Florida State heads into Friday night in Louisville with a little momentum and a lot of numbers that jump off the page.
The Seminoles and Cardinals meet at L&N Stadium at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN, with Florida State trying to push its winning streak to three and Louisville trying to stop a skid that has already turned every loss into a one-score gut punch. The Cardinals’ three defeats have all come by three points, which tells you how thin the margin has been for them this season.
Florida State enters at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, while Louisville sits at 2-3 and 1-2 in the league. The Seminoles also own the edge in the series, leading 18-6 all-time and 7-3 in games played in Louisville. They’ve won the last two meetings, including a 16-6 win in the 2023 ACC Championship Game and a 35-31 victory in their most recent regular-season trip to Louisville in 2022.
The spotlight, though, belongs to Ashton Daniels after what he did against Virginia. Daniels set an FSU record with five rushing touchdowns in the Seminoles’ 38-7 win, tying a Doak Campbell Stadium record and matching the most by any quarterback in ACC history. His fourth rushing score also tied FSU’s longest play of the season and stood as the second-longest rush by a quarterback in school history.
Daniels has been piling up eye-catching production all season. He ranks third nationally with nine rushing touchdowns and third with 15.87 yards per completion. Against Virginia, he threw for 183 yards, ran for a career-high 136, and accounted for five touchdowns, becoming the only FBS player since at least 1995 to post those numbers in a game.
That wasn’t even his only statement performance. At No.
10 Alabama, Daniels ran for two touchdowns, threw two more, and added a two-point conversion. He is the only player in FBS in 2026 with multiple rushing and passing touchdowns and a two-point conversion, and one of just four players since 1995 to do that in a road game against a Power 4 opponent.
Florida State’s offense has also been efficient in a more old-school way. Daniels needed just 17 completions to pile up 377 yards, and his 22.2 yards per completion are the most Alabama has allowed to a player with at least seven completions since 1995. The Seminoles scored 36 points in that game, the most the Crimson Tide have given up in a non-conference game in Tuscaloosa since 2000.
The defense has been just as imposing. Against Virginia, Florida State gave up only 2.85 yards per play and just 0.9 yards per rush.
The Cavaliers finished with 205 yards on 72 plays, including only 37 rushing yards on 40 carries. FSU also recorded 10 sacks, one shy of the school record and the most in an ACC game since 1997.
That total also matched the most in an ACC game since 2005.
The run defense numbers were especially sharp. The 37 rushing yards were the fewest Florida State has allowed in an ACC game since Syracuse managed 37 in 2016. On the other side of the ball, the Seminoles ran for 281 yards against Virginia, creating a plus-244 rushing margin that was the largest in any ACC game since 2020 and Florida State’s biggest in a conference game since 2016.
Over the last two games, Florida State has allowed only 14 total points while holding opponents to 312 combined yards and 177 yards per game.
There’s more good news for the Seminoles in the red zone, where they have not missed. Florida State is 21-for-21 on red-zone chances this season and has scored on every one of those possessions.
The Seminoles rank second nationally in red-zone scoring and are the only team among the national leaders with a perfect conversion rate. Their 80.95% red-zone touchdown rate, with 17 touchdowns in 21 trips, leads the ACC and ranks 11th nationally.
And then there’s Gabe Paniowski, who has yet to miss a field goal in his college career. He is 21-for-21 overall and 6-for-6 this season, making him the only active qualified kicker in any NCAA division, with a minimum of 15 attempts, to own a perfect career field-goal percentage.
In Other News...
Florida State Has A Chance To Make A Real ACC Statement Tonight
Florida State gets a timely chance to say something real about itself tonight, with Louisville coming in for an ACC matchup that should tell a lot about where both teams stand. The Seminoles are looking for a win that would clean up the picture around their record, and the game sets up as a good test of whether their offense can keep pace against a Cardinals team built to make noise.
Ashton Daniels is a key part of that equation for Florida State, especially against a Louisville defense that will be trying to force the Seminoles into mistakes. On the other side, Louisville brings an explosive offense and there are injury factors in play for both sides, which only adds to the volatility. The expectation is a close, high-scoring game, and for Florida State, the bigger question is whether this is the night it can turn a solid opportunity into a meaningful ACC statement. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Pregame Lineup Shakeup Just Changed A Few Key Battles
Florida States trip to Louisville already had plenty of intrigue, and the pregame picture added a little more to it. The Seminoles will be in all-white at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, while Louisville goes with black, with Jon Noli serving as head referee and NFL scouts along with bowl representatives expected on hand for a game that carries real weight beyond the immediate matchup.
The bigger development for Florida State came with an updated depth chart that shuffled several positional battles and brought a few players back into the mix. Those changes matter because they hint at how the Seminoles want to line up for one of the seasons more closely watched tests, and they could shape both the rotation and the feel of the game from the opening series onward. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Gets A Late Break Before Urgent Louisville Road Test
Florida State is heading into a tricky league road test at Louisville with the availability picture shifting late in the week. The Seminoles and Cardinals are set for their third conference game of the 2026 season, and both sides enter with heavy absences, leaving coaches to sort through a long list of unavailable players before the 7 p.m. ET kickoff.
The good news for Florida State is that the final reports brought a little relief, with some players who had been listed out now expected to suit up. Louisville is still working around its own injury issues, though, and the biggest name on that side remains running back Keyjuan Brown, who will not play. In a game where depth already figures to matter, those late availability changes could end up shaping how this one unfolds. [Read more 🡒]