Overview
- Florida State fell to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in ACC play with a 34-31 home loss to Pittsburgh, as true freshman Mason Heintschel threw for 321 yards in his second start.
- Injuries compounded the setback, with Randy Pittman, Squirrel White and Micah Pettus out, Duce Robinson exiting before halftime, and Gus Malzahn saying quarterback Tommy Castellanos was banged up on the first play.
- Defensive coordinator Tony White acknowledged players were overthinking assignments and said he will pare back packages after allowing four long scoring drives and repeated third-and-long conversions.
- Special teams and turnovers proved costly against Pitt, including a blocked punt, a failed fake punt and a late Ousmane Kromah fumble that preceded the go-ahead field goal.
- Mike Norvell faces increasing public scrutiny, though reports of a roughly $50–60 million buyout temper talk of a quick move, and FSU heads to Stanford after a bye as a betting favorite.