Jamir Watkins added 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Warley added 13 points and Cam Corhen 10 for the Seminoles (16-15, 10-10 ACC), who also beat Miami 84-75 on Jan. 17.

Bensley Joseph scored 17 points and Norchad Omier had 16 points and 17 rebounds for Miami (15-16, 6-14), which lost its ninth straight. Matthew Cleveland also scored 16 points and Wooga Poplar added 12.

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton won his 192nd career ACC regular-season game, moving into a tie for fourth place in conference history with former Maryland coach Gary Williams (1990-2011).

An 8-0 run gave Miami a three-point lead midway through the second half but Primo Spears hit a 3-pointer early in a 12-2 run that Green capped with his eighth 3-pointer and the Seminoles had an seven-point edge. Miami got as close as four but Watkins’ slam made it an eight-point lead in the final minute.

Florida State led 37-32 at halftime behind 12 points from Green despite shooting only 35%. The Seminoles had a 12-4 edge on the offensive boards and took 16 more shots than Miami.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half with baskets by Spears and Corhen to end the half giving FSU the five-point lead.

Miami was without injured Nijel Pack, averaging over 13 points a game, for the fifth time in the last six contests.

Naithan George scored 15 points and Tafara Gapare and Tyzhaun Claude both had 10 rebounds and eight points for the Yellow Jackets (13-16, 6-12 ACC), who won back-to-back games for the first time since December and split the season series.

Jamir Watkins scored 15 points, Cameron Corhen 14 and Baba Miller and Primo Spears 13 each for the Seminoles (15-14, 9-9).

After the teams combined to shoot over 51% in the first half when Georgia Tech took a 44-41 lead, the percentages plunged in the second half when they went 3 of 24 to start. But a Ndongo tip followed by a transition dunk from Tafara Gapare in the midst of an 11-3 run gave Georgia Tech a 78-61 lead with just over three minutes left.

The Yellow Jackets used a 55-33 rebounding dominance including 21 on the offensive boards to pile up 21 second-chance points. That helped offset 16 turnovers.

Georgia Tech shot 53% in the first half and led until three straight 3s by Darin Green Jr. tied the game at 23-all. Sturdivant hit a 3 and Claude added a bucket to close out the half with a thre-point lead.

Florida State plays at Pitt Tuesday before concluding its regular season at home against Miami next Saturday. Georgia Tech finishes its schedule on the road at Wake Forest on Tuesday and Virginia next Saturday.

Clemson maintained a double-digit lead for the better part of 12 minutes to open the second half, then a layup by Cameron Corhen and a 3-pointer from Baba Miller got the Seminoles within 58-53 with 6 minutes left.

But Clemson didn’t let it closer than five points, holding Florida State to eight points over the final 5 minutes and only two in the final 50 seconds.

With 40 seconds left and the Tigers leading 70-63, Clemson’s PJ Hall and FSU’s Jamir Watkins were assessed technical fouls. After a delay, play resumed and Girard made two free throws with 29 seconds left to put the game out of reach. Ian Schieffelin and Hunter later added one of two free throws each for the Tigers.

Girard was 10-for-10 from the line and the Tigers (19-8, 9-7 ACC) made 24 of 30. Florida State made 11 of 15 free throws.

Watkins had 18 points and eight rebounds for Florida State (14-13, 8-8). Primo Spears added 16 points and Miller scored 12.

RJ Godfrey had 12 points for Clemson and Schieffelin and Jack Clark each had 11 rebounds.

Clemson shot 48% in the first half and led for the last 14 minutes of the period. The biggest lead was 10, thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Hunter for a 38-28 lead.

Clemson hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Florida State returns home to play North Carolina State, also on Tuesday.

McCain hit seven 3-pointers in the first half and shot 60% overall (12 for 20), including 8 for 11 from long distance in his seventh game scoring 20 or more points. His point total tied Zion Williamson’s 35-point performance against Syracuse in 2019.

McCain’s accuracy from 3-point range was a surprise. The 6-foot-3 guard had made a total of seven 3-pointers in his four games.

Jeremy Roach scored 15 points as Duke (20-5, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fourth straight game. The Blue Devils have 20 or more wins for a 27th straight season. Kyle Filipowski had eight points and eight rebounds, helping Duke to a 35-22 edge in rebounds.

Jamir Watkins scored 15 points, his 11th straight game in double figures for Florida State (13-12, 7-7), which has lost three straight and five of six.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: Even without Tyrese Proctor, the Blue Devils took a 19-16 lead on a McCain 3-pointer with 13:04 left in the first half and never looked back. They won for the eighth time in nine games in Tallahassee.

Florida State: The Seminoles have given up 10 or more 3-pointers in each of their last three games, all losses.

UP NEXT

Duke: At Miami on Wednesday.

Florida State: Hosts Boston College on Tuesday.

McKneely made 8 of 12 shots from the field, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Jacob Groves scored eight of his 10 points in the second half for Virginia (19-5, 10-3 ACC).

McKneely and Jordan Minor each made a layup before Jacob Groves hit a jumper to make it 9-4 and Virginia led the rest of the way. The Cavaliers twice opened a double-digit lead in the first half before taking a four-point lead into intermission. They scored 14 of the first 20 second-half points to make it 48-36 on a Beekman layup with 14:19 to play.

Jamir Watkins finished a contested shot in the lane and, moments later, stole the ball and threw down a monstrous two-hand dunk. Chandler Jackson converted a three-point play and, after Beekman missed a 3-point shot, grabbed a rebound and went the other way for a layup, trimming Florida State’s deficit to 54-52 with 8:24 to play.

Groves answered with a 3-pointer 16 seconds later and it was at least a two-possession game until Darin Green Jr.’s three-point play with 11 seconds left made it 77-75. McKneely made 3 of 4 foul shots from there to seal it.

Watkins made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, hit 5 of 9 from the field and finished with 21 points for Florida State (13-10, 7-5). Jackson scored a career-high 17 on 7-of-9 shooting.

McKneely scored 13 points to help Virginia build a 34-30 lead at the break. Watkins led Florida State with eight points as the Seminoles shot 50% in the first half.

Each team plays on Tuesday. Virginia hosts Pittsburgh while Florida State is on the road against Virginia Tech.

RJ Davis scored 24 points and freshman Elliot Cadeau scored a season-high 16 points to help No. 3 North Carolina rally from an eight-point deficit early in the second half and beat Florida State 75-68.

Davis shot 9 of 18 from the floor, although he made just 2 of 8 3-point shots, and surpassed the 20-point mark for the 12th time this season.

Cadeau shot 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and had six assists as North Carolina (17-3, 9-0) extended its win streak to 10 games.

Primo Spears scored 15 points on 6 of 15 shooting, drilling 3 of 4 3-pointers, for Florida State (12-8, 6-3). Spears had a steal and then a layup on the fast break to cut North Carolina’s lead to 70-68 with 2:36 left. But Harrison Ingram blocked a Jamir Watkins drive with 33 seconds left and the Tar Heels were able to make free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal up the victory.

“We don’t panic,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “There’s a calmness and a confidence about this group.”

The Tar Heels had to flex their muscle and did so, winning the rebounding battle 41-32 and pulling down 16 offensive boards. Ingram had 17 rebounds, including seven offensive boards.

Watkins had 10 first-half points as the Seminoles shot 16 of 32 from the floor, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range, to take a 41-36 halftime lead. But while the Seminoles quickly extended the lead to eight, 46-38, the Tar Heels within five minutes erased the deficit and jumped ahead 58-52 on Cadeau’s jumper with 14:03 to go.

North Carolina also didn’t give opportunities away in the second half. In the first 20 minutes, the Tar Heels’ 12 turnovers contributed to the Seminoles scoring 19 points.

“Going into halftime saying, ‘We need to take care of the basketball. That would fix a lot,’” Davis said.

North Carolina certainly did, shooting 19 of 24 (79.2%) from the free-throw line.

Florida State faltered for stretches in the second half, shooting 11 of 30 (36.7%) in the final 20 minutes.

While North Carolina won its 10th straight game, the Seminoles entered the month of January on a tailspin but finished 6-2 with losses to Clemson and UNC.

BIC PICTURE

North Carolina: The Tar Heels won their 750th regular-season ACC game. This is also the first time UNC has opened 9-0 in conference play since 2001.

Florida State: When the Seminoles traveled to North Carolina on Dec. 2, they led by 14 in the second half before the Tar Heels pressed and rallied for a 78-70 win. Florida State is far improved since then and is deeper with the return of forwards Cameron Corhen (toe) and Jaylan Gainey (knee) from injury. Spears missed the first game at North Carolina as he awaited his appeal as a two-time waiver.

“We’re getting better,” Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Early in the year we had a lot of coming and going. It didn’t allow us to get the right rotation that we seem to have now. We seem to be in a good place with us learning more about how to utilize who we are.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

There’s little chance North Carolina can move up as No. 1 Connecticut and No. 2 Purdue maintain their top spots. The Huskies also have a Dec. 5 win over the Tar Heels.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Travels to Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Florida State: Travels to Louisville on Saturday.

The win snapped a string of four losses in five games for Clemson (13-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) and snapped Florida State’s run of five straight wins.

The teams played to a 30-30 draw through the first half. The Tigers opened the second with a 9-2 run never trailed the rest of the way. Florida State got within two, 39-37 on a 3-pointer by Darin Green Jr. and Taylor Bol Bowen hit the second of two free throws at about the five-minute mark to make it 41-40, but Ian Schieffelin dunked and, after Chase Hunter hit two free throws, scored at the basket to push the Clemson lead back to 47-40. The Tigers converted 16 of 19 free throws in the second half to help them close out the win.

Clemson shot 51% from the field, hitting 25 of 49, including 7 of 17 from beyond the 3-point arc, and converted 21 of 25 from the free-throw line. Josh Beadle contributed 12 points off the Tigers’ bench and Joe Girard III had 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Jamir Watkins led Florida State (11-7, 5-2) with 15 points. Green added 13 points and Primo Spears chipped in 12 off the bench.

Clemson plays host to No. 7 Duke on Saturday. Florida State plays at Syracuse on Tuesday.

Cohen made all seven of his shot attempts while Jamir Watkins scored 15 points and Deante Green scored 10. The Seminoles (11-6, 5-1 ACC) have won five straight and seven of their last eight following a four-game losing streak. The Seminoles are tied for second in the conference with North Carolina State.

Nigel Pack led Miami with 19 points, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar each scored 15 and Bensley Joseph 10 for the Hurricanes (12-5, 3-3). Miami has lost three of its last four.

Pack sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a layup from Joseph in a 1:02 span in the second half to cap a 20-6 Miami spurt that reduced the Hurricanes’ deficit to 59-57 with 11:22 remaining. Miami got within 62-60 less than a minute later and 73-71 with 4:59 left but couldn’t get closer. Pack’s basket with 2:28 served as Miami’s final points and reduced its deficit to 79-75. Miami missed its last four shot attempts and final two foul shots.

AJ Casey made a layup to bring Miami within 19-17 with 12:41 before halftime. From there, the Seminoles outscored Miami 24-11 over a little more than the next 10 minutes and were up 43-28 with 2:26 before halftime. Miami closed with 7-2 run into intermission to reduce its deficit to 45-35.

Florida State opened the second half with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes and held its largest lead to that point at 53-37.

Florida State next tries to tackle Clemson at home on Saturday. Miami heads to Syracuse on Saturday.

Florida State scored the first eight points of the second half to take the first double-digit lead of the game, 41-29 with about 17 minutes left. Notre Dame made only three shots in the first 6-plus minutes of the half, but layups by Logan Imes and Markus Burton got them within 43-37. Spears then hit a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 Florida State run and the Fighting Irish came right back with nine points of their own to make it 51-46.

A 3-point jumper by Braeden Shrewsberry drew the Irish within 59-55 with 2:24 remaining but Spears hit a pull-up jumper for a six-point lead. Shrewsberry hit another 3-pointer to make it 61-58 but Spears answered again, his hook shot giving the Seminoles a 63-58 lead with 56 seconds remaining. J.R. Konieczny and Shrewsberry missed 3-pointers on Notre Dame’s next two possessions and the Seminoles closed out the win with two free throws from Jamir Watkins and two more from Baba Miller.

