FSU 38, Virginia 7: Seminoles dominate Cavaliers in all three phases in blowout win

The first quarter went as poorly as it could for Florida State. Gashed on defense to the tune of 101 yards and sputtering on offense with just 38 of their own, the Seminoles looked like they were on their way to an embarrassing home loss in front of a less-than-full Doak Campbell Stadium. With all r

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What is the story about?

The first quarter went as poorly as it could for Florida State.

Gashed on defense to the tune of 101 yards and sputtering on offense with just 38 of their own, the Seminoles looked like they were on their way to an embarrassing home loss in front of a less-than-full Doak Campbell Stadium.

With all reason to crumble, FSU instead showed impressive tenacity and bounced back in a major way, putting up 427 yards from that point on and outscoring Virginia 38-0 en route to a dominant 38-7 win to move to .500

in ACC play for the first time since 2023.

Quarterback Ashton Daniels scored all the Seminoles’ touchdowns, setting a school record for single-game rushing touchdowns with five— the most electric being an 81-yard scamper to make it a 31-7 game. He put up 319 total yards (183 passing, 136 rushing), with Micahi Danzy leading all receivers with 70 yards and being the catalyst on several scoring drives.

Ousmane Kromah had 80 yards on the ground, while Tre Wisner had 94 all-purpose yards (46 rushing, 48 receiving)

Head coach Mike Norvell dialed up impressive calls throughout the game, utilizing Daniels’ strengths in a way that FSU had failed to consistently do so far this season. The much-maligned Florida State defense also stepped up against a Virginia offense that had been averaging 40.5 points and 447.3 yards per game heading into Saturday, logging 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Nine different players recorded at least half a sack.

Florida State began the game with three straight punts, falling behind Virginia 7-0 after a 63-yard drive that seemed way too easy for the Cavaliers. FSU then opened the second quarter by driving 98 yards in eight plays for a score, kicking off a series of three straight scoring drives that would have been five had Daniels not thrown an ill-advised sideline throw that was bobbled by Jayvan Boggs and subsequently picked off. The defense, which had given up 6.3 yards per play in the first 15 minutes, held the Cavaliers to -12 yards in the next.

Whether the transformation holds will get an immediate test next week, when the Seminoles head on the road to face off against Louisville in a Friday night matchup.