Seminoles get first ACC win over ranked UNC

Chuck Walsh
Seminoles.com

This was just what Florida State and first-year head coach Mike Norvell needed.

The Seminoles took a 31-7 halftime lead on the way to earning a 31-28 win over No. 5 North Carolina last Saturday night. It was the Seminoles’ first win over a top-five ranked team since a 31-27 win over No. 5 ranked Notre Dame on Oct. 18, 2014. The win was Florida State’s first over a ranked team since a 22-21 win over No. 22 Boston College on Nov. 17, 2018.

The Seminoles’ victory marked the first time since Oct. 16, 1965 that an unranked Florida State team beat a top-five team in Doak Campbell Stadium (10-3 win over No. 5 Georgia).

Florida State (2-3, 1-3 ACC) gave Norvell his first career ACC win and handed North Carolina (3-1, 3-1 ACC) its first loss of the season. The Seminoles’ victory also kept Florida State alumnus Mack Brown winless (0-10) over the school where he played as a running back in 1972 and 1973.

Quarterback Jordan Travis completed eight passes for 191 yards and one touchdown and ran 16 times for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns. Running back La’Damian Webb rushed 12 times for a career-best 109 yards.

The defense that saved the day and the victory. The defense stopped North Carolina on downs on its final drive of the game to secure the victory. Florida State limited the Tar Heels to 184 yards rushing – only 34 yards rushing in the second half. North Carolina entered the game averaging 245 yards rushing yards per game and had scored nine rushing touchdowns in its first four games. The Tar Heels managed just one rushing touchdown Saturday night.

“I’m so very proud of our football team,” said Norvell. “There has been plenty of adversity that has shown up throughout this year, throughout the course of the early part of the season but these guys believe in what we are doing.

“Coming off of last week (against Norte Dame), we saw moments, we saw flashes, we saw a team that was playing harder and really trying to work to play together. This week, we challenged them throughout the course of the week because we needed to see that consistency show up. I thought this was our best week of preparation.”

Florida State scored first following a blocked punt by Ja’Khi Douglas after the Seminoles’ defense forced a three-and-out on UNC’s first possession of the game. Travis scored in a 23-yard keeper on their first play from scrimmage to give Florida State its first lead in the first quarter of a game for the third time in its first five games.

With another blocked punt later in the game, the Seminoles lead the nation with five blocked kicks.

“The two blocked punts really set the standard of how we wanted to play and how aggressive we wanted to be,” said Norvell.

Florida State extended its lead to 10-0 on a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald.

Florida State went up 17-0 on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Travis – his second score of the night. Travis directed a nine-play, 75-yard drive with 3:29 left to play before halftime to allowed the Seminoles to comfortably take their largest halftime lead of their first five games of the season. He completed two passes for 43 yards to Keyshawn Helton on the drive including a momentum-gaining 39-yard completion that gave Florida State a first down at North Carolina’s 12 yard line.

Travis has now scored four rushing touchdowns this season with at least one coming in three consecutive games.

“I feel 100 percent, I feel great,” said Travis following the victory. “There is no one who could have kept me off the field. I was going in with my boys. They were fighting for me, so I’ve got to fight for them. I’m very thankful we got the win.

“I feel very comfortable but I couldn’t feel comfortable without the guys in front blocking. That’s where it starts.”