Florida State Drops ACC Finale

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State football team lost to North Carolina, 35-11, on Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium.

In their final ACC contest of the season, the Seminoles (1-8, 1-7 ACC) suffered just their third loss to the Tar Heels (5-4, 2-3 ACC) since joining the conference in 1992.

FSU had 201 total yards, 159 passing and 42 rushing. UNC recorded 500 yards, 289 on the ground and 211 through the air.

Quarterback Brock Glenn was 6-for-11 passing for 123 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Wide receiver Ja'Khi Douglas caught his third touchdown of the season and eighth of his career in the third quarter.

Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald made a 56-yard field goal in the first quarter to improve to 10-for-10 on the season. With the kick, Fitzgerald becomes the only player in Florida State history with three field goals of at least 54 yards, all coming this season. Today's 56-yarder is tied for the second-longest in Doak Campbell Stadium history and is the longest since FSU's Dustin Hopkins also converted from 56 yards in 2012 vs. Duke.

Fitzgerald now has five 50-yard field goals in 2024, which ties the single-season school record and is the most since Hopkins also achieved the feat in 2012. Fitzgerald is now alone at No. 3 all-time with six career 50-yard field goals and he also moves into a tie for seventh on the Seminoles' career made field goal list with 55.

Defensively on Saturday, Florida State registered 5.0 tackles-for-loss for the eighth consecutive game. That's the team's longest streak since 2021-22, also a five-game stretch. Defensive back Shyheim Brown led the team with nine total tackles, five solo. Defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. had a sack to help FSU reach its 5.0 TFLs on the day.

Fitzgerald got the scoring underway with his 56-yard field goal to give the Seminoles a 3-0 lead 5:27 into the game. The second longest kick of his career came on FSU's second drive after the defense forced a three-and-out.

The Tar Heels' ensuing drive began with a 49-yard kickoff return, and five plays later UNC had first-and-goal from the FSU 10. However, the Florida State defense got a fourth-down stop at the 1-yard line to keep the visitors out of the endzone.

North Carolina reached the one on its next drive and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on third down. The score with 13:45 left in the second quarter gave UNC a 7-3 lead and capped a nine play drive.

The visitors made it 14-3 with a 2-yard rush with 1:57 left in the half. The Tar Heels converted three times on third down to help the 16-play scoring drive that lasted eight minutes.

The half ended with a missed 54-yard field goal attempt by North Carolina.

UNC extended its lead to 21-3 on a 31-yard touchdown run just over three minutes into the second half.

Florida State then forced a three-and-out to set up an 85-yard touchdown drive. Glenn got it started with a 50-yard pass completion to wide receiver Malik Benson, and he punctuated the scoring drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Douglas on fourth-and-three.

Lawayne McCoy ran in the two-point conversion attempt to make it a 10-point game, at 21-11, with 6:24 left in the third.

North Carolina responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive of its own to extend its lead to 28-11. A one-yard touchdown run concluded the seven-play drive with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.

A 49-yard touchdown pass on their next drive pushed the Tar Heels' lead to 35-11 with 12:19 remaining in the game, which proved to be the final time either team scored in the contest.

The Seminoles are on the road for the final time in 2024 next week when they travel to Notre Dame on Saturday, November 9. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on NBC.

Next Event

Team Stats

Brock Glenn

Luke Kromenhoek

Players Mentioned

Malik Benson

Shyheim Brown

Ja’Khi Douglas

Ryan Fitzgerald

Brock Glenn

Darrell Jackson Jr.

Lawayne McCoy

Florida State University Athletics