Florida State Football

The No. 4 Florida State Seminoles went into Death Valley and survived a tough test from the Clemson Tigers on Saturday, winning 31-24 in overtime at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, helping keep their undefeated season alive.

FSU trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but managed to force overtime, which allowed quarterback Jordan Travis and wide receiver Keon Coleman to take over.

After having already connecting for a seven-yard score in the second quarter, Travis hit Coleman for a 24-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage in overtime:

The Noles' defense went on to stop the Tigers on fourth down on their series, sealing the victory.

Despite dealing with previous injuries and seemingly hurting his throwing hand during Saturday's game, Travis stood tall and went 21-of-37 for 289 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for a score.

Thanks to his toughness and willingness to trust his wideouts like Coleman, Travis received a great deal of praise on X, formerly known as Twitter:

The OT touchdown pass to Coleman also gave Travis the new FSU record for most career touchdowns with 82:

Travis' elite wide receiver tandem of Coleman and Johnny Wilson made plays for him all day long, as Coleman finished with five grabs for 86 yards and two touchdowns, while Wilson had five catches for 94 yards.

Coleman came through in the clutch in the extra session, which generated no shortage of hype on social media:

Clemson led for much of the game, but the Seminoles' defense came up huge in the third quarter to tie the game.

With the Tigers driving for a score that would have extended their seven-point lead, linebacker Kalen DeLoach sacked Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik and forced a fumble. DeLoach scooped the ball up and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown.

Despite that, Clemson had a chance to take the lead late, but kicker Jonathan Weitz missed a 29-yard field goal with 1:45 left in regulation, and the game went to overtime.

After spending his entire career as Clemson's backup kicker, Weitz left the team to start life after football, but head coach Dabo Swinney called him amid kicker Robert Gunn's struggles, and Weitz returned to the program.

Making the game-winning field goal would have been a Hollywood ending for Weitz, but he pushed it just wide.

By virtue of their hard-fought win, the Seminoles are 4-0 and remain alive in the College Football Playoff conversation.

They will have next week off before hosting Virginia Tech on Oct. 7, while the 2-2 Tigers will go on the road to face 4-0 Syracuse on Sept. 30.

Florida State offensive tackle Robert Scott Jr., center Maurice Smith and safety Akeem Dent are set to miss Saturday's game against Boston College due to injuries.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported Scott and Smith are both set to miss their second straight game, leaving the Seminoles without two of their starting offensive linemen. Dent was injured in last week's win over Southern Miss.

Bless Harris is set to start in place of Scott, while Smith will be replaced by Darius Washington.

Florida State is listed as a 25.5-point favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, so it's unlikely the three absences will do much to ruin the Seminoles' hot start to the season. Mike Norvell's team opened with a 45-24 victory over LSU and followed that up by walloping Southern Miss 66-13.

The back-to-back impressive wins have Florida State sitting as the No. 3 team in the country and seemingly primed to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

Maintaining health will be paramount to that effort. Playing without Scott and Smith is unlikely to have much of an impact against the likes of Boston College, but the Seminoles head to Clemson next Saturday.

Even if this appears to be a down Clemson roster, Dabo Swinney hasn't lost to Florida State since 2014.

By the end of the night, after a healthy dose of miscues, bizarre plays and big moments, all of which were eventually drowned out by chants from a crowd waiting to explode, Florida State left no doubt.

Sure, its game against LSU was tight for a while. In fact, it felt like the Seminoles might be in a heap of trouble going up against a roster loaded with talent early on. As the game progressed, however, Florida State found itself. And as the touchdowns mounted, a potential path to the playoff and the national championship started to crystalize.

For years, we've wondered when such a proud, successful school would find its footing once more. One night will never tell that story; we've made this mistake too many times. But the performance in the grandest spotlight college football has to offer signified more than a single victory.

At halftime, FSU trailed 17-14. Turnovers, fumbles, interceptions, and muffed punts plagued both schools in the opening 30 minutes. After the intermission, Florida State found new life, ultimately cruising to a cozy 45-24 win.

Quarterback Jordan Travis, who is a threat to win the Heisman, settled in. He finished with 342 yards passing and five touchdowns.

The Seminoles' running game struggled early on, although it finally wore down an impressive LSU front. A roster ripe with stars, many of whom didn't begin their football careers in Tallahassee, put their fingerprints on the win.

