No. 16 Florida State ended a three-game losing streak to rival Florida on Friday night with a dramatic 45-38 victory behind quarterback Jordan Travis and a late defensive stand in the game’s final minute. Travis made big plays through the air and on the ground all night, while the Seminoles defense came up with a fourth-down stop in the final minute as the crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium reached fever pitch.
Gators QB Anthony Richardson’s heave to the end zone fell incomplete with 39 seconds left, turning the ball over to Florida State on downs and effectively ending the highest-scoring game of the rivalry’s storied history. What will be discussed for ages are two plays on the final drive, a fourth-and-18 pass interference called against FSU that extended Florida’s comeback attempt, and a clear facemask on Richardson that went uncalled during the aforementioned incomplete pass.
Richardson threw three touchdowns in the first 21 minutes of game action as the Gators jumped out to a 21-14 lead, but the redshirt sophomore later went cold with 11 consecutive incompletions. The third quarter proved particularly consequential as Florida State forced three straight three-and-outs against a Florida team that did not punt in the first half.
The win marks the first in the rivalry for third-year Florida State coach Mike Norvell, and he has Travis to thank for it. The redshirt junior threw for 270 yards and a touchdown and ran for 83 more yards and two more scores. Running back Trey Benson added three scores on the ground for the ‘Noles, who improved to 9-3 with the win.
CBS Sports will update this story with takeaways.
