Game Day: Louisville vs. Florida State

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (2-3, 1-2) vs. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (3-2, 1-1)

Game Time: 7 p.m.

Location: L&N Stadium: Louisville, Ky.

Television: ESPN

Announcers: Mike Monaco (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analyst), and Dana Boyle (sideline)

Favorite: Louisville by 3.5

All-Time Series: Florida State leads, 18-6

Last Meeting: Florida State won 16-6 on Dec. 2, 2023 in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte

Series History:

Statistics:

Depth Chart:

Not available.

Injury Reports:

Louisville Uniforms:

Florida State Uniforms:

Not released.

Game Day Guide:

Promotions:

Relevant Videos:

About Florida State:

via Keith Wynne

OFFENSE

Mike Norvell continues to coach for his job each week as the head coach of Florida State. His players have responded to the situation well this year with three wins, including their best performance in over a year against Virginia last weekend. The Noles looked like a polished team with something to play for, and they found an identity on offense in that game. FSU will come to town this weekend with an opportunity to get their season on track and extend their winning streak.

Ashton Daniels is coming off a career day against UVA last week. He put up five touchdown runs on the day, which is an FSU record. Daniels is a big quarterback at 6-2/225, but he has plenty of speed in the open field. The Noles utilized a lot of zone-read runs against UVA last weekend, and I expect to see the same against the Cards.

Daniels has struggled as a passer this year, but his last two games have been his most efficient. He completed over 63% of his passes while also running for nearly 200 yards on the ground. He has great arm strength, which he showcases on intermediate throws with great pace on the ball. FSU will also take shots down the field throughout the game, and Daniels has been solid on those throws.

The Noles have one of the best backs in the ACC in Ousmane Kromah. The 6-1/216 sophomore looks much bigger on the field, and he runs like a much bigger back with the way he runs through tackles. Kromah also has breakaway speed, which he has shown off multiple times in his career. He has a knack for getting on the edge of defenses and opening it up with his long strides. With Daniels running the ball so well, it will be a genuine challenge for the Cards to slow him down.

Tre Wisner was a big pickup for FSU in the portal, and he is just starting to come into form for them. The backup running back provides a change of pace with his speed and quickness. Wisner has also been good out of the backfield in the passing game this season. The former 1,000-yard rusher at Texas is someone to keep an eye on as Norvell finds ways to incorporate him into the offense.

Louisville hasn’t had much success stopping the pass this year, so finding a way to contain Duce Robinson will be a challenge. Robinson is one of the top receivers in the country, and he is coming off a season where he led the ACC in yards per game. Robinson is 6-6 with deceptive speed and an adept ability to make contested catches. He is also a very physical player who does not shy away from contact, and he can shrug off tacklers after the catch.

Micahi Danzy is arguably the most dynamic receiver Louisville will see this season. The track athlete is one of the fastest players in the country, and Norvell has developed specific plays to get the ball in his hands. He reminds me of Ted Ginn with the way that he can get going as a straight-ahead runner, but he has been more impressive with his ability to run through contact. He will be a player to watch on screen passes this weekend.

The Noles also have a third option in Jayvan Boggs, who has emerged as a really good player who fits very well in this offense. Boggs is the best of both worlds for this offense, as he can be a deep threat down the field while also being able to handle some of the quick-game aspects that Norvell is known for. The Cards will not be getting a break this week from opposing receivers.

The FSU offensive line has been solid this season after they raided the portal to add players who have seemingly fit their system. The run blocking this past weekend against Virginia was outstanding as they got great push on interior runs. This group has also done pretty well to give Daniels time this year, though they have had some instances where quick pressure has forced him to bail from the pocket.

DEFENSE

Florida State is coming off of its best defensive performance in years, and they will look to keep things going against an explosive Louisville offense. The Noles finished their game against UVA with 10 sacks while holding the Hoos to 2.8 yards per play. The defense spent the afternoon giving their offense opportunities to get things going, and they put together a full-team performance that they’re hoping will spark a successful season.

The defensive line accounted for most of the sacks on Saturday with FSU flexing its depth up front. They are able to play a lot of guys up front, and they rotate players a lot in this scheme. Mandrell Desir is the big name up front, along with his brother Darryl. Mandrell led the Noles in tackles for loss and sacks last year, before flirting with the portal. FSU secured their return, but the results this season had been lackluster until this past weekend.

Other players have stepped up to replace the production of the Desir brothers. Rylan Kennedy leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks, while Jalen Anderson has played well on the opposite edge. Kevin Wynn flashed to me against Virginia at defensive tackle as well. Deante McCray is also a player who has become a leader up front after transferring in from WKU. Overall, this group dominated a veteran offensive line last weekend. They’ll be a huge factor in the game on Friday.