Watkins scored 12 points and Jalen Warley and Darin Green Jr. scored 10 points each for Florida State (10-6, 4-1 ACC), which beat Notre Dame for the fourth consecutive time.

Burton scored 20 points and Konieczny had 11 for Notre Dame (7-10, 2-4).

Florida State made 13 of 15 free throws compared to 3 of 11 for Notre Dame. Florida State had only eight turnovers.

There were five ties and six lead changes in the first half which ended with Florida State ahead 33-29. The Seminoles led for 15-plus minutes, but their biggest lead was only five points on two occasions. Notre Dame’s biggest lead of the half was four.

Notre Dame plays at Boston College on Monday.

Florida State, which has won four in a row since a loss to Lipscomb on Dec. 30, plays at Miami on Wednesday.

“As long as winning matters, we’re gonna compete like hell at Georgia,” Smart said.

The Bulldogs entered Saturday night’s matchup against Florida State essentially at full strength. The Seminoles, who were missing at least a dozen of their key contributors because of opt outs and players in the transfer portal, did not.

The result was what you might expect: The sixth-ranked Bulldogs crushed previously undefeated and fourth-ranked Florida State 63-3 in the Orange Bowl in a matchup of teams missing out on the College Football Playoff.

Smart said the result of the game was indicative of a larger problem in the sport.

“People need to see what happened tonight, and they need to fix this,” he said. “It needs to be fixed. It’s very unfortunate that they (the Seminoles), who have a good football team, are in the position they’re in. Everybody can say it’s their fault. Everybody can say that we had our guys and they didn’t have their guys. I can listen to all that. But college football has got to decide what they want.

“It’s really unfortunate for those kids on that side of the sideline that had to play in that game that didn’t have their full arsenal. And it affected the game, 100 percent.”

Carson Beck passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns and backup QB Gunnar Stockton passed for two more scores for Georgia, which scored touchdowns on nine of 12 drives and gained 673 total yards against the short-handed Seminoles.

The Bulldogs (13-1) were used to competing for championships this time of year, having won the last two national titles. But Georgia lost to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game — the Bulldogs’ first loss since the 2021 season — and missed out on one of the four spots in the CFP rankings. Instead, they settled for the seventh New Year’s Six bowl appearance in program history.

Florida State (13-1) failed to make the CFP cut despite winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and because of transfers, opt-outs and injuries, the Seminoles were without players who were responsible for 97% of their passing yards, 88% of their rushing yards and 84% of their receptions this season.

The Bulldogs charged out to a 39-point halftime lead, the largest in the bowl’s 90-year history, beating West Virginia’s 29-point halftime lead over Clemson in 2012. It was also the largest margin of defeat in Florida State’s history.

Beck, who had touchdown passes of 12 and 2 yards, did not play in the second half. Stockton, a freshman, started in the third quarter and immediately ushered another touchdown drive. He finished with 96 yards passing and 46 yards rushing, and the Bulldogs became the first program to score at least 55 points in back-to-back bowl games.

The Bulldogs’ Kendall Milton was the game’s MVP after rushing for 104 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. Daijun Edwards added two more rushing scores and 62 yards. Both were part of a senior class that picked up its school-record 50th win.

“You want to take every game serious no matter what the level is,” Milton said. “You’ve got to prepare the right way because this is top level college football on any given week, so we took that very personally.”

In what could be his last game for the Bulldogs, receiver Ladd McConkey had 49 all-purpose yards. He scored on a 27-yard rush in which he caught a pass from Beck behind the line of scrimmage, looked to complete another pass but took off running instead, weaving through stumbling Florida State defenders and into the end zone to put Georgia up 28-3 in the second quarter.

Georgia players knew the story of the team on the other side of the field: The Seminoles entered the game having beaten all 13 teams on their schedule, including then-No. 15 Louisville in the ACC title game, but were left out of the College Football Playoff partly due to a season-ending leg injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis. Florida State became the first Power Five conference champion to finish with an undefeated record and still be left out of the playoff.

“This is a championship level team,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “You go back and watch 13 games and that’s who you saw. I am fully confident in what this team did throughout this year and what they could have achieved. It was not the path that was set out for us. … We’ll never know.”

In the week leading up to the bowl game, Georgia players expressed their understanding of the Seminoles’ frustrations, while acknowledging that they, too, felt slighted.

Smart had lobbied for the selection committee to consider the Bulldogs’ full resume in making their final decision: Georgia won 29 straight games before the SEC title matchup and finished the season with the eighth-best offense in the country and the No. 9 defense.

It wasn’t enough. And the Bulldogs vented frustrations in the Orange Bowl — possession by possession.

THE TAKEAWAY

Georgia: As dominant as the Bulldogs were on offense, their defense was just as impactful. They intercepted Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn twice and recovered two fumbles. They also limited Florida State to 63 yards rushing.

Florida State: The Seminoles were outmatched in all three phases as they fell short of completing their first 14-win season since 2013. Glenn struggled in his second career start, completing 9 of 26 passes for 139 yards.

UP NEXT

Georgia: The Bulldogs open the 2024 season against Clemson in Atlanta. Beck is returning for his senior season.

Florida State: The Seminoles will start the 2024 season against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, marking the second time that two ACC teams have opened the season in Ireland.

Florida State trailed 62-41 with 15:53 to play but pulled within 73-70 with 2:06 remaining. AJ McGinnis answered with a 3-pointer, Joe Anderson added a layup and Lipscomb led 78-72 with 50 seconds left.

Jamir Watkins made a pair of free throws for the Seminoles to cap the scoring with 37 seconds to go. Watkins then blocked Grant Asman’s layup attempt with 10 seconds left, but Darin Green Jr. missed a 3 to end it.

Pruitt was 6 of 11 from the floor and had five rebounds in the first half, and he drilled his second 3-pointer that put the Bisons up 46-31 at the break. Pruitt made three free throws, and Owen McCormack, Anderson and McGinnis each hit a 3 as the Bisons opened the second half on a 12-5 surge to stretch their lead to 58-37.

Pruitt finished 8-of-17 shooting from the floor with three 3s, and he made all five of his free throws for Lipscomb (9-6). McCormack made a pair from long range and scored 13 points. McGinnis added 12 points on four 3s. Anderson added six points to go with 10 assists.

Watkins scored 19 points and was 12 of 13 from the free-throw line to lead Florida State (6-6). Primo Spears added 16 points and Green had 12.

Florida State hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

Lipscomb plays at Eastern Kentucky on Thursday in an Atlantic Sun Conference opener.

The No. 4 Seminoles will play No. 6 Georgia in Saturday’s Orange Bowl.

The award announced Friday honors scholarship, leadership and integrity, as well as success on the field. First-year coaches and winners of the award the last two years are not eligible.

“The values of athletic success, academic excellence and character represented by this award align with what we emphasize in our program,” Norvell said in a statement. “Those characteristics have been on display through some truly challenging circumstances this season, but I am so proud of how our team responded each and every time.”

Norvell led the Seminoles to their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 2014.

Norvell is the second Florida State coach to win the Dodd Trophy, following Bobby Bowden in 1980.

Norvell had 35 players named academic All-ACC for the 2022-23 academic year. This team had scored a 983 Academic Progress Rate (APR), tied for the 23rd highest mark among FBS schools.

The Dodd Trophy, named in honor of former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd, is presented annually by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The winner is selected by a panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member.

Tulane coach Willie Fritz won the 2022 award. Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell won in 2021.

What’s unsaid is this: “But.”

Let’s be honest: Neither the fourth-ranked Seminoles (13-0, No. 5 CFP rankings) nor the sixth-ranked Bulldogs (12-1, No. 6 CFP) really wanted to be here, for obvious reasons. They’d rather be at the Sugar Bowl or the Rose Bowl, competing in the College Football Playoff, having a chance to make the national championship game. But Georgia lost a game, Florida State lost a quarterback, and here they are, set to face off on Saturday in an Orange Bowl that oddsmakers believe will be a rout for the Bulldogs to enjoy.

“There’s going to be times in life where things don’t go the right way or the way that you expected them to go or maybe even what you’ve earned,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Friday. “You don’t always receive the reward for that. But you do control the response and what you do with it, where you go, and the attitude which you bring. … I know we’re going to go out tomorrow and we’re going to fight with everything that we have.”

This is the reality for Florida State: It’ll never know what might have been. What might have happened if quarterback Jordan Travis didn’t get hurt? What might have happened if the CFP committee gave the Seminoles a spot in the semifinals? If Travis didn’t break his leg, Florida State surely would have been more attractive to the CFP committee. Had a CFP invite come, the Seminoles surely wouldn’t have seen about two dozen players either opt out or begin the process of transferring out.

“I understand their frustration,” Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams said. “You go 13-0 and you win your conference championship, hey, you expect to be in. I completely understand their frustration.”

There is frustration for Georgia, though the Bulldogs’ omission from the CFP field is easier to explain. Losing the Southeastern Conference title game to Alabama doomed Georgia’s hopes, even though no team had ever fallen from No. 1 to out of the top four in the final week of the rankings previously. Georgia coach Kirby Smart lobbied for a berth, but some players said this week they knew what was coming — or more specifically, what wasn’t coming — on Selection Sunday.

“I kind of knew, honestly,” Georgia quarterback Carson Beck said. “In my heart, I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re probably not going to get in.’ … That was our playoff game. Two top-ranked teams in the SEC championship, the team that wins is probably going to get in, and we ended up losing that.”

There are credos that both teams have been oft-repeating for the last few days.

For Florida State: “All we have is all we need,” said quarterback Brock Glenn, the former third-stringer who has the task of taking over for the injured Travis — one of the game’s most dynamic players this season — and transfer-portaling Tate Rodemaker.

For Georgia: “Prove ‘em wrong or prove ’em right,” linebacker Chaz Chambliss said.

Neither really needs much in the way of explaining. Georgia wants to show the committee and everyone else that it is elite. And the Seminoles that’ll be taking the field Saturday are not the Seminoles who took the field in the first 13 games of this season — injuries, opt-outs and transfers left a series of massive holes on the depth chart. The players responsible for almost all of the passing, rushing and receiving yards for Florida State in 2023 aren’t going to be playing on Saturday.

Hence, the three-touchdown spread that FanDuel Sportsbook has put on this game.

“I think finishing is important,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I don’t think enough people talk about it and everybody says this is what you should do, this is what you should do. For kids that love football, they want to play football. This is the Orange Bowl. You’ve got an opportunity to go play in the Orange Bowl, and that’s not given to everybody.”

SPLIT TITLE?

Glenn gave a simple answer — “Absolutely” — this week when asked if the Seminoles have talked about the chance to lay claim to a split national championship if they win this game and finish 14-0. Florida State is one of four unbeaten FBS teams this season; Michigan and Washington are both in the CFP field and Liberty faces Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. It is possible, though seems unlikely, for voters in the AP Top 25 to vote Florida State No. 1 in the final poll of this season.

NORVELL VS. SMART

Smart has coached against Norvell before — when Norvell was a player. Smart was an assistant at Valdosta State when it visited Central Arkansas in 2001. Central Arkansas took a 31-7 halftime lead, before Valdosta State rallied for a 42-34 win.

Norvell was the leading receiver for that Central Arkansas team.

“Good halftime adjustments there,” Norvell told Smart on Friday.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

Florida State is seeking a second 14-0 season; the Seminoles had their other in 2013. Georgia is seeking a third straight season of at least 13 wins.

THE HISTORY

The teams haven’t met since Jan. 1, 2003, when Georgia topped Florida State 26-13 in the Sugar Bowl. This will be the third consecutive FSU-Georgia game that’s a bowl matchup. The schools haven’t played during the regular season since 1965.

QUOTABLE

“Our guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do.” — Florida State defensive coordinator Adam Fuller.

It’s beyond even his imagination.

“If you would’ve told me this would happen, this story, I wouldn’t believe you,” Glenn said.

Believe it. The scenario is his reality now, and he gets what he calls “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” on Saturday when No. 4 Florida State (13-0, No. 5 College Football Playoff rankings) takes on No. 6 Georgia (12-1, No. 6 CFP) in the Orange Bowl.

