Ashton Daniels rushes for five TDs as FSU routs Virginia 38-7

Florida State University admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

Ashton Daniels rushes for five TDs as FSU routs Virginia 38-7

It was first-and-goal on a Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, and Virginia looked like it might actually be in control.

That was until Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels sent a message.

With the Seminoles staring at the end zone from the 4-yard line, Daniels faked the pitch left, kept the football and charged straight up the middle, steamrolling through Virginia safety Christian Ellis before crashing into the end zone.

14-7.

And, apparently, Virginia’s last warning.

Florida State (3-2, 1-1 in the ACC) scored 38 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0, blasting Virginia 38-7 on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium and giving a Seminoles team that entered the weekend surrounded by questions something it desperately needed: a convincing ACC win.

“We went out there and showed our capabilities tonight and who this team really is,” Daniels said. “Coming into it, I didn’t really think I was going to be running the ball like that. But it ended up happening.”

It happened. Then it happened again. And again. And again. And, somehow, again.

Daniels rushed for a Florida State quarterback-record five touchdowns, finishing with a career-high 136 yards on 17 carries. He also completed 12 of 19 passes for 183 yards as the Seminoles piled up 464 yards of total offense.

Florida State entered the game with plenty of pressure after losses to SMU and Alabama and an underwhelming performance against Central Arkansas. Virginia (3-2, 1-1) also handed the Seminoles a loss last season in Charlottesville.

This time, FSU left little doubt.

“Very proud, very proud of our team,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “We’ve experienced some real challenges in the early part of this season, but we’ve also seen some incredible work from players, working to stay focused on the job, on the task, on the responsibility to get better.”

Virginia struck first when Beau Pribula found Da’Shawn Martin for a 13-yard touchdown with 6:04 remaining in the first quarter.

For a moment, the Cavaliers had FSU on its heels.

Then the Seminoles woke up.

Pinned at their own 2-yard line late in the first quarter, FSU marched 98 yards in eight plays. Daniels connected with Micahi Danzy for 22 yards before Quintrevion Wisner turned a screen pass into a 48-yard gain. Daniels finished the drive himself with the 4-yard touchdown run.

His second score, a 3-yard run, gave FSU a 14-7 lead. Gabe Panikowski’s 44-yard field goal sent the Seminoles into halftime ahead 17-7.

The second half turned the game from a win into a demolition.

Daniels scored from 6 yards out in the third quarter before breaking loose for an 81-yard touchdown, the longest play of Florida State’s season. His fifth rushing score, a 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter, finished the scoring and put his name in the program record book.

“I thought Ashton played at a high level,” Norvell said. “He was a great playmaker. I think Ash earned some respect tonight on the performance he had.”

Daniels wasn’t the only one earning respect.

Florida State’s defense spent most of Saturday afternoon treating Virginia’s backfield like it had a reservation there.

The Seminoles recorded 10 sacks, their most in a game since recording a school-record 11 against Wake Forest in 1997. Nine FSU defenders recorded at least half a sack, led by Rylan Kennedy with two and Chris Jones with 1.5.

Virginia managed just 205 total yards and an almost comical 37 rushing yards on 40 attempts, an average of 0.9 yards per carry.

Pribula entered Saturday completing 77 percent of his passes. Against FSU, he finished 14 of 32 for 168 yards while spending much of the afternoon trying to escape a Seminoles pass rush that simply wouldn’t leave him alone.

“You felt the edge that they played with,” Norvell said. “There was an incredible effort and incredible application of technique and fundamentals.”

Perhaps more important for Florida State was what happened after things initially went wrong.

The Seminoles didn’t score in the first quarter. Virginia did.

Then FSU outscored the Cavaliers 38-0 over the final three quarters.

“We still haven’t played a 60-minute game yet,” Norvell said, “but those last 45 minutes were really impressive.”