Chris Jones is the leader of the defense from his linebacker position. The junior was an absolute star for Southern Miss last year with 135 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. He immediately became a leader on this team, and he has been a playmaker with 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 tackles for loss this year. Omar Graham and Mikai Gbayor round out a strong group of linebackers, who will only see their production increase as the defensive line continues to play well.

The FSU secondary has had some issues this year, but playing SMU and Alabama will do that to you. The Noles gave up some big plays to New Mexico State to start the season as well, but they held their own outside of a few plays. They shut down a very poor UVA passing attack last weekend, but it was by far their best performance as a group. The defensive front got great pressure, but a good amount of the 10 sacks on the day were due to very good coverage in the back end. Louisville should challenge this group and make some plays.

Ja’Bril Rawls is the top corner on this team, and his production has been sporadic. He was roasted by a New Mexico State receiver in their first game so badly that I audibly gasped as I watched it. However, he is a solid player with good size, and he plays better against intermediate and short routes. Quindarrius Jones and Nehamiah Chandler have been better on the opposite side, but FSU doesn’t have a corner who has played overly well this season.

The FSU safeties have also been up and down this year, but Ashlynd Barker has impressed me at times. The 6-3/217 JUCO transfer had a nice leaping interception against SMU earlier this year. CJ Richard leads the team in tackles from his free safety spot while Ma’Kai Jones mans the nickel spot. This group has been abysmal in coverage this season, with quarterbacks completing most of their passes against them. If the Noles decide to deploy an aggressive approach this weekend, the Cards may have an opportunity to take advantage of these players in the passing game.

Motivational Tweets:

You can toss in about 75 percent of Louisville fans’ tweets from the past week in this spot.

Excitement Level: 6.2

I am so bummed that this isn’t higher. Heart of October. Perfect weather. Friday night. Name brand opponent. Should be the perfect set-up, and yet … we’re 2-3.

Game Attire: Black Rhoback Cardinal athletic hoodie

It got too hot to wear it last week so we’re breaking it out to match with the team this week.

Pregame Meal: Buffalo chicken quesadilla

Shoutout Drake’s (unpaid plug).

Bold Prediction: Lawayne McCoy gets in the endzone twice against his former team

We finally hit last week with “Lincoln will play and throw exactly two TD passes.” Let’s get on a streak now.

Jeff Brohm Tick Play Alert Level: Orchid (Solidly Above Average)

We are in “win now at all costs” mode.

Predicted Star of the Game: Isaac Brown

I’m expecting KeyJuan to be limited, so that means Isaac gets his highest touch total of the season and responds with his best performance of 2026.

Notable:

—Florida State enters Friday night having lost 10 consecutive road games and 13 straight games away from home overall. The Seminoles haven’t won a true road game since a 24-15 win at Florida on Nov. 25, 2023. They haven’t won a game away from home, period, since their ACC Championship Game victory over Louisville on Dec. 2, 2023.

—Florida State has lost six consecutive ACC road games. The Seminoles’ last conference win away from home was a 24-7 win at Pitt on Nov. 4, 2023.

—Louisville is 3-7 all-time in home games against Florida State.

—Since joining the ACC in 2014, Louisville is 4-6 in games against Florida State and 2-3 in home games against the ‘Noles.

—Louisville is 29-39-1 all-time against teams from Florida, but have won seven of the last 10 meetings in such games.

—Seven of Louisville last eight losses have come by three points or fewer. All three of U of L’s losses this season have come by exactly three points.

—For the first time in the Jeff Brohm era, Louisville is entering a conference game with a losing record in ACC play.

—Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is 2-2 in games against Louisville.

—Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm is 0-1 in games against Florida State.

—Louisville has allowed just 16 points in the first quarter this season, outscoring opponents 41-16 over the first 15 minutes.

—In its last two games, Florida State has allowed 14 total points, while holding opponents to a cumulative 3.12 yards per play and 1.77 yards per rush.

—Florida State ranks 2nd in the ACC and 8th in the country with an average of 3.4 sacks per game. Their average of 7.2 tackles for loss per game is 4th in the conference and 20th nationally.

—FSU is 21-for-21 in the Red Zone to begin the season, the 2nd-most scores in the Red Zone among teams still perfect in 2026. It is FSU’s best Red Zone start to a season since 2023 (also 21-for-21). The Seminoles’ Red Zone
touchdown percentage of 80.95 (17 of 21) is 1st in the ACC and 11th in the nation.

—Louisville has 37 plays of 20 yards or more through five games, tied for the most in the country.

