FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026
For about 20 minutes on Friday night, Florida State looked like the team its fans remember. The Seminoles jumped out 14-0 on Louisville in the night's marquee final, marched to the Cardinals' 2-yard line in the second quarter, and had a chance to go up three scores on the road — a win that would have ended the Noles' long road misery. That's when Mike Norvell decided to get greedy.
Fourth-and-goal from the 2. Instead of the field goal, Norvell kept the offense on the field — a wide receiver screen to Jasen Lopez that Louisville blew up behind the line of scrimmage. Turnover on downs. And on the very next play, Isaac Brown took a handoff and went 97 yards for a touchdown. One play. Ninety-seven yards. The entire game, turned on its head.
What followed was a demolition. Louisville scored 35 unanswered points on the way to a 44-20 final — and the Cardinals didn't just beat Florida State, they rewrote the record books. Louisville piled up 397 rushing yards, the most ever allowed in Florida State program history. Let that sink in. Decades of Seminole football, all the great defenses, all the great backs they faced — nobody ever ran for 397 on them until Friday night in Louisville. The Cardinals finished with 397 yards and six touchdowns on just 43 carries — 9.2 yards per rush — and Tony White's defense never found a single answer. Zoom out and the picture gets darker: since winning the 2023 ACC championship game, Florida State is 4-15 in conference play and 10-20 overall.
Isaac Brown's night
Brown finished with 235 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just 17 carries — nearly 14 yards a pop — and 313 total yards when you add his 71-yard kickoff return to open the second half. He was the fastest player on the field by a margin that looked unfair, and FSU's defense spent the entire second half chasing him in vain. The 97-yarder was the dagger, but the rest of the night was a slow bleed. By the fourth quarter, Louisville was running downhill and Florida State was just trying to get to the bus.
This is the kind of loss that ends tenures. FSU falls to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the ACC, and the road record is now a full-blown crisis: 13 consecutive losses away from Doak Campbell Stadium, stretching back to the 2023 ACC title game. That's not a slump. That's an identity. Opposing stadiums are where this program's seasons go to die. And with Miami up next — a rivalry game against a team that smells blood — the heat on Mike Norvell isn't intensifying. It's at a rolling boil.
West Coast business
While Louisville was making history, Iowa was making a quieter statement in Seattle. The Hawkeyes beat Washington 41-24 at Husky Stadium in patchy rain and 54-degree weather — the kind of miserable conditions Iowa seems to enjoy. The quarter splits tell the story: 13-0, 14-3, 7-15, 7-6. Iowa built a 27-3 halftime lead, absorbed Washington's best third-quarter punch (15-7 Huskies), and closed it out. On the road, in the rain, against a Big Ten opponent that desperately needed a home win. That's a grown-man football team.
In Logan, Utah State pulled the night's sneakiest win: 17-16 over Washington State, scoring twice in the second half to steal a game the Cougars had controlled. And Columbia handled Marist 41-28 in the Ivy League's Friday showcase. For the full Friday setup, our Friday night watch guide laid out the whole slate — and the late games delivered.
Saturday's shadow
Now the sport turns its eyes to Tuscaloosa. No. 2 Georgia at No. 6 Alabama is the game of the year so far, and it's arriving with a hurricane literally approaching the state. Donald Trump canceled his planned trip to Tuscaloosa as Hurricane Isaias closed in — full story here — which tells you everything about the weather situation. Two undefeated titans, a top-10 collision, and a storm bearing down on Bryant-Denny. Our Saturday watch guide has the full slate, the kickoff times, and the games that actually matter beyond the headliner.
But Friday belonged to Louisville — and to the stat that will follow Florida State all offseason if this keeps up. Three hundred ninety-seven rushing yards. The most in program history. Against Mike Norvell's defense. The 97-yard run will live on the highlight reels. The 13 straight road losses will live on the hot-seat trackers. And somewhere in Tallahassee, someone is already pricing out the buyout.
Iowa 41, Washington 24 (rain, 54°F, Husky Stadium). Utah State 17, Washington State 16. Columbia 41, Marist 28.
