Florida State's football 2025 schedule was finally released by the ACC (thanks ACC for allowing the premiere of the release to be thought of as the center of attention).
The Seminoles have not given a favorable back-half stretch. However, Florida State should be thankful that its front half is manageable where they could be heading into the Clemson contest with a 5-3/6-2 record.
That is not what we are here talking about today.
The Seminoles' fan base is already dreading the North Carolina State road game at Carter Finley Stadium on Friday, November 21st, before facing arch-rival Florida. Honestly, I get the concern since Florida State has historically not played well in Raleigh where they have lost the last three matchups there.
The Seminoles lost the 2022 meeting versus the Wolfpack by a score of 19-17 where quarterback Jordan Travis threw a fade route to wide receiver Mycah Pittman late in the game where it probably shouldn't have been thrown and Florida State, in hindsight, should have set up to kick a field goal with kicker Ryan Fitzgerald to win the game.
Fast forward to 2025, this is an NC State team that is relatively young and is losing pieces such as wide receiver KC Concepcion via the transfer portal and defensive end Davin Vann (leading sack leader).
They do have players such as quarterback CJ Bailey, running back Daylan Smothers, and tight end Justin Joly that could give the Seminoles' defense fits. However, Bailey has been known to turn the football over where he had three interceptions versus Georgia Tech.
With playing North Carolina State in late November, it should allow Florida State to get its feet wet offensively. It also helps that the Seminoles have to play Clemson on the road two weeks prior, where they would be prepared for the hostile environment.
Let's also remember that the Wolfpack play the Miami Hurricanes on the road before they take on Florida State. I am not suggesting that the Hurricanes will have a packed house in their rented-out stadium, but they should have a solid team in 2025.
The moral of the article is that Florida State fans should not count North Carolina State as an automatic loss just because of how the Seminoles have performed historically there.