There was Keon Coleman, formerly of Michigan State, looking like one of the best wideouts in college football. Coleman joined Florida State this past offseason, and he delivered three touchdown catches and 122 receiving yards in his first game.

He was a force, and that theme is likely to carryover throughout the season.

Fellow wideout Johnny Wilson, a 6'7" target who began his career at Arizona State, delivered 104 yards receiving after dealing with drops early on, made his presence felt.

As did Jaheim Bell, who joined the team this past offseason after starting his career at South Carolina. Bell ran for a touchdown and caught touchdown—yet another weapon for Travis to work with.

There was Jared Verse, a player so talented we never thought we would see him play another collegiate snap. Perhaps the best pass rusher in college football, Verse passed up a chance to join the NFL for another year at Florida State.

On Saturday night, the former Albany star was everywhere. Yet another player who began his collegiate career elsewhere, Verse will be a force all season long.

And Travis? You guessed it. He transferred to Florida State long before it was the thing to do.

Building a roster through the transfer portal—with an assist from NIL—is not something unique to Florida State. This is the formula across the sport. Simply put, the Seminoles have hit on enough key additions at the same time, creating a wave of momentum that can carry them forward.

At a time when the only constant is change, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell has crafted a blueprint for college football success. It's not all that complicated, if we're being honest. Although making this type or progress in such a short period of time is anything but ordinary.

After all, Norvell was considered a popular "hot seat" candidate a short 53 weeks ago. After going 3-6 and 5-7 in his first two years with the program, the calls for a new coach were starting to gain steam.

A one-point win over LSU helped cool matters at the start of last year, and 10 wins changed the outlook of Florida State in a hurry. So much so that many wondered if this was the year that the Seminoles could regain its championship form that former head coach Bobby Bowden normalized.

They don't hand out trophies for offseason hype, although Florida State would have received one if they did. If we're being completely honest, however most weren't truly ready to embrace Florida State as a potential playoff team.

We had to see it first, even with all the players returning and the exciting new pieces coming to the roster.

In the moment, which is always laced in recency bias and hyperbole, this all feels very real. That hyper materialized into a tangible outcome.

When you beat a talented team the way Florida State just did in the way Florida State just did, the conversation must evolve. On a weekend when most contenders paid cupcakes millions of dollars to compete in the closest thing to a preseason game the sport has to offer, the Seminoles delivered the greatest impression of all.

Time will tell exactly what a dominating, thorough win over LSU amounts to, although this looked like a contender. It feels like a contender.

All the ingredients needed to win at the highest level, whether they started with the program or not, are in place.

The hype and the attention and the curiosity, as it turns out, was justified. The days of the hot seat are long dead. The days of a playoff run have officially arrived.

The No. 8 Florida State Seminoles football team defeated the No. 5 LSU Tigers 45-24 on Sunday evening behind electric performances from quarterback Jordan Travis and wide receiver Keon Coleman.

Travis completed 23-of-31 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns (one interception). The first three of those scores went to Coleman, who amassed nine receptions and 122 receiving yards. Travis also added 38 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Coleman, a Michigan State transfer making his FSU debut, got the scoring going by taking a slant 40 yards to the house for a 6-0 edge:

He then snagged a 21-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter despite overcoming great coverage to help tie the game at 14:

Travis gave FSU the lead for good with a one-yard rush late in the third quarter to make it a 23-17 game. Then the Coleman show continued in the fourth quarter, as Travis just lofted it up to his top target in the back corner of the end zone for a 30-17 edge:

Travis continued the scoring by faking a handoff and lobbing a pass to a wide-open Jaheim Hill, who did the rest for a 44-yard touchdown. Following the PAT, FSU held a 38-17 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Florida State added one more touchdown on a four-yard Bell run before a late 75-yard TD from LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to Brian Thomas Jr.

Naturally, there's plenty to be excited for FSU fans as they have a team that could very well be in the College Football Playoff discussion all year long.

Travis also planted his name into the Heisman Trophy conversation with his Week 1 brilliance, while Coleman looks like he'll be a real problem for ACC defenses all season long.

Analysis and commentary during the game praised the duo and the Seminoles as a whole.

FSU will now head home to Tallahassee for a matchup against Southern Miss on Saturday evening.

Florida State is reportedly ready to leave the ACC as the college athletics landscape continues to change with realignment.

