TALLAHASSEE – The Florida State football team (3-2, 1-1 ACC) scored 38 unanswered points to defeat Virginia (3-2, 1-1 ACC) 38-7 Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Fifth Year quarterback Ashton Daniels delivered a record-breaking performance on the ground, setting Florida State and Doak Campbell Stadium single-game records with five rushing touchdowns. Daniels finished with a career-high 136 rushing yards while completing 12 of 19 passes for 183 yards.
Senior running back Quintrevion Wisner totaled 106 all-purpose yards, including a career-high 60 receiving yards and 46 rushing yards.
Junior wide receiver Micahi Danzy led the Seminoles with 70 receiving yards on four catches, while sophomore running back Ousmane Kromah rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries.
Junior linebacker Chris Jones led the Florida State defense with six tackles, including 1.5 sacks. Fifth Year linebacker Mikai Gbayor also recorded six tackles and added one sack.
Florida State finished with 464 yards of total offense compared to Virginia’s 205. The Seminoles rushed for 281 yards while holding the Cavaliers to 37 yards on the ground and averaged 7.1 yards per play.
The Seminoles recorded 10 sacks and held Virginia scoreless on 12 of its 13 drives.
Virginia scored the only points of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Seminoles answered with 11:48 remaining in the second quarter, marching 98 yards in eight plays to tie the game at 7-7. After three consecutive plays to Kromah opened the drive, Daniels rushed for seven yards before connecting with Danzy for a 22-yard completion to reach midfield. Daniels then found Wisner for a 48-yard screen pass to set up his four-yard touchdown run and even the score.
Virginia went three-and-out on its next possession after sophomore defensive linemen Kevin Wynn and Mandrell Desir each recorded a sack. Freshman wide receiver Jasen Lopez then gave the Seminoles strong field position with a 31-yard punt return.
Starting at the Virginia 33-yard line, Florida State found the end zone on its second straight possession to take a 14-7 lead. The Seminoles ran the ball on six of seven plays, with Daniels capping the drive with a three-yard touchdown run for his second rushing score of the afternoon.
Florida State extended its lead on its next possession, driving 60 yards before fifth year kicker Gabe Panikowski connected on a 44-yard field goal to give the Seminoles a 17-7 lead at halftime.
Florida State’s defense continued to make plays coming out of halftime. With Virginia driving, Jones stuffed a fourth-and-one run up the middle to force a turnover on downs and give the Seminoles possession.
Florida State added another touchdown, driving 78 yards in eight plays. Daniels completed three consecutive passes before breaking off a 20-yard run to set up the Seminoles at the Virginia 15-yard line. He finished the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the game, putting FSU ahead 24-7 with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter.
Daniels then added his fourth rushing touchdown on the Seminoles’ next scoring drive, breaking free for a career-long 81-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 31-7.
The Florida State defense forced turnovers on downs on Virginia’s next two possessions, recording five sacks across the two stops.
Daniels capped his record-setting afternoon with his fifth rushing touchdown with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. Runs from Wisner and Kromah moved the Seminoles to the Virginia 1-yard line before Daniels powered into the end zone to complete the 38-7 victory.
Florida State will play its first conference road game of the season Friday when it travels to Louisville. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.