Tommy Castellanos makes a promise after FSU's latest defeat: "I have to be better"

The quarterback had two turnovers in Saturday's loss to Miami
Miami v Florida State
Miami v Florida State | Jason Clark/GettyImages

Tommy Castellanos had a first three quarters to forget on Saturday night against Miami. After a strong opening drive that led to a field goal, the FSU offense sputtered and stumbled until a late rally in the fourth quarter.

Castellanos threw two interceptions, both of which led to Miami touchdowns as the Hurricanes led 28-3 before the Seminoles scored 19 fourth-quarter points to make the final score a more respectable 28-22. 

"I told the guys that this one is on me. This loss is on me. I apologize to the team, I apologize to this community, the alumni, the past players...it's everybody. I told the guys that I have to play better, and I have to be better," Castellanos said.

Protecting the football

Turnovers have started to become a problem in the Seminoles' offense. Castellanos has five interceptions over the past three games and the Seminoles have seven turnovers in total during that span. The quarterback's accuracy has also taken a hit; he's completed just 56 percent of his passes over the past two weeks.

Freshman running back Ousmane Kromah also lost a fumble in the game and wide receiver Duce Robinson almost lost another. Castellanos said the mistakes can be cleaned up and did not give credit to Miami's defense for forcing the action.

"I don't really think they did anything to stop us. We had three turnovers, two picks and a fumble. And we had a lot of penalties. I just think it's self-inflicted wounds," Castellanos added. "Two games back-to-back where we're kind of hurting ourselves and beating ourselves."

FSU is 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the ACC after consecutive losses to Virginia and Miami. The Seminoles won't have much time to feel sorry for themselves as they will be in search of their first conference win of the season when they host Pittsburgh next Saturday at noon

"This [loss] doesn't define us. We've got to continue to finish the season, continue to play hard and play the brand of football we know how," Castellanos concluded.