Florida State faces Louisville on the road Friday night as Ashton Daniels and Seminoles try to end road skid

Florida State takes its first road trip in three weeks Friday night, Oct. 9, when the Seminoles (3-2, 1-1 ACC) play Louisville (2-3, 1-2 ACC) at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. FSU is coming off its most complete game of the season, a 38-7 rout of Virginia in which quarterback Ashton Daniels ran for a school-record five touchdowns, and it has a short week before a trip to No. 4 Miami.

Neither team is ranked in the Associated Press poll. Louisville opened as a field-goal-plus favorite, with FanDuel listing the Cardinals at minus 3.5 and other books ranging up to 5.5 points.

Florida State's season so far

Mike Norvell's seventh Florida State team has won its last two games after a 1-2 start that included a three-point home loss to then-No. 19 SMU and a road loss at Alabama. Here are the Seminoles' results through five games.

The schedule explains part of the concern heading north. Four of FSU's five games have been in Tallahassee, and the loss at Alabama extended a road losing streak that reached 12 games dating back to 2023. A win in Louisville would be the program's first true road win in more than 1,000 days.

Ashton Daniels and a red-hot red zone

Daniels was named the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after the Virginia game, in which he ran for 136 yards and five touchdowns, including an 81-yard score, and completed 12 passes for 183 yards. Norvell called it "a special performance." Daniels has nine rushing touchdowns this season, third in the country according to FSU's game notes.

His passing has been less consistent: he entered the week completing 60.3% of his throws with six touchdown passes and six interceptions. Florida State's offense has been the most efficient in the country inside the 20, however. The Seminoles are 21-for-21 scoring in the red zone, with 17 touchdowns, and Norvell has made clear he wants touchdowns rather than field goals. "We want six," he said this week.

The defense was just as dominant against Virginia. FSU recorded 10 sacks, held the Cavaliers to 3-for-15 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down, and forced five three-and-outs. Norvell called it "a dominant win against a quality opponent" and credited defensive coordinator Tony White, now in his second season running FSU's 3-3-5 scheme.

Louisville: three losses by nine points

Jeff Brohm's Cardinals are better than their record, by Norvell's account. Louisville has lost to Ole Miss, Wake Forest and NC State by a combined nine points, including a 31-28 loss at NC State last Saturday in which the Cardinals fumbled five times and lost three. Brohm said afterward that Louisville needed to simplify its defense and fix its mistakes.

Norvell called Louisville "probably the best three-loss team in the country" and said quarterback Lincoln Kienholz "can do it all." Kienholz has thrown for 1,394 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception but has been banged up; he suffered an injury at the end of the Wake Forest loss. Louisville's defense has been the soft spot, allowing 423 yards a game (125th in FBS) and 266.8 passing yards a game (130th), according to ESPN figures.

Turnovers favor the hosts. Louisville entered the week at plus-4 in turnover margin, while Florida State was minus-2, 92nd nationally.

Injury report

The ACC's availability report, first released Tuesday night and updated Wednesday, lists significant absences on both sides. Teams must update it again Thursday and two hours before kickoff.

Kienholz moving to probable is the biggest development for Louisville. For Florida State, Desir's questionable tag is a step forward: the defensive lineman has missed three of the last four games. Singleton and Nichelson are expected to miss extended time.

Series history

Florida State leads the all-time series 18-6 and is 7-3 in games played in Louisville, according to the Seminoles' game notes. FSU has won the last two meetings: a 2022 road win and a 16-6 victory in the 2023 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, which completed the Seminoles' unbeaten 13-0 season through the conference title game. Friday is the first meeting since that title game, and FSU is seeking a third straight win in the series.

Norvell framed the trip as a test of whether the Virginia performance was real. "We got to go earn it," he said, adding that he expects "a real hard-nosed, tough ACC matchup." Wide receiver Micahi Danzy said the Virginia win looked like "old Florida State" and that the next step is proving it on the road.

What's next: Miami and the Florida Cup

Florida State's schedule only gets tougher. After Louisville, the Seminoles travel to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. on ESPN to face Miami, which is 5-0 (3-0 ACC) and ranked No. 4 in the AP poll. Clemson visits Doak Campbell Stadium on Oct. 31, and the regular season ends Nov. 27 at home against Florida in the final leg of the Florida Cup.

With the ACC Championship Game set for Dec. 5, a win in Louisville would put FSU at 2-1 in league play and set up the Miami game with conference title hopes still alive. A loss would leave the Seminoles 1-2 in the ACC and on a 13-game road skid with Miami up next.