Florida State vs. Duke: Five Plays That Sparked The Seminoles In Comeback Victory
From the moment these two teams stepped out under the lights of Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, the tension was palpable. Playing in front of a sold-out home crowd on homecoming weekend, the fourth-ranked Florida State Seminoles looked to protect their home field and continue their climb towards a College Football Playoff appearance. On the other sideline, head coach Mike Elko was ready to send out a battle-tested sixteenth-ranked Duke football team.
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With the highest of conference and national championship hopes on the line, these two teams were set to go head-to-head on prime-time television. The nation would either bear witness to the crumble of a highly touted FSU team at the hands of the Blue Devils, or they would see the Seminoles emerge victorious for the 7th time this season. When Marcellus Osceola Jr. strolled out to midfield and planted the spear, one thing was clear: this game was going to be a battle of wills.
Having proven it a win against Clemson and nearly defeating Notre Dame, the Duke Blue Devils knew they were more than capable of slaying giants. What’s more is the fact that their star quarterback, Riley Leonard, who had gone down two weeks prior with an apparent ankle injury, was going to be available for kickoff in Tallahassee.
The stars appeared to be aligning for an upset, and an early Duke lead all but confirmed as much. However, the Florida State Seminoles have been all too familiar with playing from behind, and they came back with an emphatic response. It took some time, but quarterback Jordan Travis willed his offense down the field time after time. Meanwhile, the defense was finding ways to thwart Duke’s second-half offense, and when Leonard left the game after aggravating his lower leg injury once again, that offense came to a screeching halt. FSU found its groove in the second half, and despite hanging on for a large majority of the game, the ‘Noles would storm back to take the lead late.
Travis, Deuce Spann, Fabien Lovett, and company kept the Florida State faithful engaged and the support was thunderous for an entire four quarters. Eventually, Doak Campbell Stadium erupted when the ‘Noles completed their comeback and notched a statement 38-20 victory over a challenging Duke squad. With the win, FSU moves to 7-0 (5-0 ACC), and they now stand alone atop the conference standings. Mike Norvell’s squad currently controls their own destiny, but a date against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem now stands in the way of perfection. With yet another challenging opponent in the ear view, let’s take a moment to enjoy the plays that went into Florida State’s electrifying comeback victory.
1. Jordan Travis Throws A Pick-Six Early
The Duke Blue Devils were on a mission from the moment they kicked off the ball. Duke’s defense, which had limited Clemson and Notre Dame in weeks prior, wasted no time imposing their will. They forced the Seminoles into a turnover on downs on the opening drive of the game, and six plays later, running back Jaquez Moore broke off a 42-yard rush for a touchdown. The Blue Devil defense went back to work on Florida State’s second drive and forced them into a second consecutive turnover on downs. Moore was once again the workhorse back for the Duke offense, and four plays later, the Blue Devils tacked on three more points. Before the Seminoles had time to blink, Mike Elko’s battle-tested Duke team had jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, and this game was on the verge of getting out of hand.
Following two abysmal drives that saw a total of 47 yards gained, the Florida State offense finally mustered up a response. Through a heavy dose of passing plays, the Seminoles charged downfield and completed a 13-play, 85-yard drive that resulted in a Caziah Holmes receiving touchdown to finally put the ‘Noles on the board and cut the deficit to three. Defensive coordinator Adam Fuller’s group was the next to respond when they forced the Duke offense into a quick three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Down 10-7 and returning their offense to the field, the Florida State Seminoles appeared to be shifting the momentum back in their favor.
Pinned deep in their own territory, Travis and company began their first offensive drive of the second quarter. He dumped a pass off to running back Trey Benson on first down for a loss of 5 yards, but Benson carried the ball for a gain of 3 on the following play to set up 3rd & 12. Travis dropped back to pass from his own end zone on third down. With plenty of time in the pocket, he scanned the field for some time, stepped up, pump faked, and delivered a pass towards a double-covered Keon Coleman. The ball bounced off the intended receiver’s chest and straight into the air before falling into the arms of Duke defensive back Chandler Rivers. With nothing but an open field ahead of him and thirteen yards to the end zone, Rivers took off running. In the blink of an eye, the defensive back crossed the goal line and gave Duke a 17-7 lead over the Seminoles.
Instead of utilizing the drive to take their first lead of the game, the ‘Noles were staring down the barrel of a two-score deficit before things had even reached the half.
2. Deuce Spann Flips The Momentum With Kick Return TD
The pick-six for the Blue Devils defense made clear what everyone had surmised up until that point: Duke was in full control and this game was slowly slipping out of Florida State’s reach. FSU’s lack of consistency on offense combined with their inability to stop Duke’s rushing attack on defense was beginning to create an almost insurmountable lead for the Blue Devils. The ‘Noles needed an answer and fast. Luckily for them, Duke was lining up to kick it away, and the FSU offense would get another chance early in the second quarter.
Return man Deuce Spann fielded the kick at the 1-yard line. He followed his blockers out to around the 20 before making his way through the teeth of the defense. Spann made it through untouched, and he emerged on the other side of the 30-yard line in a foot race down the sideline. Once he made it into the open field, however, it wasn’t much of a race at all. He had made it past every remaining Duke special teams player and immediately turned on the afterburners. No one was going to catch Spann on his way to the end zone. His 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown breathed life into both the Seminole sideline and Doak Campbell Stadium. (It also earned Spann the honor of breaking the rock post-game).
Florida State was back in arm’s reach of the lead, sitting at 17-14 following the dynamic special teams play.
