It wasn’t pretty, but No. 5 Florida State passed its first test without Jordan Travis.
The Seminoles overcame an early 12-0 deficit for a 24-15 win at Florida to move to 12-0 and deny the Gators a bowl berth. The victory puts FSU an ACC championship game win over Louisville away from an undefeated season and a likely opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff.
Travis watched Saturday’s win from the coaches’ box after he suffered a season-ending left leg injury against North Alabama in Week 12. His replacement, Tate Rodemaker, was briefly forced to leave Saturday’s game with 3:51 to go after a late hit by Florida’s Jaydon Hill.
Hill and Bryce Thornton converged late on Rodemaker as he slid short of a first down on a third-and-long. Hill made contact with Rodemaker’s head and the back of his head hit the turf.
Rodemaker was immediately tended to by FSU’s training staff and walked into the medical tent under his own power. He was replaced by Brock Glenn for two plays before returning to the game and handing off to Trey Benson as Benson broke the game open with his third touchdown of the game.
Benson scored from 26 yards out with less than three minutes to go to give FSU a two-score lead. Had Hill not been penalized for targeting Rodemaker, Florida State would have punted the ball back to the Gators and a field goal could have given Florida a one-point lead.
Instead, Florida finishes the season at 5-7 and will miss a bowl game for the first time since 2017. Florida State, meanwhile, has its first undefeated regular season since 2014.
Florida jumped out to an early two-TD lead after sacking Rodemaker in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter. But the game turned before halftime after Florida defensive lineman Jamari Lyons got ejected for spitting at FSU offensive lineman Keiondre Jones. The free 15 yards from the penalty helped FSU move down the field for Benson’s first score of the game just before halftime.
The Seminoles then took their first lead of the game early in the second half when Benson scored for a second time. He finished the game with 19 carries for 95 yards.
The run game was FSU’s most efficient offense. Rodemaker was just 12-of-25 passing for 134 yards.
But Florida was also starting an inexperienced backup quarterback. Max Brown made his first career start after