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North Carolina's Omarion Hampton dismantles FSU football in 35-11 blowout loss | Takeaways
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- North Carolina's Omarion Hampton dismantles FSU football in 35-11 blowout loss | Takeaways
The sparkling silver of the empty stands at Doak Campbell Stadium accompanied Florida State football's 35-11 blowout loss to North Carolina on Saturday.
The Seminoles posted a season-worst offensive output en route to a fifth consecutive loss. North Carolina (5-4) head coach Mack Brown earned his first win against his alma mater, sinking FSU to 1-8.
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"We have to be better than what we put on display today," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "I thought our guys, they worked in preparation but did not have the application for what I expected, what I anticipated seeing."
FSU took the lead in the first quarter on a 56-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald . The field goal was set up by a 33-yard catch from Hykeem Williams , however, that would be the last catch from the Seminoles until late in the third quarter.
Both Luke Kromenhoek and Brock Glenn played, going a combined 8-of-18 for 159 yards.
Kromenhoek was 2-of-7 with two interceptions. Glenn went 6-of-11 with one touchdown.
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North Carolina outgained the Seminoles 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 zero vs. Georgia Tech .
North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton recorded all five of North Carolina's touchdowns.
Hampton recorded two first-half touchdowns. His first score capped off a nine-play, 54-yard drive in the second quarter, and his second score ended a 16-play, 93-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock in the second quarter.
Nov 2, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; North Carolina Tarheels running back Omarion Hampton (28) runs the ball against the Florida State Seminoles during the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Myers-Imagn Images
Hampton opened the second half with a 31-yard touchdown run to extend North Carolina's lead to 21-3.
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Glenn led a five-play, 85-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that featured a 50-yard throw to Malik Benson and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Khi Douglas for the score. Those two plays combined yardage was more than FSU's total offense recorded in the first half.
Lawayne McCoy converted a reverse on the two-point conversion to make it a 21-11 game. That would be FSU's last score of the game as Hampton scored two more touchdowns to dismantle the Seminoles singlehandedly.
"We talked about the importance of trying to establish and get the ground game going as well as the importance of having to stop the run against one of the most talented backs that we've played," Norvell said. "Obviously that was something that we failed to do on both sides.
He is the first player since Lamar Jackson in 2016 to record four or more touchdowns vs. FSU.
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Here are three takeaways from FSU's 35-11 loss to North Carolina.
Fundamental failures on all levels for the Seminoles
The loss to North Carolina was arguably FSU's worst performance of the season.
FSU failed to execute in nearly every aspect of the game. Once again defending third downs remained an issue as North Carolina went 11-of-16 on third downs, with multiple 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 time-of-possession battle by nearly 18 minutes.
"When you have opportunities, whether it's a one-on-one, whether it's a chance to have a sack, have a takeaway, those things, they change the dynamics of games," Norvell said.
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"When teams are able to sustain drives and do that, it has a huge effect. It has a huge effect on the number of plays that you're playing, the time of possession, field position, all those things. We had opportunities on multiple 3rd downs to be able to get off the field, and we didn't. We weren't able to accomplish that throughout the night."
FSU's defense had little to no answer for Hampton as he ran wild for his best game of the season, and one of the best of his career.
Offensively the Seminoles completed just eight passes, only attempting 18. North Carolina's defense recorded seven sacks, getting five in the first half, which is a season-high in sacks allowed for FSU.
Coaching adjustments were mostly absent, and if they were made, they made little to no impact on the game.
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The Seminoles' offense remains a mess
Nov 2, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoes receiver Ja'Khi Douglas (0) runs the ball against the North Carolina Tarheels in the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Myers-Imagn Images
FSU's offense lacked creativity or any life for most of the game. Barring one drive that featured a 50-yard and 28-yard throw, the Seminoles failed to pose any sort of threat to North Carolina.
Both Kromenhoek and Glenn split snaps and neither player truly made an impact. While Glenn did lead a touchdown drive, he missed multiple throws by either over or underthrowing his target as FSU failed to reach double-digit completions. Kromenhoek struggled to find his target.
"We are team players, we want what's best for the team," Glenn said about splitting snaps with Kromenhoek. "If it's me he wants the best, if it's him I want the best. We want the best for the whole collective team. Whatever we can do to put ourselves in a postion to help the team is ultimately what we want."
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The run game was non-existent as the Seminoles recorded just 42 yards. Lawrance Toafili led all rushers with 24.
FSU's quarterback spent more time on the turf than they did in the huddle with North Carolina's seven sacks.
North Carolina's Omarion Hampton dismantled FSU's defense
Nov 2, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; North Carolina Tarheels running back Omarion Hampton (28) runs the ball past Florida State Seminoles defensive end Patrick Payton (11) during the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Myers-Imagn Images
Hampton obliterated FSU's defense. The junior recorded all five of North Carolinas touchdowns, posting 265 yards of total offense, 172 yards on the ground and 93 yards receiving.
He was unstoppable for the Tar Heels as FSU failed to get Hampton on the ground for short gains. His 31-yard touchdown to start the second half featured him bouncing off a tackle before getting into the endzone.
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At a 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 entire Seminoles offense. In fact, his 265 yards of total offense is more than the FSU has recorded in four games this season.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football fails to stop Omarion Hampton in blowout loss to UNC
