Florida State opened its 2026 football season with a victory Saturday night, but judging by the reaction from Seminole fans, the mood around Doak Campbell Stadium was closer to cautious than celebratory.
The Seminoles defeated visiting New Mexico State 34-17 before a near-capacity crowd in what was supposed to be a tune-up before much tougher tests await against No. 19 SMU on Labor Day and No. 11 Alabama on Sept. 19.
Instead of a comfortable cruise, FSU found itself in a four-quarter fight against an Aggies team that arrived with little fear and left believing it let a potential win slip away.
New Mexico State coach Tony Sanchez called it a "missed opportunity" afterward, and it's easy to understand why. The Aggies threw for 272 yards, frequently attacking the middle of the field, and stayed within striking distance longer than many expected.
FSU football, Mike Norvell welcomes 62 new playersFor an FSU program that welcomed 62 new players this offseason as it attempts to shake consecutive losing seasons and increasing unrest under coach Mike Norvell, some growing pains were inevitable.
They were hard to miss Saturday.
Transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels showed flashes of promise but also inconsistency, finishing 17 of 27 for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The offensive line had issues in pass protection, and the Seminoles were flagged seven times for 65 yards.
At times, it looked exactly like what it was: a talented roster still learning how to play together. Yet there were enough positives to keep some fans believing.
FSU rolled up 419 total yards and achieved the balance Norvell has repeatedly emphasized, surpassing 200 yards both rushing and passing. The Seminoles were also flawless in the red zone, converting all six trips into points.
Defensively, FSU delivered several encouraging moments. The Seminoles recorded three sacks, forced an interception and limited New Mexico State to just 47 rushing yards. While the secondary had its share of issues, some glaring, the run defense was stout.
The rushing attack may have provided the biggest reason for optimism.
Sophomore Ousmane Kromah powered his way to career highs with 115 yards on 14 carries, highlighted by a 52-yard burst. Senior Samuel Singleton Jr. showcased his versatility, leading the team with four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown while adding 42 rushing yards and another score. By night's end, Singleton had piled up 164 all-purpose yards and looked every bit like one of FSU's most dynamic weapons.
So what was the verdict from the fan base?
Democrat sports editor Jim Henry posed that question on Facebook following the game. The consensus was clear: A win is a win, but FSU has plenty of work to do.
The Seminoles checked the most important box by starting the season 1-0. But after consecutive disappointing seasons, fans aren't interested in moral victories or style points. They want signs FSU is ready to compete with ranked opponents and reclaim its place among college football's elite.
With SMU and Alabama looming, the margin for error is about to shrink dramatically. FSU escaped opening night with a victory.
Now comes the harder part: proving it can play much better than it did in earning it.
Here's a sampling of FSU fans' thoughts on the Seminoles' opening winSteven Crankshaw:Sloppy at first, as expected. Hopefully the offense will improve with more reps.
Former FSU player David Ponder: Happy for the win. However, the OL, while having a good day run blocking, seemed to be challenged by the NMS undersized DL when pass blocking. Our pass coverage allowed quite a few 3rd and long conversions which will probably keep the coaching staff up late. Great effort by our running backs!
Glenn Ray: Love our Noles but this could possibly be a long season!
Andy Smith: Since this was basically a preseason game, a 34-17 win over New Mexico State would have felt better if we'd done it without using any starters.
Debbie Stevens Jensen: Sad, very sad. Gonna be another losing season.
Jeff Wright: Too early to really know. Still a lot of work to do before SMU . That game could be a make it or break it for the season.
Carla McClellan: Seeing Ethan Pritchard walk out was the best part of the game.
Dale Brown: Would give us a C grade but really the correct grade is Incomplete. SMU and Alabama will let us know.
Gary Wayne Shiver Jr.Implosion in 3..2..1..
Jay Wells: Verdict is still out. They played better as the game went on, but New Mexico State is hardly an ACC level team. Daniels has potential. We knew that coming in. And Duce Robinson is an elite receiver. Still not sold on this new O-line, and I cannot help questioning many of the defensive schemes, particularly early in the game. Kinda crazy playing corners and safeties as soft as they did in the first couple of defensive series, but they played better and more aggressively as the game advanced. Offense certainly has to eliminate turnovers and stupid penalties. We’ll know a lot more Monday week.
David Hormuth: Looking at the NMS receivers wide open the whole game. 10 yards separation is not competitive. Touchdown 20 yards separation, cant win consistently.
Dustin Rivest: Expected for week 0… there was good and bad moments to fine tune before SMU. One BIG thing I noticed was the lack of noise the fans created. 3rd downs were way to quiet and it shows when you look at their big third downs conversions. Fans will need to not only show up, but be more involved in helping this defense when it comes to getting loud and making it hard for SMU to focus.
