Three thoughts on Florida State's win over LSU in New Orleans

Florida State traveled to New Orleans and pulled out a big win on Sunday night in the Caesars Dome. The Seminoles took down the LSU Tigers, 24-23, after blocking an extra point with no time remaining to hold onto the victory. This one probably shouldn't have come down to the wire but the team showed resiliency it lacked at times over the past two years to right the ship.

The Seminoles didn't start off the season well in the first two years of Mike Norvell leading the program. In 2020, FSU began the year 1-3. Last season, they limped to an 0-4 start for the first time in 47 years. The script has flipped over the opening weeks of 2022. Florida State is 2-0 and controls its own destiny to return to the postseason for the first time since 2019.

Below are three thoughts on Florida State's win over Brian Kelly and LSU.

1. The improvements that Jordan Travis has made are legitimate

Wow. What else can you say after the performance Travis put on for the country to see on Sunday night? The redshirt junior and unquestioned leader of the offense was mostly excellent for the Seminoles throughout the game. He had a throw in the end zone that was almost intercepted and another that was deflected. Other than that, Travis displayed a level of precision and confidence that we hadn't seen during his first three years at Florida State.

The Florida native didn't panic in the pocket or force anything despite the LSU rush being around him for much of the evening. Travis had to make multiple plays behind the line of scrimmage to stay alive on passing downs. On second and 10 from the Tiger 44 in the fourth quarter, LSU brought pressure and Travis found himself 12 yards behind the scrimmage with a defender closing in. He stepped up between the offensive tackles to get space, leaped into the air, and threw a jump-pass to Johnny Wilson in the middle of the field, who made a diving adjustment to grab it. It was the epitome of his play-making ability.

Travis also displayed toughness, standing in the face of an egregious targeting penalty where he took a huge shot to hit wide receiver Ontaria Wilson in stride with a beautiful one-handed touchdown catch.

The redshirt junior has completed 64.6% of his passes for 467 yards (233.5 YPG) and two touchdowns through the air in Florida State's first two wins. More importantly, he's only run 12 times for 42 yards and a score. Travis has found the balance between putting the ball in the air and tucking it. If he would've been in a situation like Sunday night last year or two years ago, Travis probably would've pulled it down 10+ times.

Instead, he used his legs to make plays in and outside of the pocket against LSU. His growth over his past ten starts has been fun to watch.

2. Florida State has found its next star defensive end

From Jermaine Johnson to Jared Verse, the Seminoles have been blessed with two monsters off the edge over the past two years. Johnson was more of a proven commodity coming in as a graduate transfer while Verse starred in the FCS prior to moving up to the FBS. The talent was evident but no one expected it to come together this quickly on the field.

To the credit of the Pennsylvania native, he's done nothing but put in the work while taking on a leadership role since he arrived in Tallahassee back in January. It paid off under the lights on a big stage on Sunday.

Verse was constantly around the quarterback and created nine pressures on Jayden Daniels according to PFF. He came away with three tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and a blocked field goal against the Tigers. Verse could've produced even more but there were a couple of plays he wasn't able to finish, something that he was not happy about following the win.

Regardless, he did exactly what he needed to do to get the victory. Verse won the battle against true freshman left tackle William Campbell and drew the ire of LSU's offensive line coach throughout the game. He was also able to get through and block a field goal in the first half. The play set up the game-winning block on the final play of the game because the Tigers had to shift their blocking strategy to account for Verse.

Three sacks and four tackles for loss in two games. Verse is well on his way to a standout year.

3. The Seminoles overcame questionable calls in the second half

On back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Florida State was hit by questionable flags. Leading 17-3 on defense, safety Akeem Dent was called for roughing the passer after hitting Jayden Daniels right as he released the pass. One snap later, Jammie Robinson was called for pass interference while defending wide receiver Kayshon Boutte downfield. Both calls were more than questionable.

On LSU's final drive of the night, true freshman tight end Mason Taylor was ruled down in bounds with one second on the clock and no timeouts remaining for the Tigers. Instead of ending the game, the officials gave LSU one final play, which resulted in a touchdown prior to a blocked extra point to secure the victory for the Seminoles. Considering the rule is for the clock to run after the chains are set following a first down, Florida State shouldn't have even been in this scenario.

The Seminoles were flagged four times for 50 yards while LSU was only called for one penalty for 15 yards on an obvious illegal play.

Bonus: FSU's performance on special teams wasn't due to luck, it was due to preparation

For the first time since Mike Norvell arrived in Tallahassee, Florida State participated in live special teams drills during fall camp. The decision came after some disappointment with the performance of the return units over Norvell's first two years with the Seminoles.

It all paid off against the Tigers as special teams turned the tide of the game. Florida State's kickoff coverage was on point again, limiting LSU to two returns for 31 yards, but it was the punt coverage and field goal block teams that came up big.

The aforementioned field goal block from Verse that led to Shyheim Brown coming in from the outside to reject the extra point won Florida State the game. While the Seminoles weren't able to come away with punts on either of the two muffed punts they recovered, they still put themselves in position to make a play.

Converted tight end Wyatt Rector ran as close to Malik Nabers as legally possible to force the first muffed punt. On the second one, converted linebacker Brendan Gant was simply in the right spot to come up with the football.

This probably won't be the last game of the year where Florida State's special teams make the difference between a win or a loss. The emphasis from Norvell and special teams coordinator John Papuchis has the unit in a rhythm. There still need to be some improvements with returns and the kicking game.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the season.

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