Seminoles to Correct Issues After Win Over New Mexico State
· Yahoo Sports
The long-awaited start of the 2026 college football season got underway in Tallahassee, Florida under the lights on Saturday night.
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Florida State was looking to reverse the gridiron misfortunes of the last two seasons and get a tone-setting victory in the season opener against the New Mexico State Aggies.
The Seminoles offense looked good at times, and other times looked like more of the same from the last two losing seasons. Florida State swatted away a pesky Aggies team to get that all-important season opening victory by a 34-17 margin. However, there are issues that need to be corrected.
First Half Takeaways
The Seminoles could have scored more points, had it not been for two penalties in the red zone by offensive lineman Andre Otto, a tripping penalty and a false start by the big man. That cost Florida State six points.
Add to that an interception by Seminoles starting quarterback Ashton Daniels (the 23rd of his career) that killed a drive, and a busted coverage by the defensive secondary that gave up an Aggies touchdown, and Florida State let New Mexico State hang around and keep it closer than it needed to be. Florida State took a 17-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Seminoles are 29-5 under coach Mike Norvell when they have the lead at halftime. Daniels completed 9-of-14 passes for 144 yards and accounted for two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) in the first half.
Second Half Takeaways
The Aggies forced the Seminoles to punt on their first possession of the second half. New Mexico State used their passing game to move the chains, aided by more confusion on coverage assignments, as well as a personal foul call against Ja’bril Rawls that moved the Aggies down inside the red zone. A wide-open dropped pass in the end zone on a halfback pass put the fear of God in the Seminoles defense and forced New Mexico State to settle for three points to cut the deficit to 17-10.
Sam Singleton Jr. made his presence in front of the home crowd, taking the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to put the Seminoles in great field position. Florida State converted on fourth down to keep the drive alive, and then Singleton scored his second touchdown of the game to increase their lead to 24-10 late in the third quarter. Florida State later added a field goal to make it 27-10.
But New Mexico State would not go gently into the good night, as their passing attack was effective once again at moving the chains against a beleaguered Florida State secondary, and answered with a touchdown of their own and cut the Seminoles lead to 27-17.
The Seminoles offense got a spark on the ensuing drive when Ousmane Kromah took off for a 52-yard run to give Florida State good field position, and later scored a rushing touchdown to make the score 34-17 and ended the game as the victors. New Mexico State gave Florida State all they could handle. The Seminoles played balanced football, and gained 202 passing yards and 222 rushing yards.
However, after three weeks of fall camp, it appears there is still work to be done on the rebuilt offensive line, which gave up three sacks tonight. The secondary needs to work on their communication and study the playbook some more. Penalties were a concern as well, with seven flags for 65 yards.
Impact Players of the Game
The Florida State offense got the job done, putting themselves in position to score points. The defense held the Aggies rushing attack to less than 50 yards on the ground and two yards per carry, making New Mexico State (0-1) one dimensional on offense.
- QB Ashton Daniels: 17-of-27, 202 yards, accounted for two touchdowns
- RB Ousmane Kromah: 115 yards, one touchdown
- RB Sam Singleton Jr.: 164 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns
The Seminoles (1-0) now turn their attention to game week prep for SMU, which rolls into Tallahassee on Labor Day as the No. 19 team in the preseason AP top 25 poll.