finished with 27 carries for 99 yards and a rushing touchdown.
UVA exposed FSU’s poor tackling against the run. The Cavaliers were averaging 54.4yards per carry, allowing the team’s worst 211 rushing yards and four scores. Even Xavier Brown, with nine carries, couldn’t be stopped on the ground as he had 60 yards for the Cavs.
On the positive note, FSU generated three takeaways. Two came in the second quarter. UVA’s Chandler Morris played out of his mind, and the Seminoles didn’t do a good enough job of containing him. Morris completed 26 of 35 passes for 229 yards, two TDs, and three picks. He also rushed for 37 yards and three rushing scores.
“Defensively, we got to continue to take advantage of opportunities to be able to get off the field,” Norvell said.
“I thought just too many too many drives that were extended throughout the third and fourth downs. I was pleased with the takeaways. I thought guys did rise up and make they made plays throughout the game.”
Special teams: B –
There were some positives on special teams. The Seminoles looked better in returning punts with Squirrel White leading the charge. His only attempt was a 23-yarder that put FSU in good field position.
Kicker Jake Weinberg left three points on the board when he missed a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter that could’ve given the Seminoles a 24-21 lead, potentially winning them the game in the long run. He did hit a 36-yard field goal in overtime.
Coaches: D+
FSU was outcoached by Tony Elliott and his staff on both sides of the ball. It’s not like Mike Norvell and staff didn’t have a good plan, but the UVA just was more prepared and outphysical the Seminoles the entire night.
“Got to give credit to Virginia. They made the plays that were necessary throughout the course of the game,” Norvell said.
“They started fast and took advantage of some of the mistakes we had early. We turned the ball over and had some big penalties that set us behind the chains. Just did not get off to the start that we needed to have. “
There were play-calling questions offensively by Norvell, especially on a fourth-and-short call late in the fourth quarter with a three-tight-end set. Made it seem to look like a run, but ended up being a pass. The Cavaliers were not falling for that predictable play.
Defensively, White has preached playing physically, but it was held against him. UVA kept moving the football on the ground even when missing a few of its offensive linemen. Defensive coordinator Tony White will have to go back to the basics and have the secondary work on wrapping up and finishing plays.
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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football grades vs. Virginia, where Seminoles’ first road test turned into a fail
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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