Travis overcomes injury to give ’Noles a chance, like he did after 0-4 start

GAINESVILLE — It’s been a tough season for Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, but the redshirt sophomore has been resilient. In the first quarter Saturday, a shoulder injury tested him again as Travis rallied the Seminoles before losing 24-21 to Florida.

With FSU (5-7, 4-4 ACC) facing a third-and-5 on its opening possession, Travis faced immense pressure from Florida edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr., who dragged him to the turf. Travis popped up from the ground holding his right (throwing) arm as he made his way to the sidelines.

Travis returned on the next possession, completing several passes, including a 17-yarder to Ja’Khi Douglas. But after a 13-yard scramble by Travis on the next play, backup McKenzie Milton entered.

But after throwing an interception — the first turnover for the Seminoles — Milton found himself replaced by redshirt sophomore Tate Rodemaker.

FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach intercepted an errant pass from Florida quarterback Emory Jones — one of three — to give the Seminoles the ball at their own 32-yard line.

Travis reentered and quickly drove Florida State downfield, finding receiver Andrew Parchment for a 26-yard gain and then scrambling for a 15-yard gain down to the UF 9. He would call his number on the next play, avoiding Gators defenders as he made his way into the end zone to tie the score at 7.

It was his seventh rushing touchdown.

“He did a tremendous job coming back and he had some extraordinary plays that helped put us in a position to come back and have a chance there at the end,” said coach Mike Norvell.

Said Travis: “I’ll do whatever I can for this football team. Every time I can be out on the football field, I’ll going to be out there.”

Travis spent much of his time under duress, scrambling to avoid a relentless push from Florida’s defense. The Gators sacked him four times, but when he found some running room he accounted for a team-high 102 yards, including runs of 13, 15, 12, 16 and 34 yards.

He completed his first seven pass attemptsandwas18of29for202yards, finding Ontaria Wilson for an 8-yard touchdownwith49secondsleft.Itwas his third straight game with at least 200 yards passing as he finished with a career-high 1,539 yards.

After falling behind 24-7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Travis drove the Seminoles downfield, capped by a 19-yard touchdown run by tailback Treshaun Ward.

“Once the adrenaline gets going, I felt pretty good,” Travis said of his second-half performance.

The Seminoles scored 14 points in the final nine minutes, setting up a botched onside kick that gave the Gators the ball and the win. It was the third straight win in the series for Florida.

“Just like this team has done all season, they continued to battle and they continued to fight and put themselves in position at the very end to get an opportunity,” Norvell. “It was a hard way to end this season.”

Said Travis: “We fought and this is a team that fights hard for the guy next to him, and it’s really impressive to see.”

Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.

FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, who had to shake off a shoulder injury that sent him to the locker room, passed for 202 yards and ran for 102 on Saturday against Florida.