Florida State heads to Louisville on Friday night riding the kind of momentum that makes every number on the stat sheet look a little louder. The Seminoles are coming off a 38-7 win over Virginia and will face the Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN, with FSU set to wear an alternate uniform combination for the ACC matchup.
The history between these two programs tilts Florida State’s way. The Seminoles are 18-6 all-time against Louisville and 7-3 in games played there. They’ve taken the last two meetings, winning 35-31 at Louisville in 2022 and 16-6 in the 2023 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
A lot of the buzz around Florida State right now starts with Ashton Daniels, who just put together a performance that landed in the record book. Against Virginia, the quarterback set an FSU record with five rushing touchdowns.
That total matched the most by any quarterback in ACC history and tied a Doak Campbell Stadium record. His fourth rushing score also matched FSU’s longest play of the season and stood as the second-longest rush by a quarterback in school history.
Daniels has been stacking eye-popping 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 a one-off. At No.
10 Alabama, Daniels ran for two touchdowns, threw for two more, and added a two-point conversion. He’s the only player in FBS in 2026 with multiple rushing and passing touchdowns plus a two-point conversion, and one of just four players since 1995 to do it in a road game against a Power 4 opponent.
He also needed only 17 completions to pile up 377 yards against Alabama. His 22.2 yards per completion are the most Alabama has allowed to a player with at least seven completions since 1995. Florida State put 36 points on the Crimson Tide, the most Alabama has given up in a non-conference game in Tuscaloosa since 2000.
The defense has been doing its part, too. Against Virginia, Florida State held the Cavaliers to 2.85 yards per play and just 0.9 yards per rush.
Virginia finished with 205 yards on 72 plays and only 37 rushing yards on 40 carries. The Seminoles also racked up 10 sacks, one short 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.
Virginia’s 37 rushing yards were the fewest Florida State has allowed in an ACC game since 2016, when Syracuse managed the same total in an 81-14 Seminoles win. On the other side of the ball, FSU ran for 281 yards, creating a +244 rushing margin - the largest in any ACC game since 2020 and Florida State’s biggest margin in a conference game since 2016.
Over the last two games, the Seminoles have allowed just 14 points total, while opponents have averaged 177 yards per game.
The numbers across the season keep backing up what Florida State is doing. The Seminoles rank second in the ACC and eighth nationally by allowing only 3.4 sacks per game. Their 7.2 tackles for loss per game rank fourth in the conference and 20th nationally.
And once Florida State gets near the goal line, it has been nearly automatic. The Seminoles are 21-for-21 in the red zone this season and have scored on every one of those possessions.
That perfect mark puts them second nationally in red-zone scoring, and they are the only team among the national leaders with a flawless conversion rate. Their 80.95% red-zone touchdown rate - 17 of 21 - leads the ACC and ranks 11th nationally.
Even the kicking game has been spotless. Gabe Paniowski is 21-for-21 on field-goal attempts in his NCAA career, including 6-for-6 this season. He is the only active qualified kicker in any NCAA division, with at least 15 attempts, who has not missed a field goal.
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 🡒]