Florida State packed a lot into a few days, and the latest stretch of news across the department had something for just about everyone. The football team got major ACC recognition after its win over Virginia, softball added a pair of future pieces, volleyball kept rolling with back-to-back sweeps, and soccer snapped out of its recent skid with a ranked road win.
The biggest individual honors went to Ashton Daniels and Andre Otto, who were both named Week 5 ACC Players of the Week after Florida State’s victory over Virginia. Daniels earned his spot with a breakout night on the ground, setting a new school record for rushing touchdowns in a single game.
He finished with five touchdowns and 136 rushing yards, including an 81-yard score against a Virginia defense that had been tough to crack. Otto also landed on the weekly list after helping stabilize an offensive line that has been a problem area at times this season.
Against Virginia, the unit looked far different, and Otto was part of the push that helped Florida State spring big plays.
On the softball side, the Seminoles picked up twin commitments from Keira and Kelsey Luderer, adding to the momentum around a program that went 52-10 last season before falling to UCF in the regional final. Keira brings catcher skills, a strong arm, power at the plate, and enough speed to matter once she gets on base.
Kelsey comes in as a utility player with most of her experience in the middle infield, where her smooth defense, quick footwork, and clean glove work stand out. At the plate, she takes a different approach than her sister and is more focused on pushing the ball.
Both will arrive as part of Florida State’s 2028 recruiting class.
Volleyball also put together a clean weekend, and it needed it. Florida State opened with NC State and came away with a sweep that was tighter than the final score suggests.
The Seminoles edged the Wolfpack 26-24 and 28-26 in the first two sets before taking control with a 25-15 finish. Two days later, Florida State handled Wake Forest for another 3-0 win, a sharp response as the team moved on from a 3-0 loss at Miami.
The Seminoles now head into a non-conference match against Jacksonville before a crucial ACC run that includes Georgia Tech, Clemson, Pittsburgh, and SMU.
Soccer, meanwhile, found a much-needed answer in Clemson. After playing only two matches over the previous three weeks and going winless in its last three games, Florida State went on the road and beat No.
23 Clemson 2-1 on October 4. Sam Erbach got the scoring started early with her fourth goal of the season, and Wrianna Hudson doubled the lead three minutes later.
Clemson pulled one back through Juju Harris, but Kate Ockene and the Seminole defense shut the door from there. Ockene finished with three key saves in a game that gave Florida State a lift after a tough stretch of three straight draws.
The next challenge comes October 9, when Florida State returns home to face No. 1 North Carolina in the Seminole Soccer Complex for the ‘Paint it Pink’ game. The Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 in Chapel Hill last season before going on to win the NCAA College Cup National Championship.
In Other News...
Florida State Heads To Louisville With Another Tough Availability Problem
Florida State heads into its road trip to Louisville still juggling a roster that has been battered by injuries, a familiar storyline at this point in the season. The ACCs latest availability report underscored the situation on both sides, with the Seminoles entering the week with several players working through questionable or probable tags as they try to get ready for a difficult conference game away from home.
Darryll Desir is among the names Florida State is monitoring closely, while Louisville has its own uncertainty to sort through with Lincoln Kienholz listed as probable. The bigger issue for the Seminoles is the accumulation of absences that have already cost them multiple players for the rest of the year, leaving the staff to keep adjusting the depth chart and hoping the available pieces hold up long enough to compete on the road. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Faces A Defining Chance To Prove Virginia Was Real
After a convincing win over Virginia, Florida State heads into its next test at Louisville as a 3.5-point underdog, carrying the kind of uneven rsum that has defined much of the season. The Seminoles have flashed real upside in their best moments, including strong showings against Alabama and Virginia, but they have also struggled to put together the kind of steady run that makes it clear what this team really is.
Louisville now offers a chance to show the Virginia performance was more than a one-night reset. For Florida State, this is as much about validating recent progress as it is about the result itself, with the coaching staffs ability to keep the team building in the right direction under the spotlight. A second straight strong outing would go a long way toward settling the debate about whether the Seminoles are finally finding their footing. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Has A Doak Campbell Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Florida States home atmosphere has become a talking point again through the first five weeks of the 2026 season, and not for the reasons the program would like. Reported average attendance at Doak Campbell Stadium is down 7% from the same point last year, settling at 62,270 fans per game, a dip that stands out even as the Seminoles remain one of the sports most visible teams.
The odd part is that interest in Florida State has not vanished, it has just shown up somewhere else. The Seminoles are still pulling strong television numbers, including record viewership for The CW, which underscores a split that plenty of programs would love to have and others are trying to explain. Around college football, attendance trends have moved in different directions across conferences, but for FSU the conversation is increasingly about why the crowd inside Doak is lagging behind the audience watching from home. [Read more 🡒]