No. 4 Florida State overcomes early deficit, storms back to beat No. 16 Duke 38-20

Over the course of 60 minutes, No. 4 Florida State’s talent was just too much for No. 16 Duke to handle.

The undefeated Seminoles fell behind 17-7 amid an uneven start but did not panic in an eventual 38-20 victory in Tallahassee. Now 7-0, Florida State was behind Duke 20-17 at halftime but ended up pitching a second-half shutout behind a strong performance from quarterback Jordan Travis.

Travis overcame a second-quarter pick-six and led the Seminoles to an impressive comeback. Travis had an efficient performance, completing 27-of-36 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He also posted 62 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His two-yard touchdown run with 13:03 left in the fourth quarter put FSU ahead 24-20. A few minutes later, he found Lawrance Toafili for a 21-yard touchdown on a screen pass to put the Blue Devils away.

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Duke saw the return of quarterback Riley Leonard on Saturday, but his night ended in the third quarter when the Blue Devils had a 20-17 lead. Leonard led the Blue Devils deep into FSU territory but he aggravated the ankle injury when he was sacked by FSU defensive lineman Braden Fiske (Fiske was hit with a facemask penalty on the play).

Even with Leonard out and backup Henry Belin IV on the field, Duke coach Mike Elko decided to try for a touchdown on a fourth-and-3 play from the FSU 4-yard line. Belin’s pass fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Seminoles. FSU promptly drove the length of the field to take the lead, 24-20. FSU would never give the lead back.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis engineered a comeback win over Duke on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Leonard, one of the top dual-threat QBs in the country, suffered a high-ankle sprain in the final minute of Duke’s Sept. 30 loss to Notre Dame. Duke beat NC State last weekend with Leonard sidelined, and his return provided a jolt offensively for the Blue Devils early on against FSU.

The defense also made a series of big plays in the first half. Duke stopped FSU twice on fourth down in the first quarter, directly leading to a touchdown and a field goal. Later, Chandler Rivers intercepted Travis and returned it for a touchdown to give Duke a 17-7 lead.

Despite that advantage, the Duke offense really struggled other than a 110-yard effort from running back Jaquez Moore. Leonard and Belin combined to go 8-of-22 for 76 yards and an interception through the air.

Once FSU had the lead, the defense went into attack mode and would not let Duke mount a comeback of its own.

Florida State’s path to the ACC title game — and beyond — is clear and doesn’t appear to have many hurdles. FSU will head on the road to face Wake Forest and Pittsburgh the next two weeks before hosting Miami on Nov. 11. From there, FSU gets a respite in the form of North Alabama before closing out the regular season against Florida in Gainesville.

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