By james art 
FSU head football coach Mike Norvell talked about a disappointing practice before UNC
FSU head football coach Mike Norvell talked about a disappointing practice before UNC
Sparkling silver in the empty stands at Doak Campbell Stadium accompanied Florida State football’s 35-11 loss to North Carolina on Saturday.
The Seminoles posted a season-worst offense en route to their fifth straight loss. North Carolina (5-4) head coach Mack Brown picked up his first win against his alma mater, dropping FSU to 1-8.
“We have to be better than what we showed today,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. “I thought our guys, they worked in preparation, but they didn’t have the application of what I expected, what I expected to see.”
FSU took the lead in the first quarter on a 56-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald. The field goal was set up by a 33-yard catch by Haikeem Williams, but that would be the last catch by the Seminoles until the end of the third quarter.
Luke Cromenhoek and Brock Glenn both played, combining to go 8-of-18 for 159 yards.
Cromenhoek was 2-of-7 with two interceptions. Glenn went 6 of 11 with one touchdown.
North Carolina outgained the Seminoles by 500 yards to 201. FSU has yet to record over 300 yards of total offense this season and hasn’t scored more than 21 points since Week 0 against Georgia Tech.
North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton scored all five of North Carolina’s touchdowns.
Hampton scored two touchdowns in the first half. His first score capped a 9-play, 54-yard drive in the second quarter, and his second score capped a 16-play, 93-yard drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock in the second quarter.
Hampton opened the second half with a 31-yard touchdown run to extend North Carolina’s lead to 21-3.
Glenn led a five-play, 85-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that included a 50-yard toss to Malik Benson and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Khi Douglas for the score. The combined yardage on those two plays was more than FSU’s total offense registered in the first half.
Lawayne McCoy converted the two-point conversion to make it 21-11. That would be FSU’s last score of the game as Hampton scored two more touchdowns to singlehandedly dismantle the Seminoles.
“We talked about the importance of trying to establish and drive the game down the field and how important it is to stop the run against one of the most talented backs we’ve played against,” Norvell said. “Obviously that was something we failed to do on both sides.
He is the first player since Lamar Jackson in 2016 to record four or more touchdowns against FSU.
Here are three takeaways from FSU’s 35-11 loss to North Carolina.
Fundamental failures at all levels for the Seminoles
The loss to North Carolina was perhaps FSU’s worst performance of the season.
FSU failed to execute in nearly every aspect of the game. Once again, third-down defense remained an issue as North Carolina went 11-of-16 on third downs, with numerous third-and-longs again converted to extend drives for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels were able to dictate the flow of the game, winning the possession battle by nearly 18 minutes.
“When you have opportunities, whether it’s one-on-one, whether it’s a chance to have a layoff, a takeaway, those things, they change the dynamic of games,” Norvell said.
“When teams are able to sustain aspirations and do that, it has a huge effect. It has a huge effect on the number of plays you play, time of possession, field position, all that stuff. We had multiple 3rd down opportunities to get off the field, and we just weren’t able to get that going all night.”
The FSU defense had almost no answer for Hampton as he went on a rampage for his best game of the season and one of the best of his career.
Offensively, the Seminoles completed just eight passes while attempting just 18. North Carolina’s defense recorded seven sacks, getting five in the first half, the season-high number of sacks allowed for FSU.
Coaching adjustments were mostly lacking, and if they were made, they had little or no impact on the game.
The Seminoles’ offense remains a mess
FSU’s offense lacked creativity or life for most of the game. With one drive that included a 50-yarder and a 28-yarder, the Seminoles were unable to pose any threat to North Carolina.
Both Kromenhoek and Glenn split snaps and neither player made a real impact. Although Glenn had a touchdown lead, he missed several throws by overshooting or undershooting his target as FSU failed to reach double-digit completions. Kromenhoek struggled to find his target.
“We’re team players, we want what’s best for the team,” Glenn said of sharing photos with Kromenhoek. “If it’s me, he wants the best, if it’s him, I want the best. We want the best for the entire collective team. Whatever we do to put ourselves in a position to help the team, ultimately we want to.”
The running game was non-existent as the Seminoles recorded just 42 yards. Lawrence Toafili led all tacklers with 24.
FSU’s quarterback spent more time on the turf than in North Carolina’s seven-sack battle.
North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton shredded FSU’s defense
Hampton blanked the FSU defense. The junior accounted for all five of North Carolina’s touchdowns, recording 265 yards of total offense, 172 yards on the ground and 93 yards receiving.
He was unstoppable for the Tar Heels as FSU was unable to get Hampton on the ground for short gains. His 31-yard touchdown run early in the second half featured a bounce off a catch before rolling into the end zone.
At one point in the second half of the game, Hampton had more rushing touchdowns than FSU had completions.
He finished the game with more yards of total offense than the Seminoles’ entire offense. In fact, his 265 yards of total offense are more than FSU has recorded in four games this season.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney