After his career performance, FSU wideout Mycah Pittman confident 'Noles will bounce back strong

During Florida State’s loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, redshirt junior wide receiver Mycah Pittman posted the best outing of his FSU career to date – and statistically the best of his college career.

Pittman, in his first year with the Seminoles, hauled in five passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns in what ended up a 31-21 defeat.

The receiver’s two biggest plays — which accounted for FSU’s first two touchdowns — actually were the bookends of a ’Noles scoring drought that lasted over two full quarters of game time.

And thanks to the Oregon transfer’s play-making ability, both as a receiver and a punt returner, FSU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) managed to stay within striking distance of the Demon Deacons (4-1, 1-1).

“Mycah is an extremely hard worker. He shows up every day at practice, whether it’s catching the ball, obviously the blocking of what he does, just his competitive spirit,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. “I thought he was great on the sideline throughout the course of the game — his encouragement, his energy. He had a big punt return, which was something that we needed.

“I just love how he comes to work every day. It was good to see him make those plays. Really kind of helped spark us throughout. Excited about what Mycah’s future is, just his continued growth.”

Pittman’s first touchdown came on FSU’s opening possession and capped off a 6-play, 83-yard drive. The former veteran wideout snagged the 13-yard contested pass in the middle of the field to take a 7-0 FSU lead.

His second score ended the Seminoles’ drought and cut Wake’s lead to two scores in the third quarter. Pittman ran a crisp route to get separation, and FSU quarterback Jordan Travis delivered a well-placed fade pass.

“It was definitely satisfying. I thank the coaches for giving me the opportunity to make the plays at the end of the day. If Coach Norvell doesn’t call my number, then I don’t get to make that play. And Coach Atkins also,” Pittman said. “It’s really reassuring for them to call those plays for me, especially in a big-time game like that.

“It’s a great opportunity, and I just hope I can continue to build off this week and they give me an opportunity next week to make those plays again for this football team, and next time we’ll come out with a W.”

A veteran now with 55 career catches spread across four seasons in college, Pittman broke down the flow of the game, which didn’t go exactly as planned for the FSU offense after his first touchdown.

“We were not focusing on the little things. We were just overcompensating, just overthinking everything. They were giving us the same look that we saw in the game plan, it was just unfortunate,” Pittman said. “We kind of overthought things, but we settled down and got back together in the second half and really handled the business that we needed to handle. At the end of the day, we didn’t pull out the W.”

Pittman was quick to credit his teammates and the FSU staff when he spoke after the game. His touchdown catch in the first quarter was the first for Pittman since his true freshman season in 2019.

“Shout out to my teammates: O-Line, they’ve gotta block. Jordan, he had to put a great ball,” Pittman said. “It’s not just only a one-man show, it’s definitely my team helping me out making those plays. And coach scheming it up for me. Just blessed for the opportunity. I haven’t see the end zone in a long time, but it was due time.”

Travis threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns in his effort to try to bring FSU back from a 21-point deficit. FSU fell short on the scoreboard, but Pittman’s cohesion with Travis looks to be growing stronger.

“I’m so happy for him. That’s a guy that comes to work every single day. He’s a great person, he’s a great team player. He comes here and pushes us,” Travis said. “He has my back, he has everybody’s back on this football team. Very happy for him and I’m proud of him.”

On special teams, Pittman also made a big impact, busting a 34-yard punt return where he eluded several would-be tacklers and leaped over a defender.

Despite the loss, Pittman expressed confidence in FSU’s roster and its ability to still produce a strong season in 2022. The Seminoles have seven games left, and plenty of rivals and ranked opponents are on deck for the ’Noles to prove themselves against in the coming two months.

“This is the best team I’ve ever been on. I say that because I see the potential in these guys. I don’t think these guys understand how talented each other are,” Pittman said. “I just believe, as long as we continue to build our confidence, it’s going to be something special. This was just a learning point for all of us. For the next week, I just hope we go out there as a team and play as a unit.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.