3. FSU’s Defense Holds Duke Out Of The End Zone On Fourth Down
These two ACC heavyweights traded blows for the remainder of the second half. FSU was able to knot things up at 17, but Duke responded with a field goal of their own. When halftime struck, the Blue Devils held on to a three-point lead heading into the break. The story was more of the same throughout the third quarter, as well. It wasn’t until Duke’s second offensive possession of the second half that things started to get interesting. The Blue Devils hit the ground running once again, and they were driving deep into Florida State territory.
Quarterback Riley Leonard willed his team downfield, but as their offense neared the red zone, things took a turn. FSU Defensive lineman Braden Fiske worked his way into the backfield and combined with Jared Verse and Patrick Payton to bring Leonard down for a loss. Fiske was called for a facemask, but the damage was already done. Leonard had tweaked his injured ankle on his way down to the ground, and the immediate prognosis was not a good one. The quarterback’s day was done, he immediately left the game, and the remainder of the drive was in the hands of backup quarterback Henry Belin IV.
With Belin IV in at quarterback, Duke elected to run the ball on first, second, and third down in FSU territory, but the Blue Devils were quickly faced with 4th & 3 from the 4-yard line. Rather than kicking the field goal and taking the points, Elko elected to trot his offense back out on the field. Belin IV faked the handoff and dropped back to pass on fourth down. He stood tall in the pocket and looked for an opening among his receivers. Patrick Payton and Jared Verse were the first two to blow by the offensive line and provide pressure on the quarterback. As the defensive lineman closed on, Belin IV shuffled his feet and lofted a ball to the back corner of the end zone. His pass was intended for wide receiver Jason Calhoun, who was coming open on the back line, but the ball landed just out of range of the diving receiver. Florida State’s defense had held strong and kept the Blue Devils off of the board.
With the score remaining 20-17 to close the third quarter, Jordan Travis and the Seminole offense would have an opportunity to take the lead in the waning moments of the game.
4. Jordan Travis Gives Seminoles The Lead With Rushing Touchdown
Setting up shop at their own 4-yard line, the Florida State offense immediately began their march downfield. Quarterback Jordan Travis flipped a switch and commanded the offense with poise and purpose. He took to the air, connecting with Trey Benson, Hykeem Williams Johnny Wilson, and Jaheim Bell. The Bell-Travis connection was on display as the two combined for 4 completions for a total of 20 yards and a first down conversion on two operate occasions. The ‘Noles were playing ahead of the sticks and surging deep into Blue Devil territory. Things switched into high gear for the Seminole offense when Travis elected to run the ball himself, and after a 20-yard run from the quarterback, FSU was faced with 1st & Goal.
Duke’s defense would get called for a pass interference on 1st & Goal from the 10-yard line, which pushed the ‘Noles to the 2-yard line. On 1st & Goal from the 2, Travis snapped the ball and immediately took off running towards the right side of his line. Jaheim Bell led the way and waved his quarterback to follow as he cleared a lane into the end zone. Travis took the advice of his tight end and he fell into the end zone for a two-yard rushing touchdown. The rushing touchdown completed a 14-play, 96-yard offensive drive that gave Florida State its first lead of the evening at 24-20.
The Seminoles were officially back in business, and they showed no signs of letting up.
5. Keon Coleman Makes Another Wild Catch As Lawrance Toafili Ices The Game
Duke’s offense had stalled due, large in part, to the absence of Riley Leonard and the Florida State defense’s ability to shut down the prolific Blue Devil rushing attack. However, the game was far from over. Despite leading two offensive drives that resulted in a punt and a turnover on downs, Duke was still only trailing by 4. However, Florida State’s offense was returning to the field once again, and another score from the ‘Noles would have ultimately spelled certain doom. With that in mind, the Duke defense was able to force FSU into an early third-down scenario. A stop on 3rd & 5 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game surely would have provided Elko’s team with an opportunity to retake the lead. Jordan Travis, who was in complete takeover mode, had other ideas.
On third down, Travis was set up in the shotgun. He took his three-step drop and immediately rifled a pass over the middle. Somehow, the ball pierced its way through three Duke defenders and into the trusty hands of wide receiver Keon Coleman. Travis’ magical dime and Coleman’s acrobatic catch converted a crucial third down for the Seminoles and kept the drive alive. The conversion was perhaps the most important in terms of closing out the game because four plays later, Travis would dump off a screen to Lawrance Toafili and the running back would take it 21 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The 7-play, 74-yard drive gave Florida State a comfortable 31-20 lead with just over 8 minutes remaining in the game, and that was pretty much all she wrote o the evening.
It was Jordan Travis’ ability to will his team downfield and come up in the most clutch of moments that put his team back on top. He finished the game with 27 completions on 36 attempts for 268 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and a QBR of 82.6. Travis was also FSU’s leading rusher for the night having notched 10 carries for 62 and 1 TD as well. The Heisman conversation may be up for debate, but what’s not up for debate is the sheer ability to take over a game that Travis displayed in the latter moments of Saturday’s game. Something the ‘Noles desperately needed from their sixth-year man, and oh, did he deliver for them.
In yet another gutsy, comeback performance, the Florida State Seminoles survived a double-digit deficit en route to their seventh victory of the season. The ‘Noles came alive in the second half behind the stellar play of their star quarterback and an unprecedented level of dominance displayed by the defense, who held Duke scoreless for the entirety of the second half. Mike Norvell and company will look to continue those good habits as they head into the back half of their 2023 season. The Seminoles are inching ever closer to a playoff return, but the road ahead remains far from easy with the likes of in-state rivals just chomping at the bit to take down the undefeated ‘Noles. For now, the team from Tallahassee retains their undefeated record and fourth-place ranking in the AP Poll, both of which they will take with them to Winston-Salem in a face-off against ACC foe Wake Forest.
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