Florida State football visits Louisville seeking first road win since 2023

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State rediscovered its swagger Saturday. Now the Seminoles must prove they can take it on the road.

Coming off their most complete performance of the season, the Seminoles travel to Louisville for a Friday night ACC matchup carrying both renewed confidence and a stubborn streak they would like to end.

Florida State has not won a true road game since beating Florida on Nov. 25, 2023 — a drought of nearly three years. The Seminoles will try to change that against a Louisville team whose 2-3 record may be more deceptive than reassuring.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at L&N Stadium, with ESPN televising the game.

Florida State appeared to turn a corner in its 38-7 victory over Virginia. After consecutive losses to SMU and Alabama and an uneven win over Central Arkansas, the Seminoles overwhelmed the Cavaliers on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Ashton Daniels rushed for a school-record five touchdowns, including an 81-yard run that was Florida State’s longest play of the season and the second-longest run by a quarterback in program history. Daniels finished with 136 rushing yards and 183 passing yards, becoming the only Football Bowl Subdivision player since at least 1995 to reach those totals while scoring five touchdowns in the same game.

The Seminoles were just as imposing on defense.

Virginia managed only 205 yards on 72 plays, an average of 2.85 yards per snap. Florida State held the Cavaliers to 37 rushing yards on 40 attempts and recorded 10 sacks, one shy of the school record and the program’s most in a game since 1997.

That performance continued an encouraging defensive trend. Florida State has allowed only 14 points over its past two games while holding opponents to 3.12 yards per play and 1.77 yards per rushing attempt.

The question is whether that improvement will survive the change of scenery.

Florida State is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, but its only road appearance this season ended in a 50-36 loss at Alabama. Louisville presents another difficult assignment despite entering with losses in three of its first five games.

The Cardinals opened the season with a narrow loss to Ole Miss and followed with an impressive double-digit home victory over SMU. Back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and North Carolina State knocked Louisville out of the Top 25, but the Cardinals still have enough talent — and enough home-field advantage — to command respect.

Oddsmakers reflect that uncertainty. FanDuel opened Louisville as a 3½-point favorite with the over-under set at 58½ points.

Florida State’s best answer may be to keep leaning on a rushing attack that produced 281 yards against Virginia. Ousmane Kromah leads the Seminoles with 477 yards and five touchdowns on 81 carries, while Daniels has added 278 yards and nine scores.

Daniels’ nine rushing touchdowns rank third nationally. He also ranks third in the country with an average of 15.87 yards per completion, giving Louisville the difficult task of containing a quarterback capable of creating explosive plays with either his arm or his legs.

Florida State has also been nearly flawless when scoring opportunities arise. The Seminoles are 21-for-21 in the red zone this season, with touchdowns on 17 of those possessions. Their 80.95% red-zone touchdown rate leads the ACC.

The series history favors Florida State. The Seminoles are 18-6 against Louisville, including 7-3 on the Cardinals’ home field. They have won the past two meetings, rallying for a 35-31 victory at Louisville in 2022 before beating the Cardinals 16-6 in the 2023 ACC championship game.

Friday’s stakes extend beyond the series.

A victory would move Florida State to 4-2, even its conference record and put the Seminoles two wins away from bowl eligibility. It also would provide something the program has been missing since that November night in Gainesville three seasons ago: proof that it can win away from home.

Florida State looked revived against Virginia. Louisville will reveal whether that revival is ready to travel.