While a university source told Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde no deal is close for Florida State to leave the conference, multiple ACC sources said that "they would not be shocked if the Seminoles serve formal notice of a 2025 move in a matter of days or weeks."

Earlier this month, Florida State President Richard McCullough said that the Seminoles would "very seriously consider leaving the ACC unless there was a radical change to the revenue distribution," according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson.

The ACC currently distributes the revenue it receives from its media rights deal equally among all members, and the conference's current deal with ESPN runs through 2036 with little room for renegotiation.

Under the conference's current deal, Florida State and Boston College are receiving the same amount of money despite vastly different investments in their respective athletic departments and viewership of their football programs.

With realignment and significant television contracts in conferences like the Big Ten and SEC, the ACC is about $30 million behind per year in TV revenue distribution, per Adelson.

If Florida State opts to leave the ACC, it is targeting 2025 to do so, as The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach reported that any team in the conference wanting to leave had until Aug. 15 to give its notice for a departure after the 2023-24 season.

The Florida State football program was once one of the nation's powerhouses, but it has unraveled in recent years, posting just one winning campaign in the last five seasons, which came in 2022 when the Seminoles went 10-3 in Mike Norvell's third season at the helm.

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in February that if the program wants to compete nationally, "something has to change moving forward," according to Auerbach.

That change could mean switching conferences, which seems like it may be on the horizon.

The rampant NCAA conference realignment finally appears to be slowing down.

According to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, the Big Ten and SEC are not looking to add top schools from the ACC anytime soon.

"Industry sources repeat that there is not much desire by either conference to add the likes of Clemson, Florida State, etc. Not that the ACC's seemingly 'ironclad' grant of rights agreement would allow such movement," Dodd stated.

By the 2024 season, the Big Ten and SEC will have a combined 34 teams, many of whom are among the most popular in the NCAA. Most recently, Washington and Oregon jumped from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, following the footsteps of UCLA and USC.

With Arizona, Arizona State and Utah following Colorado to join the Big 12, the Pac-12 is down to four teams: California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State. Dodd noted that the Mountain West and the AAC are competing "for any combination" of the four remaining teams. Also, Stanford and Cal were under consideration to be added to the ACC, but both schools fell one vote shy of approval.

The constantly-shifting landscape in college sports is now raising concerns over media rights deals and revenue sharing. For example, Florida State president Rick McCullough said earlier this month that the school "will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC, unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution."

Dodd noted that these concerns will likely lead to a decrease in movement across conferences for the time being.

"That makes it time to ask whether rightsholders are simply tapped out," Dodd stated. "A combination of reckless realignment and budget realities have forced networks to look at the bottom line."

There has been speculation that Florida State has been eyeing a departure from the ACC, but that reportedly is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

According to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach, an ACC school would have to give notice that it was leaving that conference by Aug. 15 if it wanted to compete elsewhere next year. Sources told Auerbach "the most likely outcome is that Tuesday arrives and the Seminoles do nothing."

Rumors of Florida State exploring the possibility of leaving the ACC began earlier this month when university president Rick McCullough was speaking during a meeting of the Seminoles' Board of Trustees on Aug. 2 and said, "I believe that FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC, unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution."

Auerbach pointed out that the ACC "shares the revenue it brings in from its media rights deal equally with all members." The conference's deal with ESPN runs through 2036, leaving member schools without an opportunity to renegotiate for an increase in pay.

In this scenario, Auerbach noted, "FSU is set for the same payout from the conference as Boston College, despite vast differences in the two athletic departments' investment in revenue-generating sports and large gaps in the number of eyeballs they draw for football games."

The potential move for Florida State comes amid an everchanging college football landscape that has seen rampant conference realignment. Earlier this month, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joined Colorado in departing from the Pac-12 for the Big 12. Oregon and Washington are set to join the Big Ten, following the path of USC and UCLA.

The ACC is reportedly exploring the possibility of adding Cal and Stanford, but ESPN's Andrea Adelson reported Friday that FSU was among four ACC schools opposed to expanding to the West Coast. Auerbach explained that the likely course of action for FSU is to wait a bit before making its decision on leaving the conference.

"One trustee suggested earlier this month that FSU give itself a year to figure out its exit strategy from the ACC," Auerbach wrote. "That could be the best option right now."