Pitt's Pat Narduzzi explains why FSU football remains dangerous despite losing streak

As the 2025 football season continues for the No. 25 Florida State Seminoles, who are coming off a disappointing 28-22 loss to the Miami Hurricanes, it is now all eyes on Pitt as the Panthers travel to Tallahassee this weekend.

With Pitt coming off a major 48-7 win over Boston College, the Panthers enter Tallahassee in search of their second conference win of the 2025 season, and their first win against the Seminoles since 2020, when Pitt came into Doak Campbell Stadium and won 40-17.

On Monday afternoon, Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi met with the media, discussing the strengths that FSU has, as well as making it clear that despite a rough two-week stretch, the 'Noles are still one of the best teams in the nation.

"I had really good, productive meetings last night with our team, and closed the chapter on that BC game, and our immediate attention goes to really talented Florida State football team that's obviously been intense with Alabama, Virginia, and of course Miami this past weekend, so they're really good," Narduzzi said in his opening statement.

Narduzzi credits FSU's staff for their recent success

After the disastrous 2-10 2024 football season, Mike Norvell didn’t hesitate to re-evaluate his staff, adding two experienced coordinators in Gus Malzahn and Tony White, as well as five other position coach changes to the staff.

As he is in the midst of his 11th season coaching the Panthers, Narduzzi made sure to recognize the success of Norvell and his revamped staff in 2025.

"Mike Norvell, heck of a football coach. He's had success wherever he's been. In the offseason, he made two coordinator changes and obviously some other staff changes, and I think it's made a difference," Narduzzi said. "He's got guru Gus Malzahn, who we all know is a really, really talented former head football coach at several places."

"He does a nice job. They're the number two rushing offense in the entire country, so they're talented, they've got running backs with skill everywhere," Narduzzi continued. "Defensively, Tony White, the old Syracuse coordinator, I think back in 2021-2022, he does a nice job, he's moved around, and he's done a nice job on defense."

With the newly assembled coaching staff, the Seminoles have proven to be one of the nation’s top teams, filled with future NFL talent on both sides of the ball, and offensively putting themselves in the conversation to be one of, if not the most successful, rushing offenses in the country.

Narduzzi shares his thoughts on Tommy Castellanos' success at FSU

In his debut year donning the garnet and gold, quarterback Tommy Castellanos has brought back a sense of pride to the program, leading his team to victory against Alabama, followed by two major wins for the program.

Despite the losses in the last two games, Castellanos has made it clear that he is a top quarterback in the country. In his press conference, Narduzzi pointed out one of the possible reasons for the heightened success of the Seminoles’ QB.

"I think he may be surrounded with a lot better players than he was back at Boston College. I think the talent surrounding him and the weapons he's got at receiver," Narduzzi said. "He's got a 6-foot-6 wideout that's got run it routes, he's gonna run a comeback, he's gonna get thrown back shoulder fades at 6'6."

"We don't have any 6'5 corners. He's really talented, has great eye-hand coordination, and makes tough contested catches, so he's got talent around him."

"His athletic ability hasn't changed; he scrambled all over the place in the past, and he's doing the same thing. He can make plays with his feet," Narduzzi added. "They like to run quarterback draws with him, so we've got to be ready for all of the quarterback draws that we'll see, and obviously try to stop the slough of running backs that they have in that backfield that are big and athletic."

Narduzzi insists FSU is still a top team despite recent losses

Tommy castellanos QB keeper — The Miami Hurricanes lead the Florida State Seminoles 14-3 at the half on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After Miami’s victory over FSU this past weekend, it’s hard to deny the ‘Canes anything but a national title contender, as they dominated three quarters of football; however, even in their victory, it was FSU that finished the game leading in nearly every offensive statistic, including total offense, passing yards, rushing yards, and first downs.

Narduzzi was quick to shut down any doubters when it comes to Florida State’s ability to win games, bringing up the intensity faced throughout the game and in the aftermath of the loss.

"I don't know if you put any tape up of Miami, Florida, but the Hurricanes, they're pretty good," Narduzzi said. "That was a battle down there in Florida last week in what they call 'the battle for the state championship,' I guess, of the Florida teams. So, I mean, they've been tested, they've played some good football."

"That's a really, really good football team, guys, and we're going to have to play our best to go down there and get a win on Saturday, that's for sure," Narduzzi continued. "They're really good, they're talented everywhere, and they've got great coaches, so we're going to have to go down and play."

The No. 25 Seminoles and Panthers will face off on Saturday, October 11, in Doak Campbell Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN with kickoff scheduled for Noon ET.

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