Jordan Travis rallies No. 4 Florida State to 38-20 win over No. 16 Duke

On a night when all of the attention was on Duke quarterback Riley Leonard’s effort to play on a sprained ankle, it was Florida State star Jordan Travis who almost single-handedly carried his team to victory Saturday night in Doak Campbell Stadium.

Travis had several huge runs in the fourth quarter and accounted for 330 yards of total offense — 62 rushing — to lead the No. 4 Seminoles to a come-from-behind, 38-20 victory against No. 16 Duke.

The Blue Devils essentially led from the opening minutes until the fourth quarter, but Travis put together a 14-play, 96-yard drive to give Florida State a 24-20 lead — the Seminoles’ first lead of the game.

Travis, who had not been called upon to run much in the first six games of the 2023 season while battling an injury, broke his legs out as a weapon when the Seminoles desperately needed a score. He rushed four times for 40 yards on the 14-play drive, and he capped the drive off with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Florida State then tacked on two more touchdowns to finish off the win.

FSU improves to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in the ACC, while Duke falls to 5-2, 2-1. The Seminoles have now won 13 straight games dating back to last season.

The Blue Devils actually had an opportunity to expand their three-point lead in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils went for it on fourth-and-3 from the Florida State 4-yard line and came up empty.

The FSU offense’s 14-play scoring drive came on the next possession.

Leonard, who sustained a high ankle sprain three weeks ago, was not expected to play Saturday night but decided to give it a go. He stayed in the game until taking a sack in the third quarter. He finished the game with 69 yards passing and 13 rushing.

Duke raced out to an early 10-0 lead on a 42-yard run by Jaquez Moore and a 45-yard field goal by Todd Palino. Both drives were set up by fourth-down stops by the Blue Devils’ defense.

FSU’s first drive stalled when Travis was stuffed for no gain on the Duke 36-yard line. One drive later, the Seminoles went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 36 and Trey Benson was dropped for a one-yard loss.

Florida State got back into the game with a 13-play, 85-yard drive that was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Travis to running back Caziah Holmes. But the Seminoles’ offense helped the Duke cause again early in the second quarter when Travis was intercepted deep in FSU territory, and Chandler Rivers returned it for a 13-yard touchdown.

A 99-yard kickoff return by Deuce Spann and a 32-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald tied the game at 17-17 midway through the second quarter, but Duke reclaimed the lead before halftime with another field goal.

Florida State returns to action Saturday at Wake Forest.

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