Game recap: Florida State football remains perfect with 41-16 victory over Wake Forest

Florida State football hits the road following a successful unbeaten three-game homestand.

The No. 4 Seminoles (7-0, 5-0 ACC) will play Wake Forest (3-3, 1-3) at noon Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. at noon Saturday. (Broadcast: ABC)

FSU moved to 7-0 for the first time since the 2014 season with a 38-20 victory over No. 17 Duke last week.

Both of the Seminoles' victories on the road this season have been tight, Boston College (31-29) and Clemson (31-24 in overtime).

The Demon Deacons have had an up-and-down season through seven games, including a controversial 21-17 last-minute victory last week over Pittsburgh. They enter as 20.5-point underdogs, as of Thursday morning, per BetOnline.

Keep scrolling for live updates and coverage from the game, and remember to refresh the page for the latest. Or you can follow Democrat beat writers Ehsan Kassim (@Ehsan_Kassim) and Jack Williams (@JackGWilliams) on X, the app formerly known as Twitter.

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Florida State blowouts Wake Forest to extend win streak to 14

Florida State football remains perfect to start 2023 and pushes its win streak to 14 straight, dating back to last season, with a 41-16 victory over Wake Forest at Allegacy Stadium.

The win snapped a three-game skid for the No. 4 Seminoles (8-0, 6-0 ACC) to the Demon Deacons (4-4, 1-4). It’s their first win in Winston-Salem since 2017.

FSU has scored 30-plus points in 14 straight games during its winning streak.

Check back for more coverage of the game from the Tallahassee Democrat.

Jordan Travis done for day; Tate Rodemaker enters

FSU has brought in its backups and quarterback Jordan Travis is done for the day with under 8 minutes left. Tate Rodemaker is in at QB.

Travis finishes 22 of 35 for 359 yards, three touchdowns and adds seven rushes for 29 yards and a score.

Trey Benson pads the lead for Seminoles

Wake Forest drew closer, but the Florida State football offense once again had an answer as Trey Benson scored an 18-yard touchdown on a third and goal from the 18.

Jordan Travis was sacked for a 12-yard loss on first down which eventually set up the score.

Kyle Morlock had a 32-yard reception to get the Seminoles inside the red zone.

The drive was 10 plays, 75 yards, and lasted 4:43.

Florida State 41, Wake Forest 16, 11:09 4Q

Tate Carey helps Wake Forest pull closer to end third quarter

Running back Tate Carney dominated the touchdown drive for the Demon Deacons, scoring on a two-yard TD to cap off the 10-play, 80-yard drive.

Carney rushed for 12 yards and added a 20-yard reception on the drive. Mitch Griffis scrambled for 20 yards to set up the score.

FSU has the ball on its own 33 for a 2nd and seven to start the fourth.

The Demon Deacons outscored the Seminoles 9-0 in the third. It’s the first-half points FSU has allowed since Clemson.

End 3rd | Florida State 34, Wake Forest 16

Wake Forest turns ball over downs after FSU three-and-out

The Seminoles first drive of the second half went for a three-and-out. Wake Forest moved the ball inside the FSU 25, but the Seminoles defense held firm and forced a turnover on downs.

On the ensuing FSU drive, it moved the ball inside the Wake 15-yard line. But kicker Ryan Fitzgerald missed his first kick of the season, from 29 yards after the drive stalled out at the 11. He is 10-for-11 on the season.

Ja'Khi Douglas had a 33-yard catch on the drive. Jordan Travis is over 300 yards passing.

Florida State 34, Wake Forest 10, 4:40 3Q

Wake Forest opens second half with field goal drive

After having just 55 yards in the first half, Wake Forest’s offense woke up to start the second half, driving 70 yards for a field goal drive.

Matthew Dennis connected on a 22-yard field goal after the drive stalled out at the five.

Desmond Clairborne had a 16-yard run to open the drive and Jahmal Banks caught three passes for 34 yards. The Demon Deacons had just one completion in the first half.

FSU aided the drive with a horse collar tackle penalty on Shyheim Brown.

Florida State 34, Wake Forest 10, 11:11 3Q

Florida State leads 34-7 at halftime

The Seminoles have complete control of this game at halftime. Keon Coleman scored his second TD of the game with a one-handed grab with less than two minutes left and then Ryan Fitzgerald added a 34-yard field goal to push the lead to 27.

Jordan Travis is 14 of 23 passing for 273 yards and three scores. He’s added five rushes for 33 yards and another score.

Coleman has five receptions for 60 yards and two scores and Trey Benson has added two catches for 93 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

Mitch Griffis is 1-for-8 passing for 19 yards.

The Seminoles have 351 yards of offense to just 75 for Wake Forest. Justice Ellison got 51 yards on a single rush and a 19-yard reception makes up the other big play.

Trey Benson scores 80-yard touchdown

On the first play from FSU's next drive, Trey Benson found a hole and hit the jets to explode for an 80-yard touchdown run.

It's his second-longest run of the season. He had an 85-yard run against Virginia Tech.

Florida State 24, Wake Forest 7, 4:16 2Q

Deuce Spann, Keon Coleman help Seminoles respond and push the lead to 10

Florida State quickly responded with a three-play 57-yard drive to extend its lead to double-figures again. Jordan Travis made the right read on an option route to hit Keon Coleman for a 29-yard touchdown. The safety bit on the fake and Coleman had a wide-open field after beating the corner.

Deuce Spann set up the TD drive with a 43-yard kickoff return. Rodney Hill added a 23 yard reception.

Florida State 17, Wake Forest 7, 10:41 2Q

Justice Ellison, Wake Forest responds with a touchdown drive

Justice Ellison’s 51-yard run to end the first quarter set up the first Wake Forest score of the game. Wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams took in a jet sweep for a 2-yard touchdown on third and goal from the 2.

QB Mitch Griffis connected on his first pass of the game, hitting Taylor Morin for a 19-yard gain to the 1-yard line.

The drive was seven plays for 75 yards.

Florida State 10, Wake Forest 7, 12:06 2Q.

Seminoles lead 10-0 after first; Justice Ellison explodes for a 51-yard run to end quarter

After each team traded a pair of punts, FSU’s offense got its best field position of the game starting at the Wake Forest 49.

The Seminoles got a first down on a completion of 13 yards from Jordan Travis to Trey Benson out of the backfield.

FSU settled with a 46-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald to extend its lead.

Justice Ellison broke out for a 51-yard run to end the first quarter on the second down.

The Demon Deacons will start with the ball on the FSU 19.

End 1st | Florida State 10, Wake Forest 0.

Patrick Payton and Tatum Bethune sack ends Wake Forest drive

The Demon Deacons picked up a first down with a pair of strong runs from Justice Ellison. But following an incomplete pass from Mitch Griffis on second down, Patrick Payton and Tatum Bethune sacked the Wake QB to force the punt.

Keon Coleman fielded the punt and was immediately tackled at the FSU 12.

Florida State 7, Wake Forest 0, 8:21 1Q

Jordan Travis scrambles as Seminoles strike first

Jordan Travis kept the ball for a 13-yard touchdown run to help the Seminoles strike first. Keon Coleman had three catches for 17 yards on the drive, while Kentron Poitier made his first catch of the season, a 33-yard gain down the sideline.

The Seminoles did get lucky on the drive with two almost turnovers. Travis had an interception dropped on a route where Coleman fell. Travis and Caziah Holmes had a botched handoff on first down from the 11.

Nine plays, 75 yards for the touchdown drive.

Florida State 7, Wake Forest 0, 10:38 1Q

FSU football starts with the ball

Wake Forest wins the toss and defers to the second half. FSU will start with the football.

We’ll get a quick look at who starts at receiver for the Seminoles. Ja’Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier warmed up with the starters.

Florida State football fans out-numbering Wake Forest fans early

From a quick glance, it does appear there are more fans here for No. 4 Florida State football than Wake Forest, the home team.

Across from the press box, the seating appears to be all garnet and gold, with a few black Demon Deacons' shirts mixed in.

Johnny Wilson, Hykeem Williams, Destyn Hill not warming up with WRs

None of the three of Johnny Wilson, Hykeem Williams nor Destyn Hill are with the FSU receivers warming up.

Wilson left last week’s game early against Duke, while Williams appeared to suffer a lower-leg injury and did not practice this week.

Hill missed last week’s game and looks to be out again today.

Mitch Griffis to start for Wake Forest at QB vs. FSU football

After missing last week's game against Pittsburgh, Mitch Griffis is back and will start for Wake Forest against Florida State, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Santino Marucci made his first career start last week against the Panthers and tossed the game-winning touchdown.

Griffis has completed 100-of-169 (59.2%) of his passes for 1,211 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

Jordan Travis, quarterbacks take the field

Under an hour until kickoff, Jordan Travis leads the Florida State football quarterbacks onto the field. Travis, along with Tate Rodemaker, Brock Glenn and AJ Duffy are all dressed and ready to go.

They are dressed out in the all-white and look good.

Destyn Hill is not spotted among the special teams’ return unit. It’s looking very unlikely he’ll be available today.

Pop-Tarts Bowl, seven NFL scouts in attendance

Representatives from the Pop-Tart Bowl, as well as one from the Hula Bowl, are in attendance for the game.

Scouts from the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders, New York Jets, Houston Texans and New York Giants are also in attendance.

No Destyn Hill sighting

Another wideout and starting slot wide receiver Destyn Hill was not observed during pregame warmups, either.

That would be three wideouts out for FSU if he, Johnny Wilson and Hykeem Williams are not active, the Seminoles depth will be tested.

Hill missed last week's game against Duke.

Kentron Poitier should be expected to start in place of Wilson and make his third straight start, while Ja'Khi Douglas could be starting in place of Hill. He is listed as a co-starter on the depth chart with Hill.

Keon Coleman donning a Johnny Wilson shirt in warmups

Questions remain if wide receiver Johnny Wilson will suit up today. He is not yet on the field for warmups, but Keon Coleman is warming up with a Johnny Wilson T-shirt this morning.

Coleman has generally worn a shirt of FSU greats in warmups in the past few weeks. So it’s interesting that’s his choice today with Wilson in question.

No Hykeem Williams warming up either. Running back CJ Campbell was not observed with the other running backs.

Quick notes about FSU-Wake Forest game on ABC

The Wake Forest-Florida State game is broadcast on ABC today at noon. It’s the seventh time in eight games the Seminoles have been featured on ABC this season. The lone game that was not was Southern Miss (ACC Network).

Bob Wischusen is on the play-by-play, while Robert Griffin III is the analyst and Kris Budden is the sideline reporter.

The stadium capacity for Allegacy Stadium is 31,500. There was a lot of garnet and gold entering the stadium today.

Keeping an eye on Johnny Wilson, Mitch Griffis other injured players

Live from Allegacy Stadium here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, we are keeping an eye on some injured Florida State players to see if they will be playing this week.

The biggest one is wide receiver Johnny Wilson. Wilson suffered an apparent injury in the third quarter against Duke and did not return. It was the second time in three weeks he left early with an injury.

Destyn Hill missed last week’s game, as well. We’ll be keeping an eye out for his availability. He practiced this week and looked sharp. Hykeem Williams is another receiver we are keeping track of for the game.

Defensive back Edwin Joseph announced on social media he had surgery and is out. Dennis Briggs is out, as head coach Mike Norvell announced after a practice this week.

On the Wake Forest side, we are keeping an eye on quarterback Mitch Griffis, who head coach Dave Clawson said could be back this week.

Florida State donning all-white uniforms

The Seminoles are breaking out their all-white uniforms today. It’ll be the first time they wear these since they broke it out in a road victory over Louisville last September.

FSU is 1-0 all-time in these uniforms with the white helmets.

Wake Forest is in all black, with black helmets.

What time is FSU football vs. Wake Forest?

• When: Noon Saturday, October 28

• Where: Allegacy Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

What channel is FSU vs. Wake Forest on?

• TV: ABC (check local listings)

• Streaming: WatchESPN (cable subscription needed) and the ESPN app, fuboTV (7-day free trial), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)

Bob Wischusen will handle play-by-play duties with Robert Griffin III as analyst. Streaming options include fuboTV, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

FSU-Wake Forest odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, October 27.

• Spread: FSU (-20.5)

• Over/under: 52

• Moneyline: FSU -1400, Wake Forest +800

FSU football schedule 2023

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: FSU football vs Wake Forest score, updates for Florida State game