Glenn got the job because Jordan Travis, who led Florida State into national-title contention, is out with a broken leg and former backup Tate Rodemaker — who likely would have started the Orange Bowl — opted out and is seeking a transfer.

“The Orange Bowl is an awesome bowl. It’s one of the best in the country,” Glenn said. “And we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us playing Georgia, a great team. We’re also a great team, so it’s going to be a great game. We’re genuinely excited and thankful for the opportunity.”

Glenn has completed 10 of 25 passes this season for 90 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Almost all his playing time came in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, when Florida State beat Louisville to send one last message to the CFP selection committee that the Seminoles — with or without Travis — deserved a chance to play for the national title.

The committee disagreed, and the Orange Bowl is the consolation prize. The Florida State team that takes the field Saturday is not the same team that went 13-0 — several key players have opted out or entered the portal — and lineup changes had to be made almost everywhere.

Florida State’s two leading passers are out or gone, along with the top four Seminoles in rushing yards, the three leaders in receiving yards and the top five in terms of total receptions. Top wide receiver Keon Coleman made his departure official on Wednesday, saying he will enter the draft.

“We all shared a common goal,” Coleman wrote in a letter to the Seminole football community. “You wanted to win a championship. I came here to win a championship. We gave it everything we had and unfortunately did not have the opportunity to prove that we were the best team in college football this year.”

There is an obvious unpredictability to Florida State’s approach this weekend, since many of the players who’ll be in key roles won’t have had those same roles during the regular season. And weirdly, that might be a challenge for Georgia in terms of getting ready for the Orange Bowl.

“We just kind of prepare how we prepare,” Georgia defensive linemen Mykel Williams said. “We prepare for every game the same way. We just expect to come in and do what we do to the best of our ability.”

The Bulldogs are two-touchdown favorites. Florida State hasn’t been this big of an underdog in a game since October 2021 — part of a season in which the Seminoles went 5-7.

“We just worry about what we can control,” Glenn said, “and we’ll do what we can with the opportunity.”

Earlier in the day, 247Sports and The Athletic reported Rodemaker intends to enter the transfer portal.

Rodemaker participated in open practices leading up to the Christmas break. The Seminoles (13-0) arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Christmas night to begin final preparations for the matchup with Georgia (12-1) and Florida State coach Mike Norvell spoke of Glenn’s looming start after getting off the plane.

Glenn also started the ACC championship game for Florida State.

“Definitely excited to see him take the step from his first start to his second start,” Norvell said. “A lot of confidence in what he’ll be able to do, what he’ll be able to accomplish. It’s part of the new age of college athletics. I know Brock is going to be fired up and excited for the opportunity that he has.”

A redshirt junior quarterback, Rodemaker stepped in for injured Jordan Travis on Nov. 18 to guide Florida State to a win over North Alabama. A week later, he led Florida State to a victory at Florida. In 2023, Rodemaker completed 32 of 56 passes for 510 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Glenn has completed 10 of 25 passes for 90 yards this season, starting for the Seminoles against Louisville in the ACC championship game. Early enrollee Luke Kromenhoek, who signed on Wednesday, is also set to join the team for bowl practices.

The Seminoles have also welcomed in Washington State transfer Cam Ward and Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei for visits in December. Neither quarterback has made a decision about where he will play in 2024.

Florida State will be shorthanded for the bowl game. Running back Trey Benson, wide receiver Johnny Wilson and defensive end Jared Verse have all entered the NFL draft early and opted out. Tight end Jaheim Bell and defensive tackle Fabien Lovett are entering the draft but have not clarified if they will play in the bowl game.

“It’s about the players that are here and the work that they put in,” Norvell said. “I’m grateful for every player that we have.”

Georgia is scheduled to arrive in South Florida late Tuesday afternoon.

Jamir Watkins added 11 points and De’Ante Green Jr. 10 for the Seminoles (6-5), who have won two straight after four consecutive losses.

Nick Johnson scored 15 points and Kelton Talford 14 for the Eagles (8-7), who have lost three in a row.

There had been 11 lead changes in the second half when Watkins’ bucket tied the game with 7 1/2 minutes left and Green and Spears added two free throws each.

After Florida State built an eight-point lead, the Eagles got within three with under two minutes left. Steals led to a Green dunk and a Watkins free throw in restoring the eight-point margin. Winthrop hit two 3s in the final 30 seconds, but four Seminole free throws ensured the win.

Both teams shot in the low 30s. The Seminoles made just 3 of 18 from the arc but were 30 of 42 at the line to 20 of 27 for Winthrop. Winthrop had three players foul out and another finish with four. Three Seminoles had four fouls.

The Seminoles had 14 steals, well over their ACC-leading average of 9.3, and they scored 21 points off 24 Eagles turnovers.

The Seminoles didn’t score over the first three minutes of the game, took their first lead with four minutes left in the half and went into the break ahead 25-24.

Florida State is host to Lipscomb on Dec. 30 to finish nonconference play. Winthrop is home against Toccoa Falls next Friday.

“I believe this board has been left no choice but to challenge the legitimacy of the ACC grant of rights and its severe withdrawal penalties,” Florida State Board of Trustees chairman Peter Collins said during a trustees meeting to approve the legal action.

The lawsuit was filed soon after in Leon County Circuit Court, claiming the ACC has mismanaged its media rights and is imposing “draconian” exit fees.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Virginia President Jim Ryan, chairman of the conference’s board of directors, said Florida State’s actions are “in direct conflict with their longstanding obligations and is a clear violation of their legal commitments to the other members of the conference.”

“All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036,” their statement said. “Each university has benefited from this agreement, receiving millions of dollars in revenue and neither Florida State nor any other institution, has ever challenged its legitimacy.”

Florida State outside counsel David Ashburn said during the board meeting the ACC’s grant of rights violates antitrust law and has unenforceable withdrawal penalties. Ashburn said it would cost a school $572 million to withdraw from the conference. The lawsuit also accuses the ACC of breach of contract and violation of public policy.

Florida State is looking for a way out of the conference it has been a member of since 1992 because it believes the ACC is locked into an undervalued and unusually lengthy media rights deal with ESPN. School leaders also say the league refuses to change its revenue distribution model to match FSU’s value.

“It is a simple math problem,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said. “A very clear math problem.”

Florida State leaders have been pushing for unequal distribution of revenue for more than a year. The ACC has agreed to create a bonus system that would direct more revenue to schools that have postseason success in football and basketball, but that has not solved the frustration at Florida State.

“It’s time for us to try to do something about it,” Florida State President Richard McCullough said.

McCullough said the trustees’ approval of the legal challenge was not a direct reaction to Florida State recently being left out of the College Football Playoff, despite having an undefeated record.

“This is not a reaction, but something we’ve done a lot of due diligence on,” he said.

The board is expected to consider a possible exit strategy that could involve legal action against the ACC and contracts that bind the conference’s members for 12 more years, according to the person, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet published an agenda for the meeting.

Florida State leaders have made it known they are unhappy with the school’s current situation in the ACC, where revenue distribution lags way behind the payouts to schools in the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences. That gap is likely to grow substantially in the near future as new media rights deals kick in for the SEC and Big Ten while the ACC is locked into a deal with ESPN that still has more than a decade left.

“We are not satisfied with our current situation,” Florida State President Rick McCullough said during an August board meeting.

Earlier this month, Florida State won the ACC football title game but became the first Power Five conference champion to finish with an undefeated record and still be left out of the College Football Playoff.

The snub of the Seminoles (13-0) for a playoff spot that went to SEC champion Alabama reignited frustrations at Florida State with what many of their supporters view as conference that holds back their athletic program — and most notably the football team.

Any ACC school that wants to leave the conference would have to challenge the grant of rights to be able to get out before joining another league. The grant of rights, which runs through 2036, gives the ACC control over media rights for its member schools — including the broadcast of games in all sports.

In addition, any school that wants to leave the ACC would have to pay an exit fee of three times the league’s operating budget, or roughly $120 million.

The length of the ACC’s agreement and potential financial penalties have protected the conference from being poached by other leagues the way the Big 12 and Pac-12 have been in the most recent round of realignment.

But it has also caused consternation in the conference as its members see a future where SEC and Big Ten schools are receiving upwards of $75 million annually from their conferences and ACC schools are struggling to stay within $30 million of their competitors.

“It’d be tough to run any other kind of company like this,” FSU board chairman Peter Collins said in August.

Florida State is not the only ACC member concerned about the growing revenue gap, but it has been by far the most vocal.

The ACC has tried to address some of those concerns through a proposed new revenue distribution model that will reward schools for postseason success. The ACC also decided to expand, adding Stanford, California and SMU next year. All three schools agreed to join the conference at a reduced rate, with the extra money ESPN will pay for new members being directed into the bonus pool.

Florida State, along with Clemson and North Carolina, voted against expansion, but it was not enough to block the move approved by the other 12 members, including Notre Dame.

One of the Seminoles’ top defensive tackles, Fabien Lovett, also announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would enter the NFL Draft. Lovett didn’t clarify if he was opting out of the bowl game on Dec. 30 against Georgia.

Benson had a long rehab journey following major knee surgery at Oregon in 2020 but showed in his first few practices at Florida State what he was capable of achieving. He racked up 990 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 and followed it up with 905 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2023.

He was perhaps at his best in rivalry games: Benson had a combined 10 touchdowns in Florida State’s four games against Miami and Florida, including three TD runs in the November 2023 victory at The Swamp.

Lovett had 22 tackles and four tackles for loss this fall. He wrapped up a career in which he had 93 tackles and six sacks, most of them at Florida State after his transfer from Mississippi State following the 2019 season.

One of Florida State’s top receivers, Johnny Wilson, declared for the NFL draft last week and opted out of the bowl game. Wilson had back-to-back 40-catch seasons at Florida State and will participate in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

The office has launched an antitrust investigation, demanding answers as to why FSU was ousted from the top four teams in the CFP rankings, despite the Seminoles’ undefeated season and conference championship win over Louisville

Ashley Moody said FSU’s omission will cost the university and the Atlantic Coast Conference millions.

“As it stands, the committee’s decision reeks of partiality picking winners in the boardroom and not on the field, so we are demanding answers, not only for FSU, but for all schools, teams and fans of college football,” Moody said.

Moody also said, that in her opinion, the committee’s decision reeked of partiality.

The win snapped a string of three straight losses and gave the Bulls their 13th win in the 35-game history with Florida State.

Miguel, who came into the game as South Florida’s leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, hit 3 of 5 from distance and the Bulls hit 12 of 23 (52.2%) from long range, rolling to a 38-24 lead at the break by knocking down six 3-pointers despite not scoring over the final 2:40 of the half.

Jose Placer and Kasean Pryor each hit 3-pointers in the first three minutes to help stake the Bulls to an 8-0 lead, but the Seminoles rallied and cut the deficit to one, 12-11. Chris Youngblood and Placer each hit 3-pointers to put South Florida up 36-21 with just over three minutes left in the half.

Youngblood hit 3 of 5 from distance and finished with 18 points for South Florida (3-4), which had lost to Maine, Hofstra and UMass before facing the Seminoles. South Florida shot 26 of 61 (42.6%) from the field and converted 24 of 32 at the line.

Jamir Watkins scored 15 points to lead Florida State (4-4). Baba Miller had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Josh Nickelberry added 10 points off the bench.

The game marked the third time Florida State and South Florida faced each other in the Orange Bowl Classic, with the Seminoles winning both previous meetings.

Florida State plays host to SMU Saturday. South Florida plays host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday.

Florida State (22-0-1) became the first undefeated champion in over a decade, joining the 2011 Stanford squad that went 23-0. The Seminoles and Cardinal (20-1-4) made history as the first NCAA Division I women’s national championship game pitting two undefeated teams.

Stanford had a 36-match streak of allowing one or fewer goals snapped in its quest for a fourth championship. The Cardinal had allowed just 10 goals all season — with no multiple-score games.

Florida State had just one shot in the first 28 minutes but then scored two goals in the 29th.

Dudley scored her 14th goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 29th after being taken down in the box. Brown ran past the defense for a give-and-go and sent a shot that deflected off the crossbar and landed in the back of the net.

Stanford midfielder Maya Doms ended Florida State’s shutout streak in the 52nd minute. The Seminoles had outscored their six NCAA Tournament opponents 18-0.

