Everything That Went Wrong for Pitt Against Florida State

The Pitt Panthers fell to the Florida State Seminoles, only putting up 10 points while holding FSU to 16. Ten points is the lowest the Panthers have scored in a game since they only had seven in the regular season finale against Miami last year.

The game was a real rock fight, with Pitt having 306 yards of total offense and Florida State having just 260 yards. The Panthers are now 6-4 on the season and 3-4 in ACC play, eerily similar to 2024, when Pitt started off hot but fell apart due to injuries and finished 3-5 in the ACC.

The Innocent

Pitt's defense wasn't perfect in this game, but they definitely should not take the blame for this loss. Florida State was held to just 16 points, their lowest score all season.

Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels had just 163 passing yards, 25 rushing yards and was sacked twice. His longest pass was a 46-yard throw, but Pitt's defense didn't allow for too many explosive plays besides that.

FSU went 3-of-13 on third down plays and one-of-four in the redzone. Pitt had five tackles for loss yards and even forced two fumbles, one of which was recovered.

Pitt LB Jeremiah Marcelin — Nov 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Jeremiah Marcelin (32) tackles Florida State Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

QB-WR Connection

Due to Holden Geriner dealing with an injury, Pitt rolled out freshman Corey Dailey for his second career start, and it went pretty rough.

Dailey had 157 passing yards, one touchdown throw, one interception, rushed for 58 yards and took two sacks. Dailey showed some promise using his legs and making some decent throws, but it was a lot to ask of him to have a game-winning 98-yard drive at the end of the fourth quarter.

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Dailey struggled to connect with his wide receivers, primarily Malik Knight and Blue Hicks. Sometimes, Dailey would throw a good ball and it would be dropped. Other times, Dailey would throw the ball at the ground and the receiver would have to dive down to catch it.

The performance showed why the coaching staff stuck with Geriner previously, who is a lot less mobile but has the veteran experience to make some better reads.

Pitt's quarterback room behind Dailey is just more young players with even less experience, so it made sense to keep Dailey in rather than rolling out a fourth quarterback option.

Pitt QB Corey Dailey — Nov 13, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Corey Dailey (16) passes against the Florida State Seminoles during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Play Calling

The offensive play calling by the coaching staff, primarily OC Kade Bell, was the real puzzling part.

Dailey, who was clearly struggling, threw the ball 34 times, completing only 16 passes. This includes going for 10+ yard passes on short third and fourth downs, including the game-losing pass when Dailey missed a 14-yard throw on fourth-and-four.

Other times, they would call for a screenplay or handoff on second or third down when Pitt had a lot of yards to make up.

Besides the game against Virginia Tech, when the Hokies missed a field goal at the end, Pitt has lost all of their one-possesion games this season. The team just cannot create a game-winning drive or a two-minute drill, and only got close in this game because of a roughing the passing call.

Pitt OC Kade Bell — Oct 31, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers offensive coordinator Kade Bell (right) congratulates running back Damon Ferguson Jr. (26) on his touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitt ends the regular season with road games at 7-3 Louisville and 3-7 California. At this point, Pitt should be trying to prove they can still win games that aren't against the worst team in the conference.

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