Kirk Herbstreit calls Jordan Travis the key to Florida State having a special season

Everyone remembers Florida State‘s win against LSU last season. A missed PAT in New Orleans helped vault the Seminoles into a great position for success. Only thing was, Mike Norvell went on to lose three in a row in October against the lone three-ranked opponents FSU played.

Those losses could have been the beginning of what everybody has seen from Florida State over the years. Taking a tiny step forward before a giant leap back. Instead, they were able to rattle off six wins in a row — including a bowl win against Oklahoma — and finish with 10 wins for the first time since 2016 under Jimbo Fisher.

A lot of credit should be handed out in Tallahassee for the turnaround but ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is looking at quarterback Jordan Travis. He believes because of Travis’ leadership, he was able to keep the ship steered in the right direction.

“They lost three games in the middle of the season and it looked like — the last four years, prior to last year — Florida State was just going to fold,” Herbstreit said. “Instead, they won six in a row to get to 10 wins and a lot of it had to do with the leadership of Jordan Travis.”

Now, heading into the 2023 season, Herbstreit is looking for the same qualities out of Travis. Florida State was picked second in the preseason ACC poll, just behind the Clemson Tigers. But there are real discussions of winning the conference and possibly making the College Football Playoff.

Travis, returning for his fifth season with the Seminoles, has to play a big role according to Herbstreit.

“A lot of people expect them to be a real threat to Clemson in the ACC,” Herbstreit said. “They start off with LSU and I have the chance to be down there to call that game. I think we’ll get a good chance to find out how good they really are.

“But Jordan Travis — his leadership, his poise, dual-threat abilities. Has a lot of people excited to see can he and the Noles pick up where they left off a year ago when they won those six straight games.”

As Herbstreit mentioned, Travis will have an instant opportunity to showcase his leadership. Florida State is playing in a top-10 matchup for the first time since 2017. LSU will be heading to Orlando for what should be the best opening weekend game in college football.

Getting a win would be a great sign of what’s to come for the Seminoles in 2023.