But Florida State regained a two-goal advantage six minutes later on a breakaway goal by Beata Olsson. Brown scored her second goal in the 61st on a nice pass from Olsson, and Onyi Echegini knocked in a loose ball in the 84th for her 16th goal of the season.

Florida State, the top scoring offence in the country, has scored a goal in 34 straight games. Stanford entered allowing just 0.42 goals per game this season.

Stanford hadn’t allowed five or more goals in a game since 1996.

SERIES HISTORY

In 2018: A national semifinal matchup saw Florida State win 2-0 to snap Stanford’s 45-match unbeaten streak. The Seminoles went on to claim their second national title. … 2017: Stanford beat Florida State 1-0 in a third-round matchup en route to its second national title. … 2011: Stanford’s historic undefeated season, that ended in its first national title, included a 3-0 victory over Florida State in the semifinals. … 2010: Stanford routed the Seminoles 5-0 in the quarterfinals before the Cardinal dropped the championship to Notre Dame.

A trip to the Orange Bowl is what two very angry teams will get instead.

No. 4 Florida State (13-0 ACC, No. 5 CFP) will play No. 6 Georgia (12-1 SEC, No. 6 CFP) on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl after both programs felt like they deserved a chance to play for the national title. The CFP committee decided that the Seminoles were doomed by quarterback Jordan Travis’ broken leg, and dropped Georgia five spots after its loss to Alabama in the SEC title game.

“I’m hurting for our players who have displayed a tremendous amount of resilience and response this season,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Sunday. “What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”

There were six teams that had realistic arguments to make the four-team CFP field: Michigan, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Florida State and Georgia. The first four of those teams made the playoff, and the Seminoles’ fate — undefeated, ACC champions, and snubbed anyway — even had other schools who made the playoff shaking their head.

“You go undefeated and miss it by one spot, makes me feel sympathy for those guys,” Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford said. “Just like us, they put in the same amount of work in the offseason. They fought just as hard throughout the season. They’re still players. They’ve still got a program. It’s just a tough situation to be in.”

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer — the CFP’s No. 2 seed — was asked if he could imagine going 13-0 and not making the field.

“In all honesty, no,” DeBoer said.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart lobbied unsuccessfully for his team following the SEC title game loss to Alabama. The Bulldogs had been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 all season until Sunday and were either No. 2 or No. 1 in every CFP ranking released before Sunday.

Georgia and Ohio State were the only two teams ranked No. 1 during the regular season by the CFP committee. Neither wound up in the playoff. Since this format was introduced in 2014, there had never been a season where every team ranked No. 1 in the regular season failed to get picked for the playoff field; the only others to go from No. 1 at any point to completely out at the end were Tennessee (one week in 2022) and Mississippi State (three weeks in 2014).

“You’re going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room and doesn’t think that that Georgia team is not one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession,” Smart said after the SEC title game.

Evidently, the committee didn’t see it Smart’s way. He was upset for his team — and felt for Florida State as well.

“I empathize with anybody that goes undefeated and doesn’t get in,” Smart said. “I empathize with our players because I personally feel like we deserve to be in. We’ve got a really good football team, we’re considered No. 1 in the country all year and then fell. We’ve got a whole hornet’s nest around here of some players that are disappointed too.”

Georgia and Florida State had one big difference. Georgia lost a game. The Seminoles only lost a quarterback.

Travis’ college-career-ending broken leg in what should have been a largely meaningless game against North Alabama last month might decide the national championship. At minimum, it helped decide who plays for it.

“Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis,” CFP selection committee char Boo Corrigan said. “One of the things we do consider is player availability, and our job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at 4 and Florida State at 5.”

The Seminoles beat rival Florida without Travis, then topped Louisville 16-6 for the ACC title on Saturday.

“I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback,” Travis wrote on social media Sunday. “I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry.”

With the teams a combined 25-1, and likely feeling like there’s something to prove, there will clearly be some intrigue for this game.

“Of all the games that are out there in this bowl season, there’s not one that will be more exciting or probably more anticipated than having these two teams,” Norvell said.

The Seminoles moved to 13-0, but even that doesn’t guarantee a spot in the four-team playoff after Alabama knocked off No. 1 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference championship and Texas, which beat Alabama this season, won the Big 12 title.

No Power Five team has ever gone unbeaten, won its conference title and failed to make the playoff.

Seminoles fans held up signs reading “Win and we’re in!” But Florida State’s offensive performance created some doubt about whether it’s one of the four best teams in the country.

Lawrance Toafili ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Seminoles, who stuck to a conservative game plan with third-string quarterback Brock Glenn behind center. Glenn finished 8 of 21 for 55 yards.

Starting QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Travis is out for the season with a leg injury. Tate Rodemaker, Travis’ backup, was sidelined with a concussion.

The difference for the Seminoles was their defense, which had a season-high seven sacks and a critical interception that kept Louisville out of the end zone.

Trailing 10-6 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals (10-3) had a chance to take the lead after they tackled Seminoles punter Alex Mastromanno before he could get the kick away.

Louisville took over at the Seminoles 11, but three plays later, Tatum Bethune picked off Jack Plummer’s pass in the end zone.

After a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald put Florida State ahead 13-6 with 3:11 left, the Cardinals had one more shot.

But Braden Fiske sacked Plummer on a fourth down, giving the Seminoles the ball at the Louisville 20 with 2:35 remaining. Fitzgerald made it a two-possession game with his third field goal of the game from 40 yards.

Plummer finished 14 of 36 for 111 yards.

The game was tied 3-3 in the third quarter when the Seminoles finally took the ball out of Glenn’s hands, going to the wildcat formation with Toafili in the backfield. Toafili received the direct snap from center and raced around right end for a 73-yard gain and then scored from 2 yards out on the next play, from the same formation.

Toafili was named MVP of the game.

GAMESMANSHIP AT PLAY

Rodemaker went through pregame warmups for the Seminoles and even put on his game jersey, making it look as though he might play. But just before kickoff, he removed his pads, signaling that Glenn would be FSU’s QB.

Armando Bacot added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (7-1, 1-0), who trailed by 14 early after the break after managing just one field goal over nearly 11 minutes of game action. But on a day when the Tar Heels struggled to make outside shots, UNC found its jolt with fullcourt pressure that took the Seminoles out of sync and forced turnovers while providing some needed zip.

That drove up the pace of play, and finally the Tar Heels started giving their home crowd a reason to roar.

Seth Trimble’s transition layup finally tied it at 56-all, then freshman Elliot Cadeau followed with the go-ahead layup at the 7:24 mark. UNC stayed on the attack, getting two and-1 scores among five made free throws. And then there were the baskets coming off FSU miscues, notably when FSU’s Jamir Watkins tried to inbound the ball to Darin Green Jr. — only to see Green stumble in the paint and leave Davis alone to grab it and score a layup.

By the time the run was over, FSU had missed nine straight shots and gone scoreless for nearly six minutes as UNC had pushed ahead to its own double-digit lead.

Watkins scored 17 points to lead FSU (4-3, 0-1), which made 12 of 28 3-pointers and rode that outside shooting to a 35-29 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

FSU: The Seminoles had some momentum after an overtime win against then-ranked Colorado for the Sunshine Slam title on Nov. 21, but they followed by blowing a 17-point lead in the final 7:53 to lose at home to Georgia on a late jumper Wednesday. They looked poised to bounce back with an 18-2 run that included three 3s from Green to take a 45-31 lead before UNC made its run.

UNC: The Tar Heels were coming off a win against No. 10 Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday, which included scoring 61 first-half points and 100 overall against one of the nation’s top defenses. The offense didn’t come as easily this time, but the Tar Heels found a way to up their energy and intensity to climb back in it.

UP NEXT

FSU: The Seminoles host South Florida next Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels face fifth-ranked and reigning NCAA champion Connecticut in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Trey Benson ran for three touchdowns, including a 26-yarder on third down with less than three minutes to play, and No. 5 Florida State beat rival Florida 24-15 on Saturday night to extend its winning streak to 18.

Benson finished with 95 yards on 19 carries — he also got to break the rock in the postgame locker room — and took pressure off new quarterback Tate Rodemaker as the Seminoles (12-0) moved a victory from a potential spot in the College Football Playoff.

“It was an impressive rally for our team,” said coach Mike Norvell, whose team outscored Florida 24-3 after falling behind early.

It was a less-than-ideal finale for Florida (5-7), which lost its fifth consecutive game and will miss out on a bowl for the first time since 2017. Coach Billy Napier’s team had two players ejected, suffered more gaffes on special teams and failed to hold a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth consecutive week.

“We’ve got to learn to finish games,” Napier said.

The ‘Noles trailed 12-0 in the second quarter but were dominant in the second half, holding Florida to 48 yards in the final 30 minutes and minus-15 yards in the fourth quarter. FSU finished with six sacks, including 2 1/2 by standout Jared Verse.

With star quarterback Jordan Travis watching from the visiting athletic director’s suite with his left leg in a walking boot, Rodemaker came up huge when it mattered most. He completed a dart to Ja’Khi Douglas on a fourth-and-3 play from the Florida 34 in the fourth. It set up a short field goal that put the Seminoles ahead for good.

“Everybody hit another physical and mental gear for (Travis),” Verse said. “I looked him in the eye and said, ‘We did that for you.’”

Rodemaker was knocked out of the game for a few snaps on the ensuing possession, but he returned in time to hand off to Benson for the game-sealing score. Kalen DeLoach squashed any thoughts of a late-game miracle when he intercepted Max Brown’s pass on the next drive.

Rodemaker did little to make anyone forget about Travis, a Heisman Trophy candidate whose season ended with a gruesome injury last week against North Alabama. But he did enough to help Florida State beat its in-state rival for the seventh time in the last 10 meetings.

Rodemaker completed 12 of 25 passes for 134 yards.

Brown was less effective, finishing 9-of-16 passing for 86 yards in place of injured starter Graham Mertz (broken collarbone). Montrell Johnson led the Gators with 107 yards rushing.

“There’s no denying that we have work to do,” Napier said. “But what gives me confidence is what I see from the players, the growth I see, their words, their actions, the way they work, the selflessness, the sacrifice. They’re invested.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

With No. 3 Michigan beating second-ranked Ohio State, the Seminoles should move up a spot in the next AP College Football Poll.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida State: The Seminoles returned nearly every starter from last year’s team with their sights set on making the CFP. Now they’re one win away despite losing Travis for the season.

Florida: Napier fell to 11-14 after two seasons, including 1-5 in rivalry games, and took a step back in Year 2. The Gators missed a bowl game, a losing season that could, at the very least, shorten the amount of time Napier gets to continue his rebuild.

FORTUNATE FLORIDA

The Gators scored their first 10 points to two fortunate penalties. Florida State safety Akeem Dent sacked Brown for a 10-yard loss on third down, but an official flagged Dent for a personal foul – a questionable call considering Dent seemed to hit Brown with good form. Instead of having to settle for a short field-goal attempt, Montrell Johnson scored two plays later.

Florida State later executed a fake punt in the second quarter — the latest special teams woe for the Gators this season — but the Seminoles were penalized for delay of game.

GATORS EJECTED

Cornerback Jaydon Hill was ejected after the targeting call on Rodemaker. Florida freshman defensive lineman Jamari Lyons was ejected in the second quarter for spitting at Florida State guard Kelondre Jones.

TEBOW HONORED

Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, received one of the loudest ovations of the night while being honored at the end of the first quarter. Tebow is part of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted during a Dec. 5 ceremony in Las Vegas. He also spoke to the Gators in the locker room before the game.

UP NEXT

Florida State plays No. 9 Louisville next Saturday in the ACC title game in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Florida tries to keep its top-five recruiting class intact before next month’s signing day.

Travis’ left leg was placed in an air cast and he was carted off the field late in the first quarter following a run up the middle of the 58-13 win over North Alabama. He posted updates on Sunday from his Instagram account, including some showing Seminoles teammates around him in the hospital room.

In a statement released Monday by the program, Travis says while the injury “marks the end of my Seminole playing career, the great memories created here at FSU will never fade. … The journey this team set out on is not over yet as all of our goals still lie just ahead.”

