Rally Comes Up Short at NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Florida State football team suffered a 21-11 loss at NC State on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In the team's ACC finale and second-to-last game of the regular season, the Seminoles (5-6, 2-6 ACC) got to within three points with a fourth-quarter touchdown and two-point conversion after trailing 14-3 in the third quarter. However, the Wolfpack (6-5, 3-4 ACC) answered with a touchdown and prevented FSU from getting any closer.

Florida State totaled 383 yards of offense, 203 passing and 180 rushing. NC State had 286 offensive yards, with 152 through the air and 134 on the ground. FSU has outgained its opponent 10 times in 2025, the most since it did so 11 times in 2022, while it achieved that feat seven times in ACC play, the most since seven also in 2014.

Quarterback Tommy Castellanos was 16-for-32 passing for 203 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He added a team-best 76 yards rushing on 11 attempts. With tonight's performance, Castellanos surpassed 8,000 total yards in his career.

Wide receiver Duce Robinson caught four passes for 74 yards with a touchdown. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season, the 14th player in program history to pass that total and first since Tamorrion Terry had 1,188 in 2019. His 1,021 yards in 2025 is No. 10 all-time in Florida State's record books.

Defensively, linebacker Stefon Thompson led the team with nine total tackles, five solo tackles and 1.5 sacks. Defensive lineman Mandrell Desir had one sack, his sixth of the year, to become the third true freshman in program history to have more than 5.0 sacks.

The defense totaled 82 tackles with four sacks and seven tackles-for-loss.

NC State took a 7-0 lead on its second possession of the game, with 2:56 left in the first quarter. A 23-yard completion capped the nine-play drive.

Florida State answered with a field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 14:06 on the clock in the second quarter. The 10-play drive featured four plays of at least 10 yards, including 10- and 11-yard rushes by Castellanos.

The Seminole defense forced a pair of punts and held the Wolfpack without any points in three possessions in the second quarter as NC State took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

On their first possession of the second half, the Wolfpack extended their lead to 14-3 with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:17 left in the third. The 15-play drive that took nearly nine minutes included a conversion on 4th-and-1.

FSU turned it over on downs at midfield on its next possession with just over a minute left in the third quarter before a punt gave the Seminoles the ball back early in the fourth.

Ten plays and 86 yards later, Castellanos connected with Robinson for a nine-yard touchdown pass and it was 14-9. A successful two-point conversion made it a three-point game at 14-11 with 8:17 left in regulation. The scoring drive was aided by a 34-yard pass from Castellanos to Robinson on third down, three plays before the touchdown.

Florida State's defense then forced a pair of punts before NC State found the endzone again to extend the lead to 21-11. The 12-yard touchdown pass came on 4th-and-6 with 1:47 remaining after the four-play drive in just 34 seconds.

The Seminoles had two possessions before time expired, but a missed field goal and a game-ending interception prevented the visitors from getting any closer.

FSU will conclude the regular season at rival Florida on Saturday, November 29. Kickoff in Gainesville is set for 3:30 or 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Team Stats

Tommy Castellanos

Players Mentioned

Tommy Castellanos

Mandrell Desir

Duce Robinson

Stefon Thompson

Florida State University Athletics