Brian Kelly said LSU was going to 'beat the heck' out of FSU; Jordan Travis said not so fast | D'Angelo
ORLANDO — Jordan Travis identified two unchecked rushers to his left just before preseason All-American Harold Perkins was closing in on him from the right.
After a two-step drop, the Florida State quarterback calmly set his back foot, and lofted the ball to the one receiver he knew would not drop the pass.
At the time, the 21-yard touchdown to Keon Coleman with one minute to play in the first half appeared as if it would give the Seminoles a chance to hang with LSU, which overcame its own offensive issues to grab an early one-touchdown lead Sunday. Undisciplined play, three ugly drops, suspect protection and a couple of poor decisions by Travis - one resulting in his lone interception - was the Seminoles' undoing the first 30 minutes.
But what it turned into was the start of the most impressive 31 minutes of FSU football we have seen in a decade.
No. 8 Florida State embarrassed No. 5 LSU in the second half, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a 45-24 victory at Camping World Stadium during which that Travis-led offense scored 31 consecutive second-half points before a meaningless LSU touchdown with 1:15 to play.
The only time LSU stopped Travis in the second half was when he knelt down for the final two plays of the game.
"That second half was a glimpse of where I think this team can go and what we can do," FSU coach Mike Norvell said. "I don't think we played our best game."
Norvell was right about the first half. But if Florida State can play better than it did in the second half, Seminoles fans can start making reservations for Houston for the second week of January.
And this game thrust a megawatt spotlight on the journey Jordan Travis, the West Palm Beach native and Benjamin School graduate, has taken from the anonymity of a second-tier transfer from Louisville to one who clearly has put himself on the list of legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates.
Sell LSU, buy Jordan Travis
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During a radio show last week, LSU coach Brian Kelly said: "We’re going to beat the heck out of Florida State."
Kelly then doubled down, saying if he "was buying a stock," he would "buy some LSU football stock.”
Kelly now might want to invest some of the $95 million LSU paid him to leave Notre Dame on Jordan Travis stock. After all, his team did a great job jump-starting Travis' 2023 Heisman campaign.
The FSU senior threw for 342 yards, a career-high four passing touchdowns and rushed for one touchdown. He completed 23-of-31 passes.
Florida State cashed in all four of its trips to the red zone and converted 67 percent on third and fourth downs.
And this came after an ordinary first half in which Travis was pressured by an LSU front seven considered one of the best in the country, threw his only interception and should have had another picked off.
"I got to come out faster than that," Travis said. "I started slow, first-game jitters or what it was. I said to myself, it's easy when I have great teammates around me just to push me and tell me they have my back no matter what.
"The offensive line stepped up that second half and made it easy for me. I'm grateful for them."
Travis and Coleman, the transfer from Michigan State who could wind up being one the best portal acquisitions in the country, insist they never saw Kelly's quote. Of course, that denial came as Norvell was grinning and shaking his head no.
But something motivated this offense enough to score five touchdowns and one field goal on its final six possessions, drives that required as many as 10 plays and as few as three ... quick strikes and making LSU suffer a slow death, the way you play when you beat "the heck" out of somebody.
If Travis did not pay attention to Kelly (wink, wink), then he must not have heard about the anonymous defensive coordinator who told ESPN's Adam Rittenburg that Travis is "not as good as all the hype he's getting. I don't think he's even close to being the best quarterback in this league."
They talk about Heisman moments. One memorable play like Johnny Manziel having the ball pop loose as he ran into an offensive lineman, catching the ball, spinning out of the pocket and throwing a touchdown pass against Alabama. Or, Lamar Jackson's 47-yard run that made the entire Florida State defense look silly.
Travis had a Heisman half (plus one minute). He was 14-of-16 for 240 yards and two touchdowns in those six scoring drives against a defense with plenty of future pros.
"I told our offense, you will go out and score every drive in the second half," Norvell said.
Appears Mike Norvell is much better in foreseeing the future than Brian Kelly.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FSU's Jordan Travis jump starts his 2023 Heisman Trophy campaign by dominated LSU