The No. 5 Seminoles (11-0, No. 4 CFP) will face Florida (5-6) on Saturday. FSU will turn to Tate Rodemaker at quarterback, with freshman Brock Glenn as the likely backup.

Specific details about Travis’ injury or possible surgery have not been announced by Travis or Florida State. Coach Mike Norvell will hold his weekly press conference later Monday.

Travis finished his FSU career with 8,715 passing yards — second in program history — with 66 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He is the program’s all-time leader in offensive yards (10,676) and is among the top five on FSU’s all-time stats in most major categories, from completions to touchdown passes and wins by a quarterback.

Pullin was forced to sit out the first three games of the Gators’ season for taking part in exposure games during a spring workout for the NBA draft evaluation process. In his debut Friday, Pullin also grabbed five rebounds, distributed four assists and committed just one turnover. The 6-foot-4 point guard transferred from UC Riverside.

Tyrese Samuel scored 15 points, Riley Kugel 10 and Thomas Haugh grabbed 10 rebounds for Florida.

Cam Corhen scored 18 points for Florida State and Jamir Watkins 15.

Clayton made a 3-pointer nine minutes in and that gave Florida (3-1) its first 20-plus point lead of the night at 27-5. The Seminoles (2-1) didn’t reach double digits in scoring until Darin Green Jr.’s layup made it 36-11 with 8:18 before halftime.

Florida led 52-22 at halftime, shooting 64.3% (18 for 28) including 6 for 12 from 3-point range. The only shooting blemish occurred at the foul line where they went 10 of 17 (58.8%) at the stripe. Overall, Florida finished 30-for-58 (51.7%) shooting.

The Seminoles shot 8 for 30 (26.7%), including 1 for 9 (11.1%) from 3 and 5 for 11 (45.5%) from the foul line in the first half. Florida State finished 24-for-65 shooting overall.

Florida now leads the all-time series 46-29, including wins in each of the last two seasons after FSU reeled off a run of seven straight victories that marked the longest victory streak by either program in a series that dates to 1951.

The Seminoles (10-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), like they have several times this season, rallied in the second half to win their 16th consecutive game. This one wrapped up the program’s 10th perfect mark in ACC play.

Miami (6-4, 2-4) controlled both lines of scrimmage and played turnover-free football for most of the game. It still wasn’t enough to overcome FSU, which has won three in a row in the series and 10 of the last 14.

Adding to Miami’s woes, freshman quarterback Emory Williams suffered a significant injury to his left arm in the waning minutes while running for a first down. Williams started in place of struggling junior Tyler Van Dyke.

Van Dyke came off the bench with the Hurricanes trailing by a touchdown but threw an interception on a fourth-and-10 play with 40 seconds remaining.

Heisman Trophy hopeful Jordan Travis threw for 265 yards and his 20th TD pass of the season, a 6-yard fade to Coleman that gave the ’Noles a little breathing room in the final quarter. Three plays earlier, Travis delivered a dizzying 7-yard run in which he broke several tackles and prompted a “Jor-dan Tra-vis” chant across a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium.

Coleman, returning after sitting out last week’s game at Pitt, set up the score with a 57-yard punt return. The big special teams play — always a part of this rivalry — looked like it might be the turning point.

But Miami answered when Williams found Jacolby George down the sideline for an 85-yard score. George finished with five catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns, beating Fentrell Cypress on both scores.

Williams completed 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards. He got the nod over Van Dyke, who has now thrown 11 interceptions since the start of October. It’s by far the most in major college football. Williams started in place of an injured Van Dyke three weeks ago against Clemson and led the Hurricanes to a 28-20 victory.

He looked like he might do it again when Miami pulled ahead 13-10 in the third behind a steady ground game led by Donald Chaney. It was the fourth time this season Florida State trailed in the second half. Coach Mike Norvell’s team responded much like it did against LSU, Clemson and Duke.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Seminoles, who are fourth in the CFP rankings, are expected to stay at No. 4 in the next AP college football Top 25 poll.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Hurricanes probably would have stuck with Williams for the rest of the season. The 6-foot-5 freshman from Milton wasn’t great but he showed promise. Now, though, it looks as if they will have to turn back to Van Dyke.

Florida State: The Seminoles already have locked up a spot in the ACC title game but have another in-state rivalry game in two weeks at Florida. They will want to play better on both lines to avoid more late-game restlessness.

UP NEXT

Miami hosts No. 11 Louisville next Saturday.

Florida State hosts lower-division North Alabama next Saturday.

Reserve Camron Fletcher scored 11 points and Cam Corhen scored 10 points for Florida State which never trailed.

Simeon Cottle scored 18 points, Terrell Burden and reserve RJ Johnson each scored 13 and Demond Robinson scored 10 and collected 13 rebounds for the Owls.

Johnson’s jump shot with 4:26 left before halftime brought the Owls within 34-25 and it marked the last time Kennesaw State would get within single digits.

Florida State countered with Green making his second 3-pointer of the half and Tom House connecting on consecutive 3s and the ‘Noles pushed the lead to 43-25. Florida State went to halftime up 49-34. The Seminoles emerged from halftime and outscored Kennesaw State (1-1) 14-4 within the first six minutes for a 63-38 lead and cruised from there.

The Seminoles enter the season seeking a drastic improvement over last year in which Florida State posted a program-record 23 losses.

Kennesaw State hopes to duplicate last year’s magic when the Owls lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Xavier. They were tied with the Musketeers with 18 seconds left before losing 72-67.

UP NEXT

Florida State hosts Central Michigan on Monday.

The Seminoles (9-0, 7-0) are heading to Charlotte on the first Saturday in December for the first time in nine years, overcoming a shaky first half to pull away over the final two quarters.

Travis hit tight end Markeston Douglas for a 22-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to give Florida State a 10-point lead. Trey Benson sprinted 55 yards up the middle on the Seminoles’ next possession to put the Panthers (2-7, 1-4) away.

Florida State, fourth in the initial College Football Playoff ranking, won its 15th straight game.

It did not come easy on a day the Seminoles played without leading receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. Wilson was ruled out well before the game due to injury, while Coleman did not take the field for warm-ups.

Travis relied heavily on screens and dump-offs before finally getting going after halftime. The senior completed 22 of 36 for 360 yards and also ran for a 1-yard score in the second quarter to go with his touchdown strike to Douglas, giving him multiple touchdowns in a school-record 16 straight games,

Ja’Khi Douglas caught six passes for 115 yards. Benson added 97 yards rushing for the Seminoles, who appear to be all the way back to national prominence in coach Mike Norvell’s fourth season after the program slipped into mediocrity in the late 2010s.

Christian Veilleux threw for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Pitt, which played well a week after getting shredded by Notre Dame but was undone by penalties and mistakes. The Panthers were flagged 11 times for 91 yards, including a pair of calls that took away scoring opportunities, and turned it over three times.

The most costly miscue came in the third quarter with Florida State leading 10-7. Pitt was in makeable field-goal range for Ben Sauls when tight end Gavin Bartholomew was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty well after the whistle on a third-down play.

Instead of having a chance to tie, the Panthers punted. Travis then took the Seminoles 80 yards in 11 plays, the last a dart over the middle to Douglas that gave Florida State some breathing room.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida State: The Seminoles have come a long way in Norvell’s four seasons. Florida State was drilled by the Panthers in Tallahassee in 2020 during his first year. Three years the tables have flipped completely.

Pitt: The Panthers played with the kind of effort that seems to indicate coach Pat Narduzzi’s suggestion after the loss to the Irish that Pitt didn’t bring in enough talented players during the offseason — a suggestion he later apologized for — has been forgiven. Still, Pitt will miss a bowl game for just the second time in Narduzzi’s nine-year tenure.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Seminoles didn’t really make a compelling argument that they deserve to crack the top three while struggling to put away a 21-point underdog. If anything, Florida State’s performance might cost them a spot or two.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Welcomes archrival Miami to Doak Campbell Stadium next Saturday.

Pitt: Travels to New York City to meet Syracuse at Yankee Stadium next Saturday.

Keon Coleman needed only one arm to snag one of his two touchdown catches while Trey Benson took a short pass and broke loose for an 80-yard score that helped FSU overpower Wake Forest 41-16, keeping the unbeaten Seminoles in firm control of the Atlantic Coast Conference race.

Jordan Travis threw for 359 yards and three scores to go with a rushing TD for FSU (8-0, 6-0 ACC), which ran off 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 34-7 halftime lead. That included a defensive performance that held Wake Forest (4-4, 1-4) to just 75 first-half yards and 210 for the game.

“I love the response,” Norvell said after FSU made its second-quarter move to blow open a tight game. “To be able to come and finish the second quarter the way we did, I mean, that was a heck of a response.”

Coleman, a transfer receiver from Michigan State, was the standout with his game-breaking ability in his third multi-TD game of the season. The highlight came late in the second quarter with Coleman locked up with Demon Deacons defensive back and Caelen Carson, himself an NFL prospect, in the end zone as Travis lofted a throw his way.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Coleman jostled with Carson with his left arm, then extended his right to snag the ball and pull it towards his right shoulder while remaining on his feet for the 14-yard score.

Carson could only turn and immediately walk away as FSU pushed its lead to 31-7 with 1:16 left before the break.

“I mean, they left me 1-on-1,” Coleman said with a shrug. “I don’t really know what else to tell you.”

His quarterback sure did, though.

“Every time we get a 1-on-1,” Travis said, “I want to give him a chance.”

Coleman’s first score came when he took a pass on the left side from Travis, shrugged off a tackler then sprinted loose for a 29-yard score that started FSU’s second-quarter flurry. Benson — who also ran for a fourth-quarter TD with the outcome assured — followed later in the quarter, taking the screen then cutting inside Wake Forest’s pursuing defense to break into the open field and outrun a trailing Chelen Garnes to the end zone.

Wake Forest had only one truly explosive play in the first half when the game was still undecided, with Justice Ellison cutting through the left side for a 51-yard run to end the opening quarter. The Demon Deacons capped that drive with Ke’Shawn Williams’ 2-yard run around the left end early in the second to pull within 10-7, but FSU answered with Coleman’s first TD on its way to another league win.

“It’s the most complete football team that we’ve played all season,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “They made explosive plays, they were very stout on defense, they’re really good in the kicking game. That’s kind of where they are right now, and this is where we are right now.”

THE TAKEAWAY

FSU: The Seminoles were down multiple receivers, including No. 2 wideout Johnny Wilson, but kept rolling right along with a 14th straight win. It also marked FSU’s 14th straight game with 30+ points, the longest active streak in the nation and second in ACC history behind its own run of 17 games from 2012-14.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons had won three straight meetings but never seriously threatened to add a stunner to the list. In fact, Ellison’s long early run came after the Demon Deacons had managed just 20 total yards to that point. Wake Forest added a short third-quarter touchdown run by Tate Carney but it got little through the air with quarterback Mitch Griffis (82 yards, 6 for 16).

POLL IMPLICATIONS

FSU has been a locked-in top-5 team since early September. That won’t change for Sunday’s next AP Top 25 poll.

VERSE’S DAY

Florida State standout defensive end Jared Verse had a memorable day, with two sacks and a brief injury.

He said he got hit with a hand inside his facemask before dropping to one knee and motioning for assistance with 3:47 left in the first half. A trainer examined an area under his left eye and then walked with him to the locker room carrying his helmet. Verse returned soon and had a stitched-up cut when he spoke to reporters.

“It just started leaking,” Verse said with a chuckle. “My contact (lens) came out, it was confusing. I didn’t know what happened.”

UP NEXT

FSU: The Seminoles visit Pittsburgh next Saturday.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons have a short week, traveling to No. 20 Duke on Thursday night.

This one left the Seminoles as the lone remaining unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Jordan Travis accounted for three touchdowns, including a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter that gave Florida State its first lead, and the Seminoles rallied from 10 points down to beat No. 16 Duke 38-20 on Saturday night.

Florida State (7-0, 5-0) extended its winning streak to 13 and now sits alone atop the league standings after No. 10 North Carolina lost to Virginia.

Travis had everything to do with the latest victory — the 22nd in as many tries against Duke. The sixth-year senior completed 27 of 36 passes for 268 yards and two scores against the ACC’s stingiest defense. He also led the team with 62 yards rushing, including 40 on the go-ahead, 96-yard drive.