Ed H. Moore: Soft up the middle. Most NMS passes completed were between the hash marks. FSU running backs were standouts, too often making their own holes, but they looked strong.
Courtney Wester: Offense showed that it can be good at times. Consistency has to improve. Defense has to protect the middle of the field and wrap up.
Michelle Bryant: It was not the best game we have ever played. But it was the first and I thought the QB for NMS was pretty good. It’s hard to win in College football now a days per GB. The fan experience was good. The food was way better than last year and we Won. Go Noles!!
Toby Srebnik: 10 of 17 on 3rd down is alarming knowing this is one of the easiest opponents they will have all season. Defense’s coverage of playing 10 yards off of people on 3rd down doesn’t bode well on Labor Day evening.
Dave Muntean: First game is done and lessons were learned. Now it's time to buckle down. Noles must work harder on their pass defense, and we need more pressure on the QB. This year, defense may be that difference between a winning and losing record.
Former FSU player Barry Smith: Thrilled we got the win! Gonna have to up our game a bunch to beat SMU!
Former FSU player Tony Yeomans: Teams run through that 3/3 defense like water through a storm drain . Play calling is terrible and MN won’t make it past Clemson.
Mike McCaffrey: Daniels showed he can throw the ball very well when given time. The OL needs to be better. The secondary was not good out in the flat or across the middle. Deep coverage was better, but that was probably because the WRs for NMS aren't as fast as our DBs. Special teams were pretty good. Overall, C+, but with our schedule this year, that only gets you 4-5 wins.
Kevin Pickett: It’s very unfortunate. It appears that Coach Norvell isn’t up for the task. The greats all had one thing in common, they were crystal clear when evaluating elite talent. We’ve seen a huge decline as Novell’s guys have come on campus. I’ve tried to support him and I will always support my NOLES. The program is unrecognizable. On the bright side, the facilities are tremendous. I’ll buy Jimbo a Christmas tree if he’s ready to come home.
Andrew Wilcox: 3rd and Kelly defense, Daniel's running for his life all night, and cant get pressure on the opposing quarterback. Same pig, different lipstick. Lets see if the old adage of improvement between games 1 and 2 comes true. Otherwise its going to be a very long year.
Gregory Baisch: I am going to reserve judgement until Tuesday after Labor Day. However, it doesn't look good. It looked like the same exact product we've seen for the last 2 seasons.
Susie Hall Morris: Are they going to dominate? No. Will they win games? Yes they will. Rest is wait and see.
Deborah Collins: Quarterback, running backs, and receivers did pretty good. O-line still needs some work. Run defense was outstanding. Pass defense? Not so much. Special teams were impressive.
Jerry Stanley: NMS QB demonstrated how to throw the slant pass which for some reason we don’t do that much. I’m hoping Mike was keeping things close to his vest in his play calling to my show too much in preparation for SMU. Didn’t see Riles involved in passing game or wheel routes to backs. Daniels didn’t look comfortable on attempted rollout pass plays to his left. NMS QB is another in-state Tampa Catholic product we missed out on as he proved he was the better who could make all the throws & touch on the ball. Expected to see better pass rush. We’ll all find out next Monday night.
Jamie Ward: The O line was abysmal, Tony Whites defense was not impressive at all… The softness in the secondary was laughable… and while Daniels was impressive as far as his poise… He holds onto the ball way too long and takes too long to find secondary receivers. Our running back room looked really nice… Singleton, kromah, Weisner ,Allowing those third and long conversions was hard to watch.
Joe Feheley: Our Defensive Secondary was the weak spot for game 1 against New Mexico State. New Mexico used the seams between our zones to create big plays. On the typical 3rd and 5 our cornerbacks are playing too deep and allowing easy 5-7 yard conversions.
John Griffin: I kept telling myself this was a “don’t show SMU or Alabama anything.” Playing chess not checkers (hopefully). Optimistic we were holding back on play book so we can have a chance to get by SMU and Alabama. We blew out teams early last year and showed our hand. Made it tough to get by well coached teams. Last year was better than some cynics articulate. Numerous games were lost by a play or two.
Here is FSU's 2026 football scheduleAug. 29: vs. New Mexico State, 34-17
Sept. 7: vs SMU, 730 p.m., ESPN
Sept. 19: at Alabama, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Sept. 26: vs Central Arkansas, TBA
Oct. 3: vs. Virginia, TBA
Oct. 9: at Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Oct. 17: at Miami, TBA
Oct. 31: vs. Clemson, TBA
Nov. 7: at Boston College, TBA
Nov. 13: at Pitt, 7 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 21: vs. N. C. State, TBA
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU won, but fans saw plenty that must improve before SMU, Alabama
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