Seminoles' rally comes up short in The Swamp; UF holds on for 24-21 win
GAINESVILLE -- Florida State's defense and UF quarterback Emory Jones gave the Seminoles every chance to pull off the upset Saturday in The Swamp.
But FSU's special teams and the Seminoles' own offensive struggles kept that from happening, despite an impressive fourth-quarter rally.
Jones threw three interceptions in the first half, but backup quarterback Anthony Richardson led UF on three second-half scoring drives -- two set up by short fields -- to open a 17-point lead, and the Gators held on from there.
With the 24-21 win, UF improves to 6-6 while Florida State's season ends at 5-7.
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The Seminoles, who had won five of their last seven games, were hoping to knock off their arch rivals and clinch a bowl berth. Instead, it will be the Gators who can play in the postseason.
"I thought our guys battled throughout," FSU coach Mike Norvell said after the game. "Just made some mistakes there that truly cost us. Turning the ball over, penalties ... obviously coming on the road it was a challenging atmosphere, and I thought at times we let our passion and emotion probably go a little too far. We weren't in control of our response in certain situations, which put us in some challenging situations."
The emotions actually got the best of both teams, as the Seminoles were penalized 9 times for 89 yards and the Gators were hit with 13 penalties for 107.
Florida, playing under interim head coach Greg Knox following the dismissal of Dan Mullen, dominated the first half statistically, but Jones' three turnovers kept the score tied at 7-7 at the half.
FSU actually had the ball to end the second quarter and start the third but came up empty on each possession. And the Gators took advantage of a pair of special-teams blunders by the Seminoles to open a two-score lead.
First, punter Alex Mastromanno hit a line-drive punt only 35 yards, and the Seminoles were flagged for targeting on the ensuing coverage to give UF the ball at the FSU 40-yard line. Richardson led the Gators 21 yards before settling for a short field goal.
Then after Mastromanno pinned UF down at its own 1-yard line and the defense forced a three-and-out, FSU punt returner Ontaria "Pokey" Wilson fumbled a fair catch attempt, and it was recovered by the Gators at the Seminoles' 33.
Eight plays later, Richardson connected with Justin Shorter on a 5-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-7.
After UF extended its advantage to 24-7, the Seminoles responded quickly with a 7-play, 71-yard drive to cut the lead back to 10 points. But the Seminoles couldn't inch any closer until Jordan Travis hit Wilson for an 8-yard touchdown with 44 seconds remaining.
Florida State's offense was hurt in the first half by a shoulder injury to Travis, which forced him to miss parts or all of three drives. McKenzie Milton and Tate Rodemaker both took turns in his absence, with neither having any success.
But even with Travis back under center, the Seminoles came up scoreless on four consecutive drives from the end of the second quarter until late in the third. And the Gators assumed control of the game.
Travis, FSU's redshirt sophomore quarterback, finished with 202 passing yards and 102 rushing. Safety Jammie Robinson led the Seminoles' defense with 18 tackles.
"It's a hard way to end this season," Norvell said. "I've seen a team that has been knocked down, had all odds against them, but they just continued to respond. They continued to work, they continued to believe. You got to see that once again on display today.
"I'm grateful for that group of young men in there."
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