“He was unbelievable,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “To see him take over in that game, it was special. It was a really cool moment there in the second half.”

Travis followed with a 21-yard TD pass to Lawrance Toafili that extended Florida State’s scoring streak of at least 30 points to 13.

“I had a lot of fun today,” Travis said. “Coach Norvell and I had a meeting last Sunday about having fun again because sometimes I am maybe pressing, have pressure and I’m trying to do too much. So I’m just trying to get back to myself, enjoy the game of football, enjoy my teammates.”

Duke (5-2, 2-1) could pin its collapse on losing standout quarterback Riley Leonard to a right ankle injury. Leonard, returning after missing a game because of injury, was knocked out of the game with a little less than seven minutes to go in the third quarter.

He worked on the sideline to show team trainers he could play, but coach Mike Elko declined to put him back in the game. The Blue Devils managed just 35 yards after Leonard left the game and backup quarterback Henry Belin replaced him.

“He was begging me on the sideline to come back in,” Elko said. “I didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health-wise to move back, so we didn’t do it.”

Leonard completed 7 of 16 passes for 69 yards, with an interception. Jaquez Moore led the Blue Devils with 110 yards rushing and a TD. Belin completed just one pass in relief.

“Starting that fourth quarter, it was just a lack of execution,” Duke left tackle Graham Barton said. “A lot of our mistakes were self-inflicted.”

Elko had a chance to go up 23-17 in the third with Leonard on the sideline, but he opted to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the 4. Belin’s pass in the end zone sailed wide, and Florida State took over and drove the length of the field.

“We didn’t feel like going up six was going to really help us,” Elko said. “Their offense is too explosive. We were down there and playing that as a four-down situation.”

Duke dominated early much of the opening quarter and built its largest lead ever against Florida State, at 10-0. The Blue Devils stuffed two fourth-and-1 plays to end the Seminoles’ opening two drives. They scored off both, getting a 42-yard touchdown run from Moore and then a 45-yard field goal.

The Blue Devils nearly kept it rolling when Travis fumbled on the ensuing possession. But the ’Noles recovered, and Travis later found Caziah Holmes for a touchdown — extending his streak of games with at least one TD pass to 19.

The game got even wackier from there.

Duke’s Chandler Rivers returned an interception for a touchdown and then Deuce Spann returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score to breathe life into Doak Campbell Stadium.

Still, Florida State trailed 20-17 at halftime. It was the third time this season that the ’Noles were down at intermission. Just like the other two, it didn’t last. Just like the other two, Travis had a lot to do with the comeback.

“Our guys showed up and made critical plays throughout the second half,” Norvell said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Duke: A sign in the Florida State student section read “Stick To Basketball. #Dukeisafluke.” It was prominently displayed before the game and mysteriously disappeared in the first quarter as the Blue Devils proved they belonged.

Florida State: The Seminoles have been up and down in games all season, so no one should have been surprised to see them have to rally again. They trailed LSU and Clemson at halftime and nearly squandered a big lead at Boston College.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State should maintain its No. 4 ranking in the next AP college football poll.

UP NEXT

Duke: At No. 21 Louisville on Saturday.

Florida State: At Wake Forest on Saturday.

Travis completed 23 of 37 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown, shaking off an apparent injury to his non-throwing (left) hand in the second quarter.

Lawrance Toafili had a 50-yard touchdown and finished with seven carries for 93 yards. Trey Benson added 14 carries for 74 yards as Florida State (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) surpassed the 30-point mark for a 12th straight game.

Syracuse’s Garrett Shrader completed 9 of 21 passes for 99 yards but was ineffective on the ground and netted minus-10 yards when factoring in sacks on seven carries.

LeQuint Allen had 19 carries for 110 yards for Syracuse (4-3, 0-3 ACC).

THE TAKEAWAY

Syracuse: The Orange couldn’t get much of anything going on offense, punting nine times, fumbling once and tossing an interception in the game’s final seconds. Their average starting field position was their own 22.

Florida State: The Seminoles didn’t allow a touchdown in a game for the first time this season. Florida State has allowed just one offensive touchdown in the last three games.

UP NEXT

Syracuse: Visits Virginia Tech on Oct. 26.

Florida State: Hosts No. 17 Duke on Saturday.

The junior ran for 200 yards, with touchdown runs of 85 and 62 yards, and No. 5 Florida State pulled away in the second half to beat Virginia Tech 39-17.

Florida State (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is perfect through five games for the first time since 2015. The Seminoles opened 5-0 or better from 2012-15.

Benson ran 11 times, averaging 18.2 yards per carry, after accumulating a combined 189 yards in the first four games of the season.

“First couple games have been tough,” Benson said. “We’ve just been hearing that the running game hasn’t been working good. This game, we really emphasized the run. In the running back room, we said, ‘We got to get it going today. We’re not taking no for an answer.’”

Benson didn’t take no for an answer, giving the Seminoles their first back with a 200-yard game since Dalvin Cook did it twice in 2016 (against South Florida and Syracuse). The Seminoles ran for 282 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

While the offense had its struggles at times, there was balance overall. Jordan Travis completed 18 of 24 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, both to Johnny Wilson. The junior receiver caught his first two touchdown passes of 2023, although he left the game with an undisclosed injury after being sandwiched between two defenders after a reception.

Kyron Drones was 14 of 27 for 104 yards and ran 14 times for 80 yards for Virginia Tech (2-4, 1-1). Drones connected with Jaylin Lane six times for 51 yards.

Bhayshul Tuten had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half, cutting the deficit to 22-17 before the Seminoles scored the final 17 points.

“We talk all the time about our response,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “We talk about finishing strong. Obviously, the opening kickoff to the second half did not go the way we wanted but you saw a tremendous response from our football team. Two plays later, a big (touchdown) run by Trey.”

Virginia Tech battled back but couldn’t dig itself out of a 22-point deficit after the first quarter.

“It didn’t feel like us. It didn’t look like us. And then we responded against a top-5 team. For large chunks of the game, played toe to toe with those guys. Which is encouraging. We got to be better, I got to be better in starting the game and making these guys understand that we can play with them and not have to figure it out after going down 22-0.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State will likely move up a spot after No. 3 Texas’ loss to No. 12 Oklahoma.

SCORING PUNCH

Florida State has scored 30 or more points in all five games this season as well as the last six games of 2022. The 11-game streak is the second-longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

TARGETING

Virginia Tech lost Jalen Stroman to a targeting call in the third quarter. The starting safety still led the Hokies with 10 tackles, but he will miss the first half of next week’s game.

TAKEAWAYS

Virginia Tech: The Hokies were able to threaten Florida State in the third quarter, but Virginia Tech punted three times, turned it over on downs and fumbled on five second-half possessions.

Florida State: The Seminoles surpassed the 30-point mark for an 11th straight game and the defense played well in pressure moments.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: Hosts Wake Forest on Saturday.

Florida State: Hosts Syracuse on Saturday.

Athletic director Michael Alford on Tuesday announced the addition of the varsity sport and said it’s projected to begin competition in spring 2026.

“Lacrosse is the fastest-growing college sport nationally and it is evident that our culture and community will enthusiastically embrace it,” Alford said. “Lacrosse provides another opportunity to compete at a championship level.”

FSU, which will compete in the formidable Atlantic Coast Conference, becomes one of 118 Division 1 NCAA women’s lacrosse programs spanning 16 leagues. The ACC has produced 17 NCAA women’s lacrosse national champions and has placed a team in the national title game in 13 of the last 14 seasons.

Alford will begin searching for a coach in the coming weeks.

The move comes more than a year after USA Today reported that FSU double- and triple-counted scholarship female athletes in track and field to apparently improve gender-equity numbers.

The report said the Seminoles claimed to have offered 175 track and field and cross country “opportunities” to women. The accounting method erased half of the school’s overall gender participation gap that year.

Prominent Title IX lawyer Arthur Bryant reportedly threatened Florida State with legal action last year while in consultation with the school’s club women’s lacrosse team.

That’s over now after Travis threw a picture-perfect touchdown pass in overtime to lift the Seminoles to a long-sought victory over the rival Tigers.

Keon Coleman caught the 24-yard TD pass from Travis in overtime and the Seminoles followed up with a defensive stand to snap a seven-game losing streak to Clemson with a 31-24 win that touched off a Death Valley celebration a decade in the making.

“I had tears coming down in the locker room,” said Travis, the sixth-year quarterback.

Florida State had has ceded its position as the ACC’s power program to Clemson. Clemson had won seven of the past eight league crowns and national titles in 2016 and 2018.

Now, it looks like the Seminoles are ready to jump back into the top spot.

“We come here with that atmosphere and had adversity over the course of the game, all things you expect,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “The end of this game, it was really special. The things I was most proud of, I told our players, was they put their heart on display.”

Travis also threw for another TD and ran for a score for the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who had not beaten Clemson (2-2, 0-2) since an overtime victory in 2014. He’s now accounted for 82 touchdowns in his career to move past Chris Weinke as No. 1 in program history.

FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach forced a fumble by Cade Klubnik and scooped it up for a 56-yard TD return to tie things at 24-all with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

“I saw it,” DeLoach said. “And I did what I could do.”

Florida State trailed by as much as 10 twice in the first half.

Clemson had a chance to take a late lead with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, but Jonathan Weitz, a graduate student who left the team before the season only to return this week after the Tigers had issues in the kicking game, missed a 29-yard try wide left.

“When I hit it, I thought I hit it good,” Weitz said. “When I looked up, it’s dying left.”

Given another chance, Travis and the Seminoles would not fold. Travis lofted a high-arcing pass that Coleman caught in stride and hushed the raucous Death Valley crowd on the first extra possession.

Clemson couldn’t get a first down on its possession when Klubnik’s fourth-and-2 pass sailed wide of the target and Florida State’s players sprinted to celebrate on the field where the program hadn’t won since 2013.

Clemson had only lost twice in 10 years at Death Valley since the Seminoles and quarterback Jameis Winston’s memorable, 51-14 beatdown of the Tigers in 2013.

Klubnik passed for 283 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score. But he had a fumble for the third time in four games, this one proving costly.

“We played our butt off,” Klubnik said. “We’ve just got to learn how to finish.”

The Tigers started No. 9 in the preseason rankings, slid down and eventually out of the poll after a 28-7 loss in Week 1 to unranked Duke. Three weeks of hearing their season was over obviously rankled the defending ACC champions and they had their most effective offensive showing this season.

But they bogged down late and after having a third-and-1 in overtime, couldn’t get a yard to keep the game going.

Weitz had been Clemson’s back-up kicker for four seasons, before calling it quits this year. He got a call from coach Dabo Swinney at his home in Charleston last Sunday, asking hime to rejoin the team, and returned Monday. Weitz had been working on a graduate degree online.

He got the Tigers’ scoring started with a 30-yard field goal. He had made just three extra points in his four seasons with the team before pursuing a job in finance.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida State: The Seminoles overcame perhaps their biggest ACC hurdle to supplant Clemson as the league heavyweight. If Florida State can continue to show the grit it displayed in raucous Death Valley, it will be a strong bet to be playing for its first ACC conference crown since 2014.

Clemson: The Tigers needed a win here to get themselves back in the ACC and College Football Playoff chase. Instead, they’ve got two losses in September for the second time in three seasons and will need conference chaos for any chance to play for a league title.

NO RESPECT

Travis said Clemson’s choice of one-on-on coverage against Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman got him angry. The two receivers combined for 10 catches and 180 yards with Coleman catching two TDs.

“I feel like we were disrespected all day. When you put one-on-one against Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman, I feel like you have no respect for either the receivers or the quarterback.”

UP NEXT

Florida State has a week off, then starts a three-game homestand with Virginia Tech on Oct. 7.

Clemson travels to Syracuse on Saturday.

Boston College set a school record for penalties, missed an extra point, went for 2 after another touchdown and failed, and opted not to kick a field goal from the Seminoles 5 when trailing by 15 points early in the fourth quarter. But the Eagles still trailed by only 2 points with the ball in the final three minutes before Kalen DeLoach sacked Thomas Castellanos on third down to stall BC’s last possession.

The Eagles would have gotten the ball back with about a minute left after stopping Florida State on third down, but they were called for face masking on the tackle — their 18th penalty of the game.

