Seminoles’ quarterback situation remains fluid with Travis, Milton
TALLAHASSEE — Three things we learned during FSU’s 41-38 overtime loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Sunday night:
1. The quarterback competition remains fluid for the Seminoles. Jordan Travis earned the starting nod over McKenzie Milton and the redshirt sophomore’s performance was uneven, to say the least. After starting 2-for-5 for nine yards, Travis led the Seminoles on backto-back scoring drives, capped off with a 2-yard touchdown run on a bootleg at the start of the second quarter to give FSU its first lead of the night, 14-7.
Travis also struggled at times, having three passes intercepted, including two by Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. All three takeaways led to 21 points by the Fighting Irish.
Milton entered with 5:46 left to play in the fourth quarter after Travis had his helmet knocked off during a tackle. The graduate transfer quarterback energized the offense, leading the team on back-to-back scoring drives to tie the score at 38 before eventually going to overtime.
“Jordan was just cramping up and playing his butt off and working hard for us,” Milton said after the loss.
“That makes me so happy,” Travis said of Milton’s performance. “I can’t get a smile off my face. Seeing someone that’s been through so much, come back and be able to perform that way and to
see him around the field, that gave me chills.”
Travis finished 9 of 19 for 130 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He was sacked four times and finished with just nine rushing yards on 12 attempts. Milton, meanwhile, was 5 of 7 for 48 yards.
“Jordan had a great camp and he’s continuing to grow and improve in all phases,” said coach Mike Norvell. “Tonight there was some good and some things he has to learn from.”
When pressed about where the team goes from here at the position, Norvell wouldn’t commit to either player.
“I’m excited about that quarterback room. I’m excited about Jordan Travis and who he is as a player,” the coach said. “We’re going to continue to push forward together and we’re going to face that stuff as we get into this week.”
2. Transfer Jermaine Johnson was impressive as was FSU’s rebuilt defensive front.
New defensive end Jermaine Johnson was as good as advertised, with the redshirt senior finishing with seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles-forloss in his Seminoles debut. The former Georgia transfer gave FSU a huge pass-rushing presence up front, something the defense lacked last season.
“I thought Jermaine played really well,” said Norvell. “Not only was he active in the passing game but also against the run. I thought our defensive front played with tremendous energy. They were definitely very physical in their
approach to what they did and they fed off that with each other.”
FSU held Notre Dame to 65 rushing yards. The Seminoles finished last season ranked No. 13 in the ACC in rushing defense and last held a team to less than 100 yards against Jacksonville State on Oct. 3, 2020.
“We did stop the run for the most part,” said Johnson. “The defense overall played their butts off and definitely showed our identity throughout the entire game.”
Fellow edge rusher Keir Thomas, a transfer from South Carolina, finished with four tackles and a sack and Quashon Fuller also finished with a sack.
3. Mentally tougher than a year ago. There are few moral victories in football, but after a season in which they struggled to develop an identity, the Seminoles showed a lot more fight.
There were five lead changes as the Seminoles fought back from multiple deficits, including 18 points in the fourth quarter.
“Last year, in that same situation I can’t say the result would have been the same,” Travis said. “We came back and the guys just played we had a lot of grit.”
“They’re going to grow from this,” Novell said after the loss. “I hate coming up short, but I think they showed their identity and the heart that they have. We’re going to continue to
get better.”
Johnson believes the team’s identity began to take shape during the offseason and throughout fall camp.
“It changed through this whole offseason,” he said. “It was a process and I feel everybody bought in and everybody was selfless. … We came together. We didn’t give up even though we’re down 18 points. I’m so proud of our guys. My teammates, my brothers. They played their butts off and we rallied together and we just came up short.”