Virginia Tech loses hope of bowl eligibility with loss at Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Philip Montgomery’s interim coaching stint for Virginia Tech will not lead to bowl eligibility. Florida State made sure of it Saturday night, beating the Hokies 34-14 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Tommy Castellanos had a pair of touchdown runs and tossed a 50-yard TD pass to Duce Robinson as Florida State scored on six straight drives.

Ousmane Kromah had 59 rushing yards and Samuel Singleton Jr. added 53 as the Seminoles (5-5, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) accumulated 237 yards on 46 carries and helped their chances of bowl eligibility after a poor start to a season of high expectations. After a scoreless first quarter, FSU controlled the clock and put together five scoring drives of 56 yards or more.

Robinson caught six passes for 134 yards. The junior now has three straight 100-yard receiving games and five in 2025.

Marcellous Hawkins had 12 carries for 101 yards as Virginia Tech (3-7, 2-4) racked up 238 yards on the ground. The Hokies are guaranteed to finish under .500 and can’t gain the six victories necessary for bowl eligibility.

As Tech fans wonder who the next coach will be — ESPN put on its “Bottom Line” that former Penn State coach James Franklin and the Hokies are in discussions — they could note that the current team can only finish as a spoiler. That could be a fascinating role, considering their domination of the Virginia Cavaliers in the 21st century.

Kyron Drones had an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Greene and a 4-yard TD run, but the Hokies lost for the fourth time in five games. Drones finished 10 of 18 for 125 yards.

The takeaway

Virginia Tech: Drones completed passes for 36, 31, 29 and 18 yards, but the Hokies struggled to put together drives and couldn’t convert on their two fourth-down chances in the fourth quarter.

Florida State: While the Seminoles gave up 363 yards, cornerback Jerry Wilson had an interception and defensive lineman Mandrell Desir forced a fumble to halt drives and keep the Hokies off the board.

Up next

Virginia Tech plays host to Miami on Nov. 22.

Florida State plays at North Carolina State on Friday.

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/11/15/virginia-tech-loses-hope-of-bowl-eligibility-with-loss-at-florida-state/