—Louisville has eight touchdowns of 50 yards or more this season, the most of any team in the FBS.

—Five different Louisville players have scored a touchdown of 50 yards or more this season.

—Louisville has scored at least 24 points in 30 of its last 32 games.

—Louisville ranks 129th out of 138 FBS teams in penalty yards per game.

—Florida State kicker Gabe Panikowski is 21-for-21 on field goal attempts in his NCAA career, including 6-for-6 this season. He is the only active qualified kicker (min. 15 attempts) in any NCAA division that is perfect in his career.

—Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels ranks 3rd nationally with nine rushing touchdowns and is also 3rd with 15.87 yards per completion. He had 183 passing yards, a career-high 136 rushing yards and five touchdowns against Virginia, the only FBS player since at least 1995 to reach those marks in a game.

—FSU ranks second in the ACC and eighth in the country with 3.4 sacks per game, and fourth in the ACC with 7.2 TFLs per game.

—Louisville is 220-199-5 all-time in games played in the month of October.

—Under Jeff Brohm, Louisville is 6-5 in the month of October.

—Louisville is 4-9 all-time in games played on Oct. 9. The Cards’ last appearance on the date was a 34-33 home loss to Virginia in 2021.

—Louisville wide receiver Lawayne McCoy played two seasons at Florida State before transferring this year to Louisville. In two years with the Seminoles, McCoy played in 20 games with 33 receptions for 448 yards and three touchdowns.

—Florida State Director of Football Strategy/Offensive Assistant Gabe Fertitta was a quality control assistant at Louisville during the 2021 season.

—Louisville is 14-2 in ACC regular season games under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points.

—Louisville is 54-47 all-time in ACC games, and 17-10 in ACC games under Jeff Brohm.

—The state of Florida has produced six Kentucky Derby winners, the most of any state outside of Kentucky.

—Louisville had a six-game winning streak in Friday night games snapped with last season’s 20-19 loss to Clemson. The Cards are 20-14 all-time in Friday night games.

—Louisville is one of just five FBS programs scheduled to play 11 power conference opponents in 2026.

—Louisville is one of only seven power conference programs to win at least nine games in each of the last three years.

—Louisville has won 50 consecutive games when shutting out its opponent in the second half.

—Under Jeff Brohm, Louisville is 16-2 in games in which it rushes for 200 yards or more. One of those losses came last week against NC State.

—Louisville is one of eight FBS teams to score in every game it has played for the last 26 years, joining Boise State, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Southern California, Texas Christian, and Virginia Tech.

—Through 5 games so far, Florida State and Louisville both have 15 rushing TDs. LOU has 993 total rushing yards as a team while averaging 198.6 yds/game. FSU is sitting at 970 rushing yds with a 194 yds/game avg.

—Louisville is 15-1 under head coach Jeff Brohm when it doesn’t commit a turnover, with the lone loss coming earlier this season against Ole Miss.

—Louisville is 19-1 under Jeff Brohm when it wins the turnover battle and 11-14 when it doesn’t.

—Louisville is 25-3 over the past five seasons when shutting out its opponent in the first quarter.

—Louisville has won 40 of its last 45 games when holding teams to less than 300 yards of offense.

—Louisville has won 18 straight games when holding its opponent scoreless in the first half.

—Since 2019, Louisville is 38-5 when winning the turnover battle, and just 8-28 when losing it.

—Louisville is 26-3 under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points.

—Louisville is 212-17 all-time when scoring 35 or more points in a game.

—Louisville is 144-4 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game, including an 85-3 mark since 2000. The Cards are 6-124 all-time when allowing opponents to score 40 or more points.

—Louisville is currently riding a consecutive game scoring streak that spans 332 games dating back to a 31-0 loss to Florida State during the 2000 season. The streak ranks as the second longest in the ACC behind only Virginia Tech, and the 8th-longest nationally.

Quotable:

—”This is going to be a real hard-nosed, tough ACC matchup. Friday night, all eyes on us.” —Florida State head coach Mike Norvell

—”We have to play sound and good football to win the game. This is a team that has as much talent as anyone we’ve played so if we’re not up to par and playing with great confidence, it’s not going to be a pretty day.” —Jeff Brohm

—”I mean, this is probably the best three-loss team in the country when you see what they bring and the challenges they present in every game against top 25 teams.” —Florida State head coach Mike Norvell

—”I think you see a team (in FSU) that’s been through some adversity and they’ve rallied the troops and are playing confident football right now.” —Jeff Brohm

—”I’m telling you these guys are really good, and we better be ready to go.” —Florida State defensive coordinator Tony White

Card Chronicle Prediction: Louisville 34, Florida State 30