Florida State kicked off their season with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State on Saturday, but quarterback Ashton Daniels’ debut felt like a mixed bag for the Seminoles. The transfer, who previously started at Stanford for two seasons and played at Auburn in four games last fall, passed for 202 yards, throwing a 4-yard touchdown to Samuel Singleton Jr. and also scrambling for a touchdown run. He did toss an interception though, completing 17 of 27 passes in his first outing with the Seminoles.
The offense had some bright spots, especially on the ground. Sophomore Ousmane Kromah broke out with his first 100-yard game, racking up 114 yards on just 13 carries, including a wild 52-yard run in the fourth quarter. Singleton Jr. was everywhere, not only catching four passes for 54 yards and running in a 2-yard touchdown, but also getting 42 yards on nine carries. His 46-yard kickoff return put Florida State in great field position, too. The team finished with 217 rushing yards on 39 carries, but even with that win, the report card on the offensive line and overall passing attack has some serious red marks.
On defense, things weren’t much cleaner. New Mexico State quarterback Trey Hedden, a transfer from FCS Furman, picked apart Florida State’s pass defense over the middle. Hedden carved them up for 272 yards on 26 of 42 passes, tossing touchdowns to TK King and Brodie Malone-Bradford, though he did also throw an interception. He was a beast on third down, converting 10 of 16 attempts with those clean pockets. While NMSU couldn’t get anything going on the ground, managing just 47 yards on 23 carries, the fact that their passing game found so much success against FSU’s secondary is a major concern. The Seminoles welcomed 62 new players, and it showed; there were struggles on both sides of the ball.
The Seminoles won their season opener for the fourth time in five years, which is cool, but this wasn’t a dominant performance. With competition about to get way tougher, especially against No. 19 SMU in their ACC opener on Labor Day, Florida State has a lot to clean up. New Mexico State, meanwhile, will host FCS Mercyhurst this Saturday.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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