Jordan Travis for Heisman?: How FSU football quarterback stacks up against competition
Florida State football quarterback Jordan Travis is playing the best football of his career.
The redshirt senior has come alive in the past month. In his past four games against Syracuse, Duke, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, Travis has completed 93-of-144 passes (65%) for 1,271 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. He has added 71 rushing yards and five scores on the ground in that span.
"Yeah, I mean, I think he showed himself as one of the best players in all of football," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said during Monday's press conference.
"He's a great football player. I believe that we have really, really good personnel in our depth, really good personnel in different positions, the variety and versatility within an offense to help those guys get put in a position to go showcase all they can do."
Travis will look to continue his hot streak as the No. 4 Seminoles (9-0, 7-0 ACC) take on rival Miami (6-3, 2-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium. (Broadcast: ABC).
On the season Travis has completed 64.4% of his passes for 2,469 yards, 19 touchdowns and two interceptions and has added seven rushing scores.
Travis has three 300-yard passing games this season, including 342 yards in the season-opening win over LSU. He's coming off back-to-back 300-yard games against Wake Forest (359) and Pittsburgh (360) in road victories.
The performance against the Panthers in a 24-7 win might have been his best performance, as he threw for his season high in yardage and the third-highest in his career despite being without his two star receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, as well as Hykeem Williams and Deuce Spann.
"Jordan is one of the best players in college football," FSU offense coordinator Alex Atkins said Monday. "A lot of guys would have come in those adverse moments and made excuses or, 'This is why and this is why not.' No, he came and he attacked it, he embraced the gameplan and he got the players the ball who needed to get it.
"In complex situations, he gave what the defense allowed him. I thought the screen game was good with Rodney [Hill] on one so we were able to keep balance and he also used his legs a couple of times. He was a part of the run game and decision-making. Jordan is a quarterback that I think is just so talented because whatever you're allowing, he can get to. If you're allowing the pass, he can throw it. if you're allowing it, he'll hand it off and get us good number box counts to make sure we're in the right run plays.
"If all else fails, he's a great athlete who can make plays with his legs. He presents a unique challenge for most defenses."
Heisman odds per USA Today Betting
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. 41.67%
Oregon QB Box Nix 32.26%
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy 11.11%
Florida State QB Jordan Travis 10.53%
Georgia QB Carson Beck 7.69%
Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. 5.26%
Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II 2.44%
Alabama QB Jason Milroe 1.96%
USC QB Caleb Williams 0.83%
How Jordan Travis compares to Michael Penix, other Heisman Trophy candidates
Michael Penix Jr., Washington QB
69.4%, 3,201 yards, 26 TDs, 7 INTs; -13 yards rushing and 1 TD
Bo Nix, Oregon QB
78.1%, 2,,723 yards, 25 TDs, 2 INTs; 37 rushes for 116 yards and 5 TDs
JJ McCarthy, Michigan QB
75.7%, 2,134 yards, 18 TDs, 3 INTs; 37 rushes for 137 yards and 3 TDs
Jordan Travis, FSU QB
64.4%, 2,469 yards, 19 TDs, 2 INT; 64 rushes for 190 yards and 7 TDs
Carson Beck, Georgia QB
72.2%, 2,716, 16 TDs, 4 INTs; 39 rushes for 69 yards and 3 TDs
Marvin Harrison, Ohio State WR
52 receptions for 914 yards and 10 TDs
Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State RB
174 rushes for 1,224 yards and 12 TDs; 22 catches for 219 yards and 1 TD
Jason Milroe, Alabama QB
64.8%, 1,836 yards, 13 TDs, 5 INTs; 97 rushes for 297 yards and 9 TDs
Caleb Williams
69.2%, 2,958, 28 TDs, 4 INTs; 84 rushes for 146 yards and 10 TDs
Analysis: Travis does not have the best statistical output of the players in the race as of now. His running in fourth is a testament to the respect the rest of college football has for him and the undefeated season the Seminoles have so far.
What works in Travis' favor is he likely has the best path of all the QBs to finish with an undefeated regular season and the possibility of a conference championship.
Nix and Oregon already lost once to Washington. Penix and the Huskies have two more ranked opponents left and then potentially the Ducks again in the final Pac-12 Championship. McCarthy and Michigan still have Ohio State left and the negative cloud around the Wolverines' alleged stealing controversy could hurt him.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: No. 4 FSU (9-0, 7-0 ACC) at Miami (6-3, 2-3)
When/where: 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Doak Campbell Stadium
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jordan Travis: Can FSU football redshirt senior win Heisman Trophy?
