Notes, stats and key plays from FSU's win over GT

An early, sloppy start led to a lethargic first quarter for Florida State. But the Seminoles offense quickly accelerated in the second quarter. Lawrance Toafili made up for a pair of fumbles with a couple of touchdowns, while Jordan Travis enjoyed a career afternoon.

Travis wasn’t sharp at times but still completed 24 of 38 passes for a career-best 396 yards and tied a career high with three touchdowns as FSU routed Georgia Tech 41-16 on Saturday afternoon. The Seminoles (5-3, 3-3 ACC) halted a three-game losing streak, picking up their first win of October.

FSU had 600+ yards of offense for the first time in an ACC game since the win over Syracuse in 2016, per research by ESPN. FSU had 206 rushing yards in back-to-back games against NC State and Clemson. The Seminoles had 246 rushing yards vs. GT.

“You sit there, and there were so many opportunities throughout that game to really put it away earlier and to play our best,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “I thought there was a lot of great performances.”

Toafili had a 7-yard touchdown run and a 62-yard catch-and-run as FSU pulled away, grabbing a 24-3 halftime lead.

After falling short on fourth down and fumbling on the goal line on their first two drives, the Seminoles scored 24 points in 15:02 on the clock. FSU scored three touchdowns and a field goal on its final four drives of the first half.

FSU’s 24 first-half points matched Georgia Tech’s 24 plays and 24 offensive yards. The Yellow Jackets (3-5, 2-3) were without their starting quarterback, Jeff Sims, a one-time FSU commit. Sims was on the GT sideline but watched as the Yellow Jackets' offense stalled out for much of the day.

Travis also connected with Johnny Wilson on a 78-yard touchdown pass and Ja’Khi Douglas on a 24-yard TD pass. A redshirt junior, Travis had a previous career high of 321 yards in FSU’s win over Boston College. On Saturday, he had 270 yards in the first half alone.

“We’re used to responding, that’s what coach Norvell emphasizes a lot,” Travis said. “… I’m changing my mindset. I’m taking a lot of responsibility from now on. I don’t want to lose another football game this year. My mindset coming in every day is to be the best, have a smile on my face at all times.”

The Seminoles also benefited from a pair of GT penalties on third down on the drive that ended in Toafili’s 7-yard run.

The Seminoles had chances to get an early lead and put GT away. But after a pair of timeouts prompted by players who didn’t know where to line up on play calls, the Seminoles went into the wildcat formation and Toafili lost possession of the snap. GT recovered and ran down the field before Travis made a touchdown-saving tackle, and the defense held the Yellow Jackets to a field goal.

Trey Benson had a career-best 111 rushing yards. He had runs of 27 and 22, and Benson now has eight rushes of 20+ yards in 2022.

CJ Campbell played in his first game at FSU, returning from an injury that Norvell had said in August would end the walk-on tailback's season. But Campbell had three runs for 23 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown.

Jammie Robinson led FSU with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Robinson now has 11 career games with double-digit tackles. Jared Verse had five tackles and 2.5 TFLs, while Taum Bethune had four tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Fabien Lovett had one tackle in the first half, his first game back after missing five straight.

Georgia Tech struggled on third downs, going just 2 of 13. And the Yellow Jackets couldn’t stop Florida State, which was 9 of 15 on third downs.

“We got outplayed, offense and defense,” Georgia Tech interim coach Brent Key said.

FSU picked up its fifth win, matching its 2021 total. The Seminoles are a win away from securing a spot in a bowl game for the first time since the 2019 season.

And FSU won its first game against Georgia Tech since the 2014 ACC championship game.