On the ropes in the second half, Florida State turned to an old reliable: Jordan Travis’ legs.

Travis engineered three straight touchdown drives, the first ending in a 2-yard run to put the Seminoles ahead, as No. 4 Florida State bounced back with an impressive second half to take a 38-20 win over No. 17 Duke. His 2-yard TD run gave Travis the school record for total offense, surpassing Chris Weinke (9,218 yards).

FSU (7-0, 5-0 ACC) dispatched the Blue Devils’ upset bid with a second-half shutout, a third straight game the Seminoles didn’t allow an offensive point after halftime. Duke had built a 20-17 halftime lead and appeared poised to stun the Seminoles.

The Seminoles went on a 31-3 run and have won 13 straight games and have scored 30 or more points in 13 straight games, too.

Below are some takeaways and notes from FSU’s win over Duke (5-2, 2-1):

Travis had been very careful coming into the game, going more than 180 passes without throwing an interception. That streak was snapped in the second quarter when Chandler Rivers caught a tipped pass and returned it 13 yards for a Duke touchdown and a 17-7 Blue Devils lead with 13:04 to halftime.

While some would say Travis was a reluctant runner, let’s go with an injured quarterback who was picking his spots with caution in how he ran. Travis threw caution to the wind and finished with 10 carries for 62 yards.

The redshirt senior also completed 27 of 36 passes for 268 yards — the most against Duke in 2023. Travis connected with nine pass-catchers.

"He was unbelievable," FSU coach Mike Norvell said. "To see him take over in that game, it was special. It was a really cool moment there in the second half."

In their first six games, Duke was allowing an average of 164.7 passing yards per game.

This may sound like crazy statement, but Duke’s defensive line might have been the best the Seminoles have seen in seven games. FSU couldn’t convert on a pair of fourth-and-short plays on the first two drives.

First, Travis went under center on a fourth-and-1 play. Duke won at the point of attack and pushed FSU back. A drive later, Mike Norvell elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the FSU 36 — a gutsy call and one designed to build confidence if FSU could convert. Instead, Trey Benson was stopped for a 1-yard loss.

The Seminoles ran 15 times in the first half for 38 yards. The second half was far better, 17 times for 114 yards.

Still, this was a physical Duke front and a heck of a test. FSU didn't pass. Or maybe didn't fail. Depending on if you look at the glass half full.

Longtime FSU baseball assistant Chip Baker awarded Mickey Andrews with spiked baseballs for shutouts. How about half-shutouts? Or consecutive second-half shutouts?

Ok, a bit of a stretch. But FSU did not allow a defensive point in the second half of the win over Virginia Tech. Then there was a second-half shutout of Syracuse. And last, the Seminoles knocked Riley Leonard out of the game in the third quarter and finished off a shutout in the second half vs. Duke.

At some point, we have to acknowledge the obvious: FSU’s defense bends often, breaks very little and adjusts well in the second half. And, yes, there was a fourth-down stop in the red zone, too.

Johnny Wilson caught five passes for 58 yards. The star receiver missed the Syracuse game due to an undisclosed injury. But he left Saturday’s game following an 11-yard reception late in the third quarter. After going to the injury tent, he then walked off to the locker room.

Among the Seminoles who were on the sidelines include Destyn Hill, Jerrale Powers, Edwin Joseph, JaBril Rawls and Lamont Green Jr.

Deuce Spann's 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was a quick response after Duke's defensive touchdown.

Jaheim Bell caught eight passes (on 10 targets) for 53 yards.

Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach led FSU with six tackles apiece. Fabien Lovett had two tackles for loss. Fentrell Cypress had two pass breakups.

FSU's defense held Riley Leonard to 7 of 16 for 69 yards and one run for 13 yards. Shyheim Brown also had a diving interception of Leonard.

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