Entering Saturday, it had been 385 days since Florida State's most recent ACC win. That streak will continue to at least 391 after the Pittsburgh Panthers downed the Seminoles 34-31 in Tallahassee.

FSU had multiple chances late in the game to pull out the win. Had the Noles been able to eke it out, head coach Mike Norvell could have chalked up the scare to injuries and tried to build momentum going into the second half of the ACC schedule.

Instead, the game now shines as the perfect example of what's wrong with FSU's football team in 2025.

To FSU's credit, it started the game missing two out of three starting receivers, its starting tight end, and its starting right tackle. Before halftime arrived, the Seminoles had lost their last remaining starting receiver when Duce Robinson left the game with an injury.

However, the offense wasn't the problem. It wasn't their best performance of the year, by any means, but the Noles ran for nearly 200 yards against a team that was only allowing 65 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Tommy Castellanos threw for three touchdowns with no picks.

31 points is below FSU's season average, but for a unit missing nearly half its starters, it should have been enough.

Where FSU got exposed was on defense, specifically in the passing game.

Cracks began to show in the overtime loss to Virginia two weeks ago, as the Cavaliers pushed around the Seminoles defense late. Carson Beck and Miami throwing for 241 yards and four touchdowns last week ripped open those cracks a bit wider.

On Saturday against the Panthers, the entire dam burst.

Freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, in his second start for Pitt, completed 21 of 29 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Even his two first-half interceptions came toward the end of promising drives for the Panthers.

Heintschel then had a near-perfect second half, finishing the game as both leading passer and leading rusher for Pitt. 

The defensive struggles came down to two key issues for FSU.

First, coordinator Tony White's unit couldn't get off the field. On the first drive of the game, Pitt slowly marched 75 yards in 15 plays. That drive included three different fourth downs with one yard to go - all of which FSU conceded. It was the fourth scoring drive of 10+ plays FSU had given up in 2025.

Pitt followed it up with a nine-play drive for a touchdown on its second possession.

And that was the better half of the game for FSU.

The other glaring issue for FSU's defense is how directly Heintschel and the Panthers targeted the Seminole linebackers, and how successful they were in doing so. 

FSU's secondary did well enough, including two interceptions. However, the front seven disappointed for the third consecutive game.

One stat says it all: Pitt running backs Desmond Reid and Ja'Kyrian Turner (12 combined receptions) had more catches than the entire Panthers receiving corps (nine).

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and his offense were constantly targeting FSU's linebackers with wheel routes, screens, and quick slants to running backs being covered by linebackers. The game plan was clear early on, and there was nothing FSU seemed able to do to stop it, even after Reid left the game in the second half.

Reid and Turner combined for 189 of Pitt's 321 receiving yards, with Reid responsible for both of Pitt's touchdowns through the air. In each instance, an FSU linebacker was left in his wake. 

Florida State's offense is good enough that the Seminoles can compete in any game. And to this point, FSU has indeed had chances to win in all six contests. The defense, however, has let the team down in three straight games.

It has been a precipitous fall from being an undefeated Top 10 team after three weeks to now 3-3 and likely unranked when the new polls come out Sunday. 

If Florida State is going to have any chance of reviving this struggling campaign - or of getting its first ACC win since Sept. 21, 2024 - the Seminole defense will have to find a way to patch its holes. Right now, the remaining six opponents on the schedule have a clear blueprint of how to game plan FSU.

FSU travels to Stanford next Saturday for a 10:30 p.m. EST kickoff against the Cardinal.