Ashton Daniels produced five of Florida State's eight explosive plays
The real story of Florida State's win, in the numbers that matter.
On to the details. Florida State handles New Mexico State, 34-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State was the steadier side of a 17-point win. Ashton Daniels threw for 202 yards on 27 attempts with one touchdown and ran eight times for 30 yards and one score.
One team finished its drives
Florida State scored on 60% of its drives to New Mexico State's 30%, led by Ashton Daniels (12 pts), Samuel Singleton (12 pts) and Ousmane Kromah (6 pts). Florida State started 10 yards closer to the end zone on an average drive. That's what carried Florida State.
How the two sides actually played on the night.
The difference-makers
Ashton Daniels threw for 202 yards on 27 attempts with one touchdown and ran eight times for 30 yards and one score, including two of them from inside the 20, six third-down conversions and a hand in five plays of 15 yards or more. Samuel Singleton ran nine times for 42 yards and one score and caught four passes for 54 yards, one of them for a touchdown, with two of them from inside the 20 and two third-down conversions. Ousmane Kromah ran 14 times for 115 yards and one score and caught one pass for 7 yards, with that score from inside the 20 and two third-down conversions. For New Mexico State, Trey Hedden threw for 272 yards on 42 attempts with two touchdowns and lost 21 yards on four carries, including eight third-down conversions and a hand in five plays of 15 yards or more. Tyler King caught seven passes for 78 yards, one of them for a touchdown, with two third-down conversions. Quindarrius Jones was the disruptive one for Florida State: 1 INT, 1 PBU, 0.5 tackles.
The snaps that mattered
It came down to a few snaps. Trey Hedden's dropback that came up short on 2nd-and-9 at Q1 08:13. Then Ashton Daniels's 44-yard throw to Micahi Danzy on 3rd-and-8 at Q1 05:59. Later, Trey Hedden's 33-yard throw to Brodie Malone-Bradford for a touchdown on 3rd-and-9 at Q2 10:49.
How we got here
Florida State struck first through Gabe Panikowski, led 17-7 at the half and the final points came on a late touchdown by Ousmane Kromah.
The disruptive ones
Two names to keep: Quindarrius Jones (1 INT, 1 PBU, 0.5 tackles) for Florida State and Nick Session (1 INT, 1 PBU, 6 tackles) for New Mexico State.
How it graded
The closing line had Florida State -31.0. New Mexico State covered. The total was 53.5; the teams combined for 51, an under. Trey Hedden accounted for 12 of New Mexico State's points.
Where it leaves them
Historically similar games since 2019 — close margin, both offenses held far below norm — and how often that offense outperformed this level the following week.
Nothing fluky here — Florida State earned it, and New Mexico State knows where it slipped.
Discussion
Weigh in on the analysis — the best takes rise to the top.
0 Replies
Sign in to join the discussion.