Florida State University Athletics
FLORIDA STATE TOPS GATORS 45-38
11/26/2022 1:08:26 AM | Football
Florida State scored 17 unanswered points early in the third quarter to build a 38-24 lead on its way to beating rival Florida 45-38 Friday night in Doak Campbell Stadium. The Seminoles finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and await the announcement of the bowl parings, while Florida dropped to 6-6 on the season.
Trey Benson’s 17-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the game broke a 38-38 tie and Florida’s last-minute drive to send the game into overtime died when Anthony Richardson’s pass on fourth and long fell harmlessly into the end zone.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis accounted for 353 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. He finished with 270 passing yards with one touchdown on 13 completions and gained 83 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdowns on 15 rushing attempts. Travis became the first player in program history to account for at least three touchdowns with one or fewer turnover in six consecutive games, which also is the longest active streak in the nation.
FSU’s defense limited UF’s Richardson to just nine completions on 27 attempts for 198 yards with three touchdowns. Travis Etienne led UF’s running game with 129 yards on 17 carries.
After a fumble on FSU’s opening drive followed by a fourth-down stop by the Seminole defense, Benson gave Florida State the first lead of the game by accounting for all 54 yards on the scoring drive. On the first play, he weaved through the UF defense for a 45-yard gain to the Gator 9-yard line then scored from there on the next play to give FSU a 7-0 lead.
Florida tied it on its next play from scrimmage when Richardson connected with a streaking Ricky Pearsall for a 52-yard touchdown to make it 7-7 with 4:06 left in the first quarter. The Gators made it 14-7 when Richardson found Jonathan Odom in the right flat, who then lumbered in from 12 yards out for the touchdown with 4:06 left in the first.
Travis tied the game at 14-14 on a spectacular 29-yard touchdown run with under two minutes left in the initial stanza. The score capped a 6-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Richardson’s third touchdown pass of the half put the Gators up 21-14 in the second quarter. Richardson set up the score by hitting Ricky Pearsall on a crossing route for 32 yards and on the next play found him racing up the right hash for a 43-yard touchdown with 9:25 left in the second quarter.
Another phenomenal run by Travis on a scramble set up the Noles’ tying score with 5:44 left before the half. On third-and-10, Travis looked like he was going to be sacked for a big loss, but he outraced the Florida defense for a 10-yard run to the one-yard line. He took it in himself on the next play to make it 21-21. Florida took a 24-21 lead into the locker room after hitting a 41-yard field goal with :42 left on the clock.
FSU came out of the second half hitting on all cylinders, particularly defensively, forcing the Gators into three straight three-and-outs and scoring on its first three drives. Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 46-yarder with 8:53 left in the third to knot the score at 24-24.
After forcing a three-and-out for the Gators on the next drive, FSU mounted an 8-play, 66-yard drive with Benson carrying it over from the 1-yard line for a 31-24 lead with 4:21 left in the third. Another outstanding defensive series set up FSU’s offense with great field position at the UF 44 after a personal foul for a hit out of bounds was assessed on the punt return. It took Florida State just two plays to score, going up 38-24 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Travis to Kentron Poitier with 2:28 remaining in the third.
Florida cut the Seminoles’ lead to seven with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard Montrell Johnson touchdown run with 10:35 left after a number of penalties gave UF eight snaps from inside FSU’s 5-yard line. Etienne tied it up again 38-38 with 7:41 left with a 45-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Seminole defense on a third-and-five.
FSU bounced back with what would prove to be the game-winning drive. Travis methodically marched the offense 65 yards on seven plays the last two were Benson runs. Benson ripped off 16 yards to set the Seminoles up with a first down on the UF 17 and then scored the game-winner on a slashing 17-yard run with 4:06 left to play for the 45-38 final margin.