Game Preview: No. 7 Florida State Seminoles vs. Kent State Golden Flashes

The Florida State Seminoles are the seventh-ranked team in the country just a few weeks into the season. Who could've seen that coming? Despite not playing a game last week, they moved up three spots in the AP poll because of the Notre Dame loss, Texas' ineptitude, and Alabama looking very strong against Wisconsin.

So, after a week off, the Seminoles will be back in action at home on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against the Kent State Golden Flashes, who are arguably the worst team in the FBS. This should be one last tune-up game before ACC play gets underway.

Seminole Headlines

Tommy Castellanos One of Few Thriving QBs in College

Coming into the season, everyone expected players like Arch Manning, DJ Lagway, Lanorris Sellers, and Garrett Nussmeier to be among the best in the country. Instead, it's been Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cal), Athan Kaliakmanis (Rutgers), and Joey Aguilar (Tennessee) among the main standouts. If some of those names look like I slapped a keyboard, I understand.

Tommy Castellanos has only played about five and a half quarters of football, dropping back just 34 times this season, but his numbers are exactly what you want from this system: 17/25 for 389 yards and three touchdowns. He's also been able to create with his legs when a play breaks down.

The passing game opened up with some deep shots against East Texas A&M, especially to Duce Robinson, and it wouldn't be surprising to see FSU integrate the passing game more to try and establish some of the younger guys, especially with Squirrel White dealing with a wrist injury.

Literally Everybody Played Last Game, Expect Something Similar

A whopping 86 players took an offensive or defensive snap two weeks ago against East Texas A&M. With a short week coming up, where they'll be traveling up to Virginia on Friday night, expect them to want to get the starters in and out as soon as possible.

Kevin Sperry entering as the initial backup quarterback two weeks ago was a surprise to some, but they may have just been wanting to get him some snaps. That may be something else to watch for in this game.

Re-Ranking the ACC Just Three Weeks In

It's safe to say that the ACC is not how anyone expected it to be. Clemson entered the season as a national championship favorite, but they're sitting 1-2 after averaging just 19.3 PPG. They returned more production than any other team in the country and went to the College Football Playoff last year, but they cannot get anything going, especially on the ground.

Miami has been a little better than expected, FSU has been much better, and then there are a lot of bad teams. So, let's re-rank the ACC.

Tier 1, Contenders: Miami, Florida State
Tier 2, Possible Contender: Georgia Tech
Tier 3, Solid and Intriguing: Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia, Cal, NC State
Tier 4, Talented and Underwhelming: Clemson, SMU
Tier 5, Below Average: Pitt, Duke, UNC
Tier 6, Relegate Them Immediately: Stanford, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech

Miami really has no excuse not to make the ACC championship game this season. They're too talented, and the rest of the ACC just does not stack up. That matchup in Tallahassee in a few weeks is looking JUICY, as the winner will have full control of a ticket to Charlotte at the end of the season.

Sep 6, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell before the game against the East Texas A&M Lions at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Three Burning Questions

Kent State is Bad, But Just How Bad Are They?

Kent State is the first of at least three teams that FSU will play this season who are already working with an interim coach (Stanford and Virginia Tech are the other two; Florida could join them soon). It was an odd situation where Kent State fired its coach in April due to "multiple violations of his contract." You'd think going 1-23 in two seasons would be the reason, but apparently not, and that one win was against Central Connecticut.

It has been nearly three years since they beat an FBS opponent. But they were able to hang in against Buffalo last week, scoring a touchdown with 2:38 left to take the lead, but they allowed the final score of the game in about 1:30. They seem to be playing harder than last year, but that isn't saying much.

They were smoked 62-14 by Texas Tech, which is at least close in caliber to Florida State, and Kent State averaged less than four yards per play. That should be the goal here.

Who Are the Players to Know for Kent State?

Quarterback Dru DeShields is at least off to a solid start for the Golden Flashes, starting the season 35/57 for 513 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. His favorite target has been Cade Wolford, who has 7 catches for 228 yards and 4 touchdowns this season. Two other players also have seven receptions: tight end Terik Mulder and receiver Wayne Harris, but they're both under 100 yards still.

Da'Realyst Clark, one of the better names in college football, has a kick return touchdown this season, too, so special teams will be a focus for FSU.

With ACC Play Coming, How Bland Will This Gameplan Be?

Florida State is going to want to get its starters in and out as soon as possible for this game. If the main pieces can be out by halftime again, that would be ideal. They'll also want to keep Tommy Castellanos out of harm's way as much as possible, so hopefully, he's not using his legs much.

I'd imagine Florida State will want to line up and try to run it down Kent State's throat as much as possible and set up long play-action throws. That's what they did two weeks ago; no reason to change things up.

Nov 23, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. (6) prepares for the snap during the first quarter against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Game Forecast

Florida State is favored by a whopping 43.5 points, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

43.5. That's an absurd spread against an FBS opponent, no matter how good or bad one is. Having a team with high expectations is still taking some getting used to.

Kent State is bad. Very bad. So far, Florida State has been very good. Good enough to cover a 40-point spread? I think so, but that's still a large number to fathom. Starters are out at halftime, and FSU rolls and gets ready for Virginia on Friday.

Florida State 69, Kent State 10

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