Ten notes prior to FSU’s 11th
Sep 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Florida State Seminoles place kicker Ryan Fitzgerald (88) in action during the game between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Florida State Seminoles at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Florida State Seminoles place kicker Ryan Fitzgerald (88) in action during the game between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Florida State Seminoles at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Florida State Seminoles opened up the week by releasing their game notes for the upcoming contest against Charleston Southern. The release included nine ‘notes to know’ for the matchup in Tallahassee.
Florida State returns to action after an open date to host Charleston Southern for FSU’s annual Seminole Heritage game and the university’s Homecoming. Florida State celebrates its long-standing relationship with the Seminole Tribe of Florida by featuring turquoise – the color that represents harmony, friendship and fellowship throughout Native American communities – in many different ways during the game. Last season’s 38-20 win over No. 16 Duke was the first Seminole Heritage football game.
FSU is 61-12-1 (.831) all-time in Homecoming games and has won 10 consecutive Homecoming contests.
Alex Mastromanno’s average of 48.9 yards per punt is 1st nationally, and Mastromanno also leads the country in 50+-yard punts with 26. He has by far the most 50-yard punts with one or fewer touchbacks this season as the next-closest punter has 18. Florida State ranks 2nd in the country and 1st in the ACC with a net punting average of 45.24 yards per punt.
Ryan Fitzgerald is the only kicker in the country with five made field goals from at least 52 yards – converting from 59, 56, 54, 53 and 52 yards this season – and the only kicker in FSU history to make three career field goals from at least 54 yards. He has matched the FSU single-season record with five 50-yard field goals and is one of four kickers nationally with five 50-yard field goals in 2024. He’s one of two kickers in the nation, and the only one in the ACC, still perfect on field goals with at least 10 attempts this season.
The Seminoles are tied for 2nd in the nation with five blocked kicks this season, courtesy of four field goals and one punt block, after blocking one field goal vs. Cal, one at SMU and two vs. Clemson and adding a punt block at Duke. Florida State is one of only two teams in the country to block at least one kick in four different games against P4 conference opponents, and its four-game streak with at least one blocked kick between the SMU and Duke games is the longest nationally this season. FSU’s 14 blocked kicks under Mike Norvell are tied for 7th nationally and 2nd among P4 conference programs since the start of the 2020 season.
Florida State ranks 1st in the ACC and tied for 3rd nationally with 19 successful 4th-down conversions this season. The Seminoles have converted at least one 4th down in nine games this year, including a 7-yard pass from Brock Glenn to Kyle Morlock to extend a drive that resulted in a field goal at Notre Dame. FSU converted four 4th-down attempts against both Clemson and Miami and is one of two P4 conference teams with at least four 4th-down conversions in multiple games this season.
Florida State is the only team in the ACC and one of two nationally with a kickoff return touchdown in each of the last three seasons. Samuel Singleton Jr., extended FSU’s streak to three straight years with a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the second half at Duke. Last year, Deuce Spann had a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown at home against the Blue Devils, and in 2022 Trey Benson recorded FSU’s first kickoff return touchdown since the 2013 season when he returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a score against Boston College.
FSU has started nine different offensive line combinations through 10 games this season, the most in the country in 2024 and the most by Florida State since at least 2000. Ten offensive linemen have made at least one start, the most for FSU in one season since 2019. Last year, in 14 games, Florida State started four offensive line combinations and eight different offensive linemen.
Florida State held Duke to 70 passing yards, recording a season-high eight pass breakups, and 180 yards of total offense. The passing yards total is the 2nd-fewest allowed by an ACC team against a P4 conference opponent this season, and the Seminoles’ pass breakups total was their highest since registering 10 in the 2023 ACC Championship Game victory.
The Seminoles registered 7.0 sacks in the win over Cal, its most in a game since also having 7.0 in the 2023 ACC Championship Game and the most allowed by the Bears in a game since October 19, 2019. That sack total is also tied for the 3rd-most by an ACC team against an FBS opponent this season and for the 12th-highest single-game sacks total nationally in 2024.
