Florida State football opens season with 34-17 win over Aggies

Florida State football commenced the 2026 season with a home opener at Doak S. Campbell Stadium against the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, Aug. 29., where the Seminoles defeated the Aggies 34-17 in a roller coaster of a performance.

FSU started the game on defense after losing the coin toss. Despite the Aggies gaining some ground early on, the defense held strong. The crowd erupted after senior defensive back Quindarrius Jones intercepted a throw in the end zone to put the 'Noles on offense.

Following the turnover, the Garnet and Gold, led by fifth year quarterback Ashton Daniels, engineered a strong drive that brought them into the red zone. However, after Daniels was sacked on third and goal, Florida State was forced to settle for a field goal from senior kicker Gabe Panikowski to take an early 3-0 lead.

'Noles offense presents bright spots and room to improve

Later on in the first quarter, a screen pass from Daniels to senior running back Samuel Singleton Jr. set the Seminoles up inside the New Mexico State 10-yard line once again.

On third down, Daniels scored his first touchdown of the season as he evaded the blitz to give FSU a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, New Mexico State bounced back with a touchdown of their own as New Mexico State junior quarterback Trey Hedden connected with senior receiver Brodie Malone-Bradford to cut the Aggies' deficit to three.

Despite two straight scoring drives to start the game, the 'Noles' offense stalled. A three-and-out followed by an interception from Daniels shifted the momentum to the Aggies midway through the second quarter.

"Obviously there's some plays we want to have back," Daniels said in the postgame press conference. "But I think we responded very well … we're gonna come in tomorrow, we're gonna watch … we're gonna learn from it and we're gonna make sure we get those things fixed."

On the other hand, the Garnet and Gold defense stymied the New Mexico State offense. A sack by fifth year linebacker Mikai Gbayor forced the Aggies' offense back, and they were soon forced to punt.

Florida State regained some momentum as Singleton caught a pass from Daniels for a touchdown with under a minute left in the half, putting the Seminoles ahead 17-7 going into the break.

Seminoles defense is a strongpoint early in the season

In the second half, FSU's defense picked up where it left off and kept the Aggies contained.

With less than three minutes left in the third quarter, Singleton extended the 'Noles' lead to 24-10 after a lengthy drive of over five minutes of game-time.

The Garnet and Gold defense remained strong in the latter half of the quarter, keeping the lethargic Aggies offense in their own territory and forcing them to punt as the game entered the fourth quarter.

With Florida State looking to protect its double-digit lead, the Seminoles leaned on the ground game. Sophomore running back Ousmane Kromah broke off a game-high 52-yard run that took FSU into New Mexico State territory. The 'Noles eventually settled for a field goal on the drive, extending their lead to 27-10. Kromah finished the game with 14 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Facing a three-possession deficit, the Aggies did not relent. On second down at the Garnet and Gold's 34-yard line, Hedden tossed his second touchdown pass of the night as he attacked Florida State's middle safeties to cut the lead down to 27-17.

"I feel like we didn't play up to our standard," junior linebacker Chris Jones said postgame. "We just gotta come out faster, be more urgent, and then clean up the details."

Garnet and Gold hold on to secure perfect record

Florida State continued to fight back offensively. With less than five minutes left in the game, the Seminoles powered through with a 1-yard touchdown run from Kromah to bring the lead back to 17, and eventually finish the game with a 34-17 win to start the 2026 season 1-0.

"There's some good and bad that showed up," head coach Mike Norvell said in the postgame press conference. "Throughout the course of the game [there's] a lot of areas where we're gonna be able to grow and continue to push to get better."

FSU will play their next game at Doak S. Campbell Stadium against Southern Methodist University at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sep. 7.

Abraham Piroozmand is a Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com .