Tallahassee, Florida – RBs Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton, Jr. returned to play for the Florida State Seminoles this season. They led the way for their team to win their season opener over New Mexico State. In this case, so much for FSU transfers. QB Ashton Daniels transferred from Auburn. He had a decent game, but flaws in his game cause concerns against tougher foes the Seminoles will face in upcoming weeks. Texas transfer RB Tres Wisner carried four times for 34 yards late in the game. Seems like Head Coach Mike Norvell wants to see how to work with his three backs together to start the season.
Kromah, a sophomore, rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries and scored a TD. Singleton, a junior, rushed for 42 yards and a score. He also caught four passes for 54 yards and another score. His kick returns for 68 total yards included one for 46. It launched FSU’s score to seal the victory.
New Mexico State finds success through the air
The Aggies, with Furman transfer Trey Hedden at QB, put together a long drive to start the game. Despite controlling the ball for 6:47 into the game, this series ended in an INT in the end zone by CB Quindarrius Jones. Hedden would expose more of the Florida State defense during subsequent series. The Seminoles ensuing drive resulted in Gabe Panikowski’s 34-yard FG to head into the second quarter leading, 3-0. However, a long Florida State drive had placed the Noles at the NMSU four as the period ended.
Daniels completed the drive with a four-yard run to increase the FSU lead, 10-0. New Mexico State, a 31-point underdog coming in, went right to work. On three consecutive series, Hedden completed long passes on third and long situations. The first went to WR Brodie Malone-Bradford (6 catches, 96 yards, TD) and the second to WR TK King. The final one sailed for a 33-yard, diving touchdown catch to wide-open Malone-Bradford. It put the Aggies back within three.
Defenses step up before next score
NMSU stopped a Florida State drive with an INT by S Nick Sessions. The Nole defense forced a punt two plays after a ten-yard sack by LB Mikai Gbayor. Starting from their 42, Florida State drove to the four. With 36 seconds remaining in the half, Daniels rolled right to connect with Singleton directly in front of him with a short pass for a TD. The Noles led going int to the locker rooms, 17-7.
Aggies battle back, but Noles maintain distance
Led by LB Sone Aupiu with eight tackles including two for losses, New Mexico State forced a Florida State punt. Starting from the eleven, Hedden (26 for 42, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) mixed up passes and runs well to get to the Nole 21. There, Ilya Uvaydov converted from 38 yards to trail, 17-10.
Once again, a score awoke the FSU offense. Singleton got things started with a 46-yard kickoff return to the 49. Daniels completed a pass to his key receiver Duce Robinson (3 catches for 50 yards). After that, Singleton and Kromah ran the ball on each snap. Singleton took it over from two the lead, 24-10.
Florida State finishes with highs and lows
The Aggies started the fourth on third a nine from their 3. Jones made a great pass break-up to force a punt. FSU started from its 13. Immediately, Kromah broke through for a 52-yard jaunt to the Aggie 35. The Aggies tightened up. They forced the Noles into a Pankowski field goal from 40 yards. With 10:41 remaining, the outcome wasn’t in doubt.
However, the Aggies used the time left to show the 65,915 in attendance at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium to cast some doubt about success in upcoming games. Next Monday, ACC power No. 19 SMU comes calling with QB Kevin Jennings. In seven plays, the Aggies covered 75 yards.
Hedden completed five passes to three receivers. The last went 34 yards to wide-open, once again, King (7 catches, 78 yards, TD) to narrow the margin, 27-17. The Noles had trouble with a New Mexico State offense led by a former FCS QB under little pressure. They left many wide-open receivers for easy receptions. What adjustments will be made before SMU’s visit followed by a trip to No. 13 Alabama?
Final analysis for Florida State in 2026
Florida State scored on their final possession of the game. Wisner went on display with four runs and a reception to get the Noles to the 26. Daniels completed a pass to WR Jayvon Boggs to the one. Kromah came back in to score to put the icing on the cake this evening, 34-17. Florida State will savor the win for now, but it needs to learn from some mistakes in pass coverage to stop two top teams during the next two weeks.
The Seminole pass rush has to improve. Despite the performances by Singleton and Kromah, blocking up front has to improve. Daniels looks slow on his pass release, though a nice double pump helped Boggs get clear on his catch. With two extra days to practice this week and already under intense pressure, Head Coach Mike Norvell needs to accelerate on improvements. Evidently, his hot seat is in flames when dedicated Nole fans met at tailgates adjacent to Doak Campbell, in the Club Lounge, and in the stadium club seating area already refer to “our next coach” – without even using a name. They just know that they expect somebody “special.”
What we expect to see in 2023
As noted, Florida State faces early key games for their season success and Coach Norvell’s job during the next two weeks. Beyond another winnable game at home versus Central Arkansas, the schedule challenges the Seminoles, no doubt. Get this road on the “hot seat”: Virginia, at Louisville, at Miami and two weeks later, Clemson. Sorry for Mike Norvell, he may be cooked by then.
As for the New Mexico State Aggies
They should look good at home in Las Cruces next week against D-2 Mercyhurst out of Erie, Pennsylvania. Next, they travel to Hawaii followed by a visit at home from archrival New Mexico. As a ConferenceUSA member, tough games loom ahead with Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State, and Delaware all at home. Other games look winnable. With Hedden at QB and a few other additions like RB James Jones from Delaware State melding together behind a decent offensive line, they can possibly help HC Tony Sanchez to a winning record and a shot at the CUSA title.
We’ll skip next Saturday for a game on Sunday!
A plan for D-3 game Saturday fell through and we have several key games on the tube we want to scout for future references. Penn State hosts Marshall, Auburn vs. Baylor, and Tulane at Duke among others, we will see play. Other teams on our 2026 schedule such as Texas State and Western Michigan take in top contenders Texas and Michigan. We will see how they hold up.
Associated Press No. 9 vs. No. 24
On Sunday, we drive over to Nissan Stadium to see No. 9 Ole miss play No. 24 Louisville. Both squads bring top QBs and top RBs to what should be an exciting game. The Rebels start under Lane Kiffin replacement Pete Golding, winner of two CFP games a year ago. His offense features QB Trinidad Chambliss, 297.6 yards per game last year in total offense. RB Kewan Lacy returns with 1,567 rushing yards and 24 TDs.
Louisville HC Jeff Brohm returns in his fourth year with high hopes on QB Lincoln Kienholz. After waiting in line to play at Ohio State behind Julian Saylin, he transferred to pitch now for the Cardinals. Sophomore RB Issac Brown returns with 1,173 yards and seven TDs. Both offenses will be primed to go against defenses filling in a lot of lots with transfers. We expect to see a high-scoring battle in this Music City Classic!
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”