Jordan Travis completed 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 38 yards for the Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). FSU won its ninth straight but had its first close call of the season after winning its first two games by a combined 74 points, and it left the field to derisive chants from the BC fans of “Overrated!”

Thomas Castellanos threw for 305 yards and one touchdown and ran for 95 and another score for BC (1-2, 0-1), and Khari Johnson recovered a fumble and ran it in to pull the Eagles within nine points with about 11 minutes remaining. BC went for 2 and failed, then failed to convert a fourth down at the Seminoles 5, leaving it a two-score game.

After the Eagles stopped FSU for the third straight time — they did it only once in the entire first half — they drove to the 7 before Castellanos froze the defense with a stutter step and ran it in on a fourth-and-2 to make it 31-29.

But BC’s last possession stalled after Castellanos was sacked. The Seminoles needed a first down to kill the clock, and they got it on a face masking penalty after Lawrance Toafili was stopped three yards short of the markers.

Playing in a strong wind that gusted up to 35 mph — but no other remnants of the former Hurricane Lee that had anxious New Englanders preparing for the worst — the Seminoles fell behind 10-3. They made it 24-10 on Travis’ pass to Preston Daniel, and then on BC’s first play, Lundy picked off Castellanos at the BC 40.

Travis found Jaheim Bell on the next play at the 21, and he spun his way through the tacklers before he was barely brought down before the goal line. Lundy, a 244-pound linebacker who comes in at fullback in goal-line situations, powered in to give Florida State a 31-10 lead.

Boston College mounted a 12-play drive that ended on Kye Robichaux’s 1-yard TD run — but missed the extra point — to make it a 15-point deficit. The Eagles got the ball back when they recovered a squib kick at the FSU 26, failed to convert a fourth-and-2, and then scored anyway when Toafili fumbled and Johnson ran it in to make it 31-22.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

With the unexpectedly close victory over a team that had struggled against non-Power Five opponents, Florida State could fall in The Associated Press Top 25.

THE TAKEAWAY

The Seminoles need to snap out of it in time for next week’s game against Clemson, which could be the biggest hurdle remaining on their road to the College Football Playoff. Boston College almost pulled off its biggest win in decades, but is still looking for wins that would return them to bowl eligibility.

RED BANDANNA

BC fell to 4-6 in the annual Red Bandanna Game that honors graduate Welles Crowther, who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Eagles wore uniforms trimmed with a bandanna theme and the name on each jersey was “FOR WELLES.”

BC beat No. 9 Southern California in the first Red Bandanna Game, in 2014.

DISCONCERTING SIGNALS

BC led 7-0 and 10-3 before eight penalties in the second quarter dragged it down. There were 11 penalties in the first half alone — seven of them pre-snap, including two for “disconcerting signals,” a delay of game charged against the defense for imitating the snap count.

In all, the Eagles had 18 penalties for 132 yards.

QB TOO

Travis was taken down by the ankle on a scramble in the final minute of the first half, and the FSU medical staff came out to look at him. He walked off on his own and remained on the sideline.

The Seminoles ran only one other play before the half – a kneel-down with 3 seconds left, and backup Tate Rodemaker took that snap. Travis was back in the game for the start of the second half.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Visits Clemson next Saturday.

Boston College: Visits Louisville on Saturday.

The Seminoles extended their winning streak to seven and established themselves as an early season favorite to make the College Football Playoff.

They won this one primarily on fourth down.

FSU stopped the Tigers twice on fourth down in the first half, including once at the goal line, and scored the go-ahead touchdown one play after Travis connected with Lawrence Toafili for 41 yards on fourth-and-2. Travis ran in on the ensuing play to put the Seminoles ahead 24-17 and send most of the 65,429 in attendance into a frenzy.

Roughly 80% of those on hand were draped in garnet and gold. They got exactly what they wanted: a blowout to kickstart the program’s most hyped season in nearly a decade. LSU was a 2 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

FSU won its final six games last season and then surprisingly returned nearly everyone for coach Mike Norvell’s fourth season, including Travis, standout receiver Johnny Wilson and stud pass rusher Jared Verse.

But the star of the opener was Coleman, who left East Lansing, Michigan, for greener grass in Tallahassee. He finished with nine catches for 122 yards, including scoring plays of 40, 21 and 7 yards.

Wilson added seven receptions for 104 yards and would have had better numbers had it not been for two drops.

Travis was at his best in the second half, connecting on 11 of 13 passes as the Seminoles took the lead for good. He sent most of the LSU faithful to the exits when he found South Carolina transfer Jaheim Bell down the sideline for a 44-yard score with 7 minutes remaining.

Travis completed 23 of 31 passes for 342 yards and the four TDs. He and Coleman hooked up for a 40-yarder to start the scoring, added a 21-yarder late in the second to tie the game at 14 and then connected on a 7-yard fade in the fourth.

Jayden Daniels wasn’t nearly as effective for LSU in a showdown of two of the top three preseason Heisman Trophy favorites. He was 22 of 37 passing for 347 yards, with an interception and a 75-yard score in the waning minutes. He ran 15 times for 64 yards and was on the receiving end of the hit of night: FSU’s Tatum Bethune hammered him to the ground after he attempted to leap another defender.

Florida State probably would have trailed by double digits in the first half had it not stopped the Tigers twice on fourth down.

After Daniels connected with Tre Bradford for 55 yards on the first play of the game, LSU had six shots to score from inside the 5-yard line. The Tigers never got close, with Daniels misfiring twice and then getting sacked on fourth down.

The Tigers were in the red zone again in the second quarter, but Daniels was sacked on a fourth-and-1 play from the FSU 13.

Two drives deep into Seminoles territory, no points.

FSU had its own issues. The ’Noles struggled to run the ball, kept getting beat up front and were flagged for three personal fouls. Adding to their woes, Wilson dropped two passes with dozens of NFL scouts in the press box for the top-10 matchup.

THE TAKEAWAY

LSU: Coach Brian Kelly has plenty to fix defensively as the Tigers move forward. They allowed 483 yards and were ineffective on third down, allowing the Seminoles to convert 8 of 13 on the all-important down.

Florida State: The Seminoles have been building toward this season for years, with Norvell stockpiling talent through the transfer portal while developing youngsters who have been in the program.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State could move into the top five when the next Associated Press poll is released Tuesday.

SIDELINE STARS

Former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu was on the sideline with his family before the game. Florida State countered with a slew of former players, including Pro Football Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler, Andre Wadsworth, Darnell Dockett, Bryant McFadden, Travis Johnson, Peter Warrick and Snoop Minnis.

UP NEXT

LSU hosts Grambling State of the Football Championship Subdivision on Saturday.

Florida State hosts Southern Miss of the Football Championship Subdivision on Saturday.

The Aer Lingus College Football Classic matchup announced Wednesday will mark the second time that two Atlantic Coast Conference teams have opened the season in Ireland. Georgia Tech beat Boston College 17-14 in the 2016 opener in Dublin.

The game, scheduled for Aug. 24, 2024, at Aviva Stadium, will make Florida State’s first international game. Georgia Tech will serve as the home team.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our student-athletes at Florida State and Georgia Tech to expand the reach of ACC football and play in front of an international audience,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said.

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said the game is “a unique chance for our student-athletes to experience a new culture, for our fans to support us at an incredible destination and for Georgia Tech to further promote our Institute, athletics department, students and alumni on a global stage.”

Florida State coach Mike Norvell said he was “immediately intrigued by a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

“The way the 2024 season lays out with a third open date, the trip made sense from a football perspective as well,” Norvell said. “Very few people have the chance to travel to a different continent and experience another culture, much less take an entire team, so I am appreciative of everyone’s hard work and support to make this game happen.”

Northwestern beat Nebraska 31-28 in the 2022 game in Dublin. Navy and Notre Dame are scheduled to play the 2023 opener in Dublin.

Pedulla was 8 of 12 from the floor. Hunter Cattoor added 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, and the pair combined for 10 3-pointers. Grant Basile scored 13 points and Rodney Rice had 10 for Virginia Tech (18-13, 8-12).

The Hokies shot 62.5% (15 of 24) in the first half and finished 29 of 56 (52%) overall and 16 of 34 (47%) from distance.

Caleb Mills scored 14 points for Florida State (9-22, 7-13), which has lost six of its last seven games. De’Ante Green and Matthew Cleveland added 10 points apiece.

The Hokies opened the game on a 14-0 run, capped by a 3 each from Basile and Pedulla, and led 39-30 at halftime. Mills opened the second half scoring seven points to pull the Seminoles to 41-37, but they didn’t get closer. The Hokies answered with a 27-8 run for a 68-45 lead with 8:29 to go and had a 28-point lead with about two minutes left.

Both teams will play first round games in the ACC Tournament on Tuesday.

And the Seminoles ended Miami’s hopes of a perfect home season.

Matthew Cleveland’s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State’s comeback from a huge deficit and the Seminoles stunned No. 13 Miami 85-84 on Saturday.

“We showed a little bit about who we are,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.

They ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak, knocked the Hurricanes out of the outright lead in the ACC standings and denied the bid for a perfect home record. Miami was 15-0 at the Watsco Center entering Saturday.

“Miami’s a really, really good basketball team. … I would hate to play them in the NCAA Tournament,” Hamilton said.

Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.

Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes.

“We played as well as we could in the first half,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “But it appeared to me to start the second half that our battery died. We didn’t have the energy or juice and it showed most of all with our defense.”

Miami simply could not get stops in the second half. Florida State shot 68% in the final 20 minutes, lost the lead twice in the final 40 seconds — then stunned its biggest rival anyway.

“Credit to them. They played hard,” Miller said. “I think they just wanted it more. We came out unfocused. … We’ve just got to find a way to close out games like this. There’s no excuse for us losing this game.”

Miami ran out to a 14-2 lead after 3 1/2 minutes, and Florida State chipped away to get within 28-23 with 8:12 left in the half.

The next seven minutes were all Miami.

It appeared a 22-2 run would essentially put the game away before halftime, pushing the Hurricanes’ lead to 50-25. Miami made eight of its final 10 shots of the half.

“The first half, we just weren’t ready,” Hamilton said.

And then came halftime. The Seminoles sure looked ready.

“We did not tell them anything at halftime that we didn’t tell them before the game started,” Hamilton said.

The Seminoles made 10 of their first 30 shots of the game — then made 10 of their next 11, getting Miami’s lead down to 61-49 with 14:45 left. That was part of a 35-10 run that gave FSU the lead for the first time on a layup by Mills with 5:56 remaining.

The lead would change hands 10 more times down the stretch, the last of those off Cleveland’s desperation heave after Miller’s go-ahead 3 at the other end.

“I knew they were going to celebrate,” Cleveland said. “If we get down and push, we’d get a decent shot.”

It was better than decent. It was perfect.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles have, for now, avoided tying a school record for losses. The only FSU team to lose 21 games was the 2000-01 club, which was part of a run of five consecutive losing seasons for the Seminoles. This year will be the end of what has been a stretch of 17 consecutive winning seasons for Florida State.

Miami: The Hurricanes were without guard Nijel Pack, who was ruled out with a lower extremity injury. Miami is listing him as day to day. He’s averaging 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, with 41% shooting on 3-pointers.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami will be in the AP Top 25 for the 12th consecutive week when the latest rankings are released Monday. But the Hurricanes will likely fall a few spots.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Host North Carolina on Monday in its home finale.

Miami: Host Pittsburgh on March 4 in the regular-season finale.

Post made 7 of 11 shots, including 5-for-5 from 3-point distance, in 25 minutes of play before fouling out. McGlockton was 3-for-4 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Prince Aligbe added 10 points for the Eagles (13-15, 7-10 ACC).

Florida State lost to Clemson by 40 last time out and fell behind 30-11 in this one, only to get within four points several times in the second half. McGlockton scored 10 of Boston College’s 12 points in a key stretch, giving the Eagles a 62-55 lead with 1:32 remaining. Boston College made 13 of 14 free throws in the final minute and a half.

Florida State got within four points one last time when Darin Green Jr. hit a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. Aligbe finished off the win with two free throws and BC finished at 29-for-35 from the line. Florida State made 30 of 34 free throws.

