South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Travis lives out dream
QB helps Seminoles ride wave of momentum in win over rival Gators
TALLAHASSEE — As Florida State fans spilled out of the stands and onto the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate a 45-38 win over rival Florida, nobody could have dreamed of such a finish.
That is except for Jordan Travis, who spent many a moment growing up wondering what it would be like to lead FSU to a win over the dreaded Gators.
“It means the world to me,” he said. “I still I’m kind of numb to it. I haven’t touched on what is happening.”
Travis soaked up the moment with the fans, many of whom had stuck with the program despite four years of mediocrity that had left the Seminoles without a winning season since 2017.
It was the perfect capper for the redshirt junior quarterback, who had seen his share of ups and downs.
“They didn’t believe in me too much at the beginning, but they support me now really hard,” he said.
Travis started slow, completing 3 of 7 passes before finishing 13 of 30 for 270 yards and a touchdown. But it was on the ground where he did the most damage, accounting for 83 yards and 2 TDs. It was his most rushing yards in a single game this season and the most rushing touchdowns of his career.
“Jordan Travis was remarkable,” said FSU coach Mike Norvell. “I mean, just how he played and what he could do.”
‘His legs were the difference in the game. He gave us fits all night,” added UF coach Billy Napier.
FSU (9-3, 5-3 ACC) extended its seasonlong winning streak to five games, the longest streak since 2016, and the win snapped a three-game losing streak to Florida dating to 2017. Meanwhile, the Gators
(6-6, 3-5) wrapped up their first season under Napier with back-to-back losses after losing to Vanderbilt a week earlier.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half, with the teams exchanging touchdowns on two of the first four offensive possessions.
UF quarterback Anthony Richardson completed 5 of his first 7 pass attempts with 3 touchdowns — two to receiver Ricky Pearsall, who accounted for a career-high
148 yards. But Richardson would fail to complete another pass until the fourth quarter, throwing 11 straight incompletions.
“I saw a guy that competed. That’s what I saw,” Napier said of the sophomore. “I saw a guy that made some unbelievable plays as a runner and some elite throws at times. When you’re playing a game like that, there are going to be things that you can do better, there’s no question, even if you win the game.”
A dejected Richardson didn’t shy away from his performance.
“That’s just us not connecting, winning matchups,” he said. “We knew we would get one-on-one matchups in this game, so we tried to attack them outside. They played pretty good defense and deflected most of the passes, but it was just us not winning matchups, winning one-on-ones.”
The Seminoles finished with 227 rushing yards — their seventh consecutive performance of 200 or more — to tie a 1987 mark.
Tailback Trey Benson finished with 111 rushing yards and a career-high 3 TDs, including a 17-yard run with 4:06 in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for FSU.
Linebacker Tatum Bethune (11 tackles) and safety Jammie Robinson (10) led Florida State’s defense, which held Florida to just 55 total yards in the third quarter.
Robinson, a redshirt junior who transferred from South Carolina in 2021, had warm feeling as he watched fans storm the field.
“I went outside for a minute to enjoy it before I went back in the locker room,” he said. “It showed how much support and love we have from the fans.”