30 Notes To Remember From FSU Football's 38-7 Win Against Virginia Cavaliers

Notes on performances, starters, and career stats for the Seminoles.

Oct 3, 2026; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) runs for a touchdown as head coach Mike Norvell cheers on the sidelines during the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Florida State Seminoles won their first conference game of the 2026 season on Saturday, defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 38-7. After trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, the Seminoles went on a 38-0 run throughout the remainder of the game.

Florida State's defense jumped all over the Cavaliers for the final three quarters. The Seminoles racked up 10 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, while holding Virginia to 37 rushing yards.

READ MORE: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: FSU Football vs. Virginia Cavaliers

Here are 30 notes surrounding various data points from the win.

Stats To Remember From FSU's Win Over Virginia

Oct 3, 2026; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

• Florida State improved to 16-5 all-time against Virginia with a 38-7 win over the Cavaliers Saturday. Virginia entered the game with the nation's 7th-longest active road win streak before FSU ended the game on a 38-0 run over the final three quarters. 

• Quarterback Ashton Daniels set a Florida State record with 5 rushing touchdowns. He also set the Doak Campbell Stadium record, set the ACC record by a quarterback in an ACC game and tied the record for most by an ACC quarterback in any game. Daniels' touchdowns came from 4, 3, 6, 81 and 1 yard. 

• Daniels is the first FBS quarterback with 5 rushing touchdowns against a Power 4 opponent since 2023 and just the 9th since 1995. He is the only player with at least 180 passing yards, 130 rushing yards and five touchdowns in that span. 

• Daniels' 81-yard touchdown - his fourth of the game - is FSU's longest play of the season and was the 2nd-longest rush for a quarterback in FSU history. Jordan Travis, who was on the sideline for Saturday's game, had an 88-yard run against Pitt in 2020. 

• Daniels' fifth touchdown of the game gave him nine for the season, matching Tommy Castellanos' school record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback. 

• Daniels' 136 rushing yards set a new career high, topping his 129 at NC State while with Stanford in 2024. It is the most rushing yards for an FSU quarterback since Christian Ponder had 144 at Miami in 2008. It was Daniels' third career 100- yard rushing game and sixth multi-touchdown game. 

• Passing, Daniels was 12-for-19 for 183 yards. He had 154 passing yards in the first half against a Virginia defense that was allowing just 130 passing yards per game, 5th in the country and 1st in the ACC.

• Daniels has accounted for multiple touchdowns in all five games this season. 

• Running back Quintrevion Wisner tallied a season-high 106 total yards - 46 rushing and 60 receiving. His 48-yard reception set up Daniels' first touchdown and was the second-longest catch of his career. 

• FSU ran for 281 yards, its most in an ACC game since 2023 against Virginia Tech (282). 

• Wide receiver Micahi Danzy caught a 33-yard pass and led FSU with 70 receiving yards, the fourth different Seminole to lead FSU in receiving this season. As a team, FSU has 17 30-yard plays this season. Entering Saturday, FSU ranked 11th nationally in 30-yard plays, three behind the national leader. 

• Florida State recorded 10 sacks, its most in a game since a school-record 11 vs. Wake Forest in 1997. Nine players had at least 0.5 sacks: Rylan Kennedy (career-high 2.0), Chris Jones (1.5), Mikai Gbayor, Deante McCray, Mandrell Desir and Jalen Anderson (tied career-high with 1.0), Kevin Wynn (1.0, first of career), Deamontae Diggs (1.0) and Omar Graham Jr. (0.5). 

• FSU's 10 sacks ties the most in an ACC game in records dating back to 2005 (North Carolina had 10 at Virginia in 2024), and FSU is one of 14 teams with 10 sacks against a Power 4 opponent in that span. 

1. FSU's +244 rushing yards margin is the most in a P4 matchup since Oct. 25, 2025, when Utah out-ran Colorado by 384 yards. 

• FSU's rushing yards margin is the most in the ACC since North Carolina out-rushed Miami by 479 yards in 2020. It is FSU's largest margin in an ACC game since 2012 (+342 vs. Wake Forest). 

• Virginia ran for just 37 yards on 40 rushes (0.9 yards per carry). The 37 rushing yards are the 3rd-fewest allowed in head coach Mike Norvell's career and the fewest FSU has allowed in a game since Northern Illinois had six rushing yards in 2018. It's the fewest FSU allowed in an ACC game since Syracuse had 37 rushing yards in 2016. 

• Gbayor and Jones led FSU with six tackles. Gbayor's six tackles tied a career high. 

• FSU also had a season-high five pass breakups. Kennedy, Ma'Khi Jones, AJ Cottrill, Charles Lester III and Daniel Lyons each had one. Jones, Lester and Lyons tied their career-highs, while Cottrill's was the first of his career. 

• Defensive back Ashlynd Barker earned his 100th career tackle. He had three solo stops against the Cavaliers. 

• Kicker Gabe Panikowski connected on a 44-yard field goal. He is now 6-for-6 on field goals in 2026 and 21-for-21 in his FBS career, the only qualified active kicker (min. 15 attempts) that is still perfect in his career. 

• Panikowski made all five point-after tries, extending FSU's streak to 182 consecutive made PAT over the past four seasons. 

• Punter Daniel Hughes booted a 65-yard punt in the first quarter, the longest of his career and the longest for a Seminole since Alex Mastromanno's 65-yard punt vs. Boston College in 2024. 

• Freshman punt returner Jasen Lopez returned four punts for 43 yards, including a career-long 31-yarder that set up an FSU touchdown. It was FSU's longest punt return of the season and followed his 25-yard punt return last week against Central Arkansas. 

• Celebrating his 23rd birthday, long snapper Caleb Bowers played in his 50th career game, most on the team. 

• Daniels first rushing touchdown capped a 98-yard drive, FSU's longest of the season.

• FSU remained perfect in the Red Zone on the season, scoring touchdowns on all four attempts. The Noles are 21-for-21 on the season, with 17 touchdowns. It is FSU's longest streak scoring in the Red Zone to begin a season since 2023 (also 21). 

• FSU led 17-7 at halftime. FSU's 17 second-quarter points were the most the Cavaliers have allowed in any quarter since FSU scored 21 in the second quarter in Charlottesville on Sept. 26, 2025. 

• Florida State improved to 13-0 when allowing fewer than 10 points under Norvell and 25-2 when allowing fewer than 20 points. FSU is 8-0 when allowing less than 20 points under defensive coordinator Tony White, including 3-0 in 2026. 

• Virginia quarterback Beau Pribula entered the game completing 77 percent of his passes, 4th-best in the nation. FSU held him to 14-of-32 passing (43.6) for 168 yards. 

• One week after holding Central Arkansas to 3.4 yards per play, FSU allowed just 2.85 yards per play against Virginia. The Cavaliers ran 72 plays for 205 yards.

*Notes courtesy of FSU Athletics

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