Caleb Mills scored 27 points for Florida State (8-20, 6-11) and was 17-for-21 from the line. Green added 13 points and Chandler Jackson had 10.

BC outshot FSU 45% to 31% and Florida State had only four assists.

After trailing by double digits for most of the game, Florida State scored six straight points to get within 46-42 with 10:29 remaining in regulation. Two free throws by Green and a pair from Mills got the Seminoles within four points again, 50-46, with 7:01 remaining.

Twice more Florida State got within four points and both times McGlockton converted a three-point play to put BC up by seven heading to the final minutes.

After a 5-4 start to the ACC season, the Seminoles have lost seven of eight conference games.

Boston College has a home game against No. 7 Virginia on Wednesday.

Florida State plays at No. 15 Miami on Saturday.

Burton hit two jumpers and Sibande added two 3-pointers, giving the Panthers a 64-58 lead with 6:38 left. Sibande added a steal-and-layup and another layup to push the lead to 70-65, then Hinson put the Panthers in control when he hit a 3-pointer for a nine-point lead with 2:35 to go.

Pittsburgh made eight consecutive free throws in the final two minutes before Greg Elliott broke the string by making 1 of 2 with 20 seconds remaining. Pittsburgh made 11 of 14 from the line in the second half, 19 of 23 overall.

Sibande finished with 12 points and Greg Elliott hit four 3-pointers and scored 13 points. Federiko Federiko had 13 rebounds and three blocks for Pitt (18-7, 11-3 ACC).

Jalen Warley scored 23 points, Caleb Mills 16, and Cameron Corhen 13 for Florida State (8-18, 6-9). The Seminoles shot 42% overall but made only 5 of 21 3-pointers. They made 20 of 24 free throws.

Matthew Cleveland, FSU’s leading scorer at 14.4 ppg, scored six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

The Panthers led for the final 18 1/2 minutes of the first half. Their lead reached eight on three occasions, the last when Burton hit a 3-pointer for a 28-20 lead with 6:43 remaining. The Seminoles cut their deficit to two points when Warley’s 3-pointer made it 33-31 with 3:09 remaining. It was the final field goal of the half for either team and Pitt went on to lead 37-33 at the break.

The Panthers added to what is becoming their best season since joining the ACC in 2013-14. They won their 11th conference game for the second time since joining the conference and remain in first place. Pittsburgh and Virginia, which defeated Duke 69-62 in overtime, are tied for first place. Clemson dropped out of first place after a 91-71 loss to North Carolina.

The Panthers have won seven of their past eight ACC games, the only loss being 71-65 against visiting Florida State on Jan. 21. Pitt is 6-1 on the road in ACC games this season.

After picking up their first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season, a 68-58 win over Georgia Tech to give first-year coach Kenny Payne his first conference win, the Cardinals put on a spirited, 19-4 rally to come back from a 15-point deficit with 15:40 left to tie the game at 76 with 1:24 to play.

Cleveland’s layup put the Seminoles (8-16, 6-7) in front for good and Jalen Warley extended it with two free throws with 25 seconds left. After Sydney Curry scored to pull Louisville within 80-78, Darin Green Jr. hit the first of two free throws to set the final margin.

Cameron Corhen led five Florida State players into double-figure scoring, putting up 16 points. Cleveland had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Warley added 14 points, Green 12 and Caleb Mills 11.

El Ellis scored 22 points and distributed seven assists to lead Louisville (3-20, 1-11). Kamari Lands hit 3 of 5 from distance and finished with 15 points and Jae’ly Withers added 14.

Florida State plays host to Syracuse on Wednesday. Louisville plays at Pitt on Tuesday.

Hunter drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking the free throw, with four seconds left to help No. 24 Clemson escape with an 82-81 win over Florida State on Saturday.

The sophomore guard shot 7 of 12 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line in his first game back after missing two weeks due to an ankle injury. Hunter drove down the court, drawing the foul against Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland but delivering a clutch play in the final seconds for the Atlantic Coast Conference leaders.

“He makes you look good as a coach,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “He’s got tremendous speed, he’s athletic, he can get to the rim. He can make a three. Man, he’s not easy to guard in that scenario. It’s a hard cover.”

Hunter Tyson scored 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting for Clemson (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which halted an eight-game road losing streak to Florida State. Tyson came into the game averaging 15.5 points.

PJ Hall added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Clemson, which outrebounded Florida State 38-27.

Matthew Cleveland scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for Florida State (7-15, 5-6), the 15th straight game he scored in double figures. The Seminoles made a season-high 13 3-pointers, a few days after they hit just 3 of 22 3-pointers in a lopsided home loss to No. 20 Miami on Tuesday.

Caleb Mills and Darin Green Jr. each hit four 3-pointers for the Seminoles. Mills had 15 points, Green finished with 14.

Florida State trailed 11-0 early but erased the deficit by halftime to take a 34-33 lead.

“We have been challenging the guys to come out with that level of focus every game,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We have not had that consistent effort. A lot is that we are able to now keep guys a little fresher, we got some guys that were not maybe experienced early in the year, now we are able to get them in the game.”

Freshman forward Baba Miller had his best game, scoring 11 points and pulling down four rebounds in 20 minutes.

But Clemson improved to 4-1 in the ACC on the road, one of the main reasons why the Tigers are atop the league standings.

“It’s critical if you’re trying to win the league,” Brownell said. “And you got to win a bunch of games like we’ve won, right? We’ve won a bunch of close games, Virginia Tech, Pitt and now this one. You got to be a little bit lucky. And you got to have guys that make plays down the stretch.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Clemson picked up its 10th ACC win yet oddly is ranked No. 24 in the AP poll. The Tigers have made an argument to rise in the rankings after wins over Georgia Tech and Florida State this week.

TYSON FOR 50

Tyson made 6 of 12 shots from beyond the arc, playing the full 40 minutes. He came into the game making 40.7 percent of his 3-pointers and has now made 50 shots from beyond the arc on the season.

TAKEAWAYS

Clemson: The Tigers made 10 or more 3-pointers for the first time in 11 ACC games to end the losing streak in Tallahassee.

Florida State: The injury-depleted Seminoles were also faced with foul trouble but battled back from a double-digit deficit before falling short in the final seconds.

UP NEXT

Clemson plays at Boston College on Tuesday.

Florida State plays at NC State on Wednesday.

Matthew Cleveland and Caleb Mills each scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Florida State (7-13, 5-4 ACC). The Panthers (13-7, 6-3) saw their two-game win streak come to an end. Pitt is 2-3 in its last five.

Jamarius Burton’s layup with 2:19 to go brought Pitt within 65-64, but Green Jr. responded with an immediate 3-pointer and the Panthers missed their last four shots.

De’Ante Green made layups in consecutive possessions to break a 56-all tie and Florida State stayed ahead for the remainder.

Despite Pitt’s 15-5 start, Florida State countered with a 20-2 outburst in a five-and-a-half minute span and went to intermission up 39-29.

Florida State finished 25-for-49 (51%) shooting — 10 for 20 from 3 — and 11 for 15 (73.3%) from the foul line.

Burton scored 20 points for Pitt and Blake Hinson 16.

The Seminoles host No. 17 Miami on Tuesday and No. 19 Clemson on Jan. 28. Pitt hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday and No. 17 Miami on Jan. 28.

Florida State now has won four straight at home against Georgia Tech.

It was Cleveland’s fifth-straight double-double. He entered the game averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds on the season. Cleveland finished two points short of his career high.

Darin Green Jr. scored all 18 his points after halftime for Florida State (5-11, 3-2 ACC) and Caleb Mills scored 13.

Georgia Tech built a 16-7 lead in a little more than the first four minutes of the game before Florida State went on to outscore the Yellow Jackets 32-20 for a 39-36 halftime lead. Florida State started the second half with a 16-4 run and Jalen Warley’s three-point play with 13:38 left made it 55-40. Florida State led by double digits the rest of the way.

Florida State shot 30 for 61 (49.2%) including 10 for 25 from 3-point range. Florida State distributed 23 assists.

Lance Terry scored 17 points for Georgia Tech (8-7, 1-4 ACC), Miles Kelly 16 and Dallan Coleman 11.

Georgia Tech travels to Notre Dame on Tuesday. Florida State faces Wake Forest on the road on Wednesday.

Young came off the bench for a season-high 20 points, going 7 for 7 from the field, and the No. 17 Blue Devils beat Florida State 86-67 on Saturday.

Young, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, had 12 rebounds and added to the quest for perfection by making all six free-throw attempts.

“I’m sure I’ll find something he could have done better, but he was pretty close,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.

Jaylen Blakes scored 17 points in his first career start and reserve Dariq Whitehead added 16 points for Duke (11-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is undefeated in eight home games.

Young deflected credit for his stellar outing.

“The guards were finding me in easy places to score,” he said.

Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland both scored 18 points and Darin Green Jr. added 16 for Florida State (4-11, 2-2), which remains winless in seven games away from home.

Even without retired Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski on the Duke bench, the Blue Devils looked familiar to veteran Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton.

“Credit to (Scheyer) to get his guys to play the Duke way,” he said. “I didn’t see any difference from the way they played in the past.”

Blakes, a sophomore, had four of the 11 baskets from 3-point range for Duke, which was playing for the first time since a Dec. 20 loss at Wake Forest.

“They knew we had to be a lot better,” Scheyer said of his players after a holiday break. “I didn’t have to convince them of that.”

The Seminoles got to within 64-53 with less than nine minutes to play before the margin ballooned to 25 points.

“Hopefully, we can learn from this,” Hamilton said. “Learn what it takes to go out and play against a team that is extremely aggressive like this.”

Duke used a 10-0 run near the midway mark of the first half and led 42-25 at halftime behind 12 points from Young and 11 from Blakes. Three of the Blue Devils’ starters didn’t score in the first half and another, Jeremy Roach, was 1 for 7 from the field.

The Seminoles had their second-lowest first-half point total of the season.

“Our guards were doing a tremendous job of keeping them out of the paint and turning defense into offense,” Young said.

DEPTH FINDERS

A lineup tweak worked out for the Blue Devils. Blakes matched his career-high point total from the Wake Forest game.

“It’s an honor (to be a starter),” he said. “We’re all just building off each other. Whatever five guys are out there, we’re confident in.”

Scheyer said lineup adjustments shouldn’t be a surprise.

“We’ve used our depth as a strength and I don’t see that changing,” he said.

BIG PICTURE

Florida State: The Seminoles were competitive for stretches but had gaps in defensive rebounding that proved costly. They got only eight points from reserves while Duke posted 46 points from its bench players.

Duke: The Blue Devils were aggressive from the start and yet they needed boosts from the reserves. They had their most bench points in an ACC game since February 2005 vs. Wake Forest. This was just Duke’s second game since Dec. 10, but there will be a steady diet of games for the rest of the season.

TIP-INS

Blakes took freshman Tyrese Proctor’s place in Duke’s starting lineup. … Hamilton was going for his 400th win while in charge of the Seminoles and his 600th overall. … Cleveland’s 10 rebounds gave him a double-figure total in five of the last six games. … Florida State hasn’t won at Cameron Indoor Stadium since January 2012.

UP NEXT

Florida State: Hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Duke: At North Carolina State on Wednesday.

Matthew Cleveland had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Seminoles (2-9, 1-1). Corhen added five rebounds and was perfect in six free throw attempts.

El Ellis scored 15 points for Louisville (0-9, 0-2).

Florida State held Louisville to three points over the first four minutes of the second half, building a 16-point lead before Ellis hit a 3-pointer for the Cardinals. The Seminoles’ lead first reached 20 points on a dunk by Naheem McLeod near the 10-minute mark. McLeod, a 7-foot-4 sophomore, had a career high six blocks, raising his average to a little more than 2 blocks per game.

A 10-2 run by Florida State in the middle of the first half helped the Seminoles establish a double-digit lead. After Louisville drew within 21-15 FSU added an 8-0 run and the Seminoles led by double-digits the rest of the game.

The Seminoles, who made 21 of 23 free throws in their past two games, made 11 of their first 12 and finished 12-of-16 from the line.

It was Florida State’s sixth consecutive win in a series that dates to 1968. The teams have met 51 times and Louisville holds a 34-17 advantage.