Florida State Football: 3 takeaways from season-opening win vs. Duquesne
By John Scimeca
2. Which Jordan Travis would appear in Week 1?
Jordan Travis led the Seminoles early and often on Saturday evening, completing 11-of-15 passes for 207 yards. With the Noles’ focus on the ground game, Travis did not need to stretch plays too often. FSU outrushed the overmatched Dukes by more than 300 yards by the end of the game, finishing as a team with 406 rushing yards.
The Seminoles averaged 7.5 yards per carry, which did not necessitate any downfield attacking from its passing game. Travis himself took it in himself for FSU’s first score of the game from five yards out, though he only had four overall rushing attempts.
Sophomore wide receiver Kentron Poitier matched his 2021 season total in just one game, tallying four catches for 84 yards.
The Seminoles’ quarterback was a different player in Florida State’s final half of the 2021 season — in those six games, he threw for nine touchdowns and just one interception in a stretch that included a win against Miami (Fla.).
FSU lost all three of Travis’ first three appearances last year, including the Jacksonville State loss and a 35-14 embarrassment against Wake Forest. In those three setbacks, the then-sophomore threw four touchdowns and four interceptions.
Against Duquesne, the West Palm Beach, Fla. native did not throw a touchdown pass or an interception.
It’s the necessary tune-up that Travis needs to begin the 2022 season, as FSU travels to face LSU in New Orleans (nominally a neutral-site game but in reality a home game for the Tigers) and Louisville on the road in the next two weeks.
It’s clear that if Florida State wants to hand new LSU head coach Brian Kelly a loss in his first game in charge of the Tigers, it’ll need to balance its offensive attack with a potent ground game and good decisions from behind center.