FSU vs. Miami 2025 Recap: Seminoles Comeback Falls Short, 28-22

The Florida State Seminoles came out strong and scored the first points against the rival Miami Hurricanes. Unfortunately, everything started to fall apart after that. Miami would score 28 straight points, making the game look like a blowout. The Seminoles put together a furious fourth-quarter comeback that was a little too late – ultimately losing 28-22 to the Hurricanes. Let’s dive into the craziness of this 2025 matchup in our FSU vs. Miami game recap.

FSU vs. Miami 2025 Recap

Turnovers A Problem Again

FSU started fast with an 11-play, 70-yard drive to take the early lead 3-0. After that, the offense was bogged down and sloppy with the ball. After the first drive, the Seminoles would punt three times and have two turnovers. And after an interception on fourth down, the Hurricanes struck fast with a touchdown.

Miami scored 14 points off the three Florida State turnovers. The third turnover occurred at a costly time when the Seminoles were moving the ball. Tommy Castellanos forced a pressured throw in the middle of the end zone that was easily intercepted. The Seminoles are not built to play from behind, and it has cost them two weeks in a row.

Castellanos Struggles

Tommy Castellanos’ numbers improved with the comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, but he had a tough game overall. In the first three games, Castellanos was not turning the ball over and making good, quick decisions. Yet in the last two contests, he has appeared rushed and unprepared for the field as well. In fact, some of the things that got Castellanos benched at Boston College are now showing up again.

If the first read is not there quickly, he hesitates and does not go through his progressions fast enough. He ran for 57 yards, but the speed of Miami did not allow for his big chunk run plays fans saw in previous contests. Castellanos threw the ball 45 times in the comeback effort, but missed a lot of open receivers with errant throws. The offense desperately needs another receiver to step up to help Duce Robinson. Randy Pittman Jr. had seven catches, but only averaged five yards per catch.

No Quit

FSU was down 28-3 going into the fourth quarter, and it looked like the game would end in a blowout. However, the team did not quit. Yes, Miami’s conservative offense helped the Seminoles come back. However, FSU made clutch plays to keep the offense alive on drives in the fourth quarter.

Castellanos struggled in this game, but engineered three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to allow the Seminoles to attempt an onside kick with the chance to win the game. The culture of this program is far different than the 2024 team.

The players continued to play hard and gave themselves a chance at the end of the game. The offense is best when the run game is successful, and misdirection or play action can go with it. In the fourth quarter, that went out the window, and Castellanos seemed to get more in a rhythm with the quick no-huddle passing offense.

Defense Gets Pushed Around

The Seminoles defense played much better this week against the run, only allowing 98 rushing yards to Miami. The problem, however, was that the pass rush was not fixed. The team only had one sack in this game, and did not disrupt Carson Beck at all.

Beck finished 20-of-27 for 240 yards and four touchdowns in this Week 6 matchup. The defense, in key situations, allowed easy routes to Miami receivers and the coverage was not there all night. The one bright spot was Darrell Jackson Jr., who played one of his best games and was the reason the Hurricanes were limited running the ball.

What’s next in Week 7?

Back-to-back losses in the conference have really changed the narrative for the Seminoles season. The Seminoles had College Football Playoff and Conference Championship aspirations a couple of weeks ago. However, now they need to make sure the season does not unravel before them.

The Seminoles have another home game in Week 7 against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers won easily against Boston College in Week 6 and stopped their two game losing streak. It’s another tough conference game that the Seminoles cannot afford to lose.