It has now been 393 days since Florida State last won an ACC football game.

FSU’s latest loss, a 20-13 debacle at Stanford, marked a new low for the Seminoles and head coach Mike Norvell in 2025. It’s the 4th-straight loss for FSU after starting the season 3-0 and rocketing up to No. 7 in the country.

Losing to a Top 5 Miami team was understandable. One score losses to upstart Virginia and Pitt teams were tough to swallow, but at least excusable within a vacuum. However, losing to a struggling Stanford team that entered the game 2-4 with an interim head coach can’t be explained away.

The Cardinal had been allowing 30.2 points per game entering Saturday night in Palo Alto. The FSU offense mustering only a single touchdown against that defense is a low point for Norvell’s squad. Even with FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos playing through an injured ankle, the Seminoles ought to have been able to do more against a defense that was giving up more than 300 passing yards per game.

However, the biggest issue wasn’t specific to one side of the ball. What ruined the game for FSU on both sides was penalties. The Seminoles had a whopping 13 penalties against Stanford, with at least half of them having a direct impact on the score of the game. FSU topped its previous season high of eight penalties before the third quarter was even over.

All four of Stanford’s scoring drives were extended by FSU penalties on third or fourth downs. Had the Seminoles just played a clean game defensively, the Cardinal may not have scored at all.

Meanwhile, the FSU offense had multiple drives where penalties put the Seminoles in a hole. In fact, the very first play of the game was a false start on FSU. That resulted in a three-and-out for the Seminoles.

With the way the last month has unfolded, “false start” is an ironically apt description of how FSU’s season has gone.

The entire game saw FSU struggling to get out of its own way. The defensive penalties led to scores. The extended drives gave Stanford the extra chances it needed. Three out of Stanford’s four scoring drives lasted more than 10 plays.

It was death by a thousand cuts for FSU’s defense.

As for the offense, the first and last plays were emblematic of FSU’s struggles. After a false start on the first play, the very last play of the game saw the Seminoles come up mere inches short of a potential game-tying touchdown with zero seconds on the clock.

Saturday night in California was the fourth-straight one-score game for Florida State. It was also the fourth-straight loss.

Despite all the early success in September, the Seminoles could once again be facing a losing season if they can’t figure out a way to close out games. Norvell, meanwhile, has to figure out how to get the program going in the right direction. As things stand now, his seat is quickly warming up.

FSU is off next weekend before hosting Wake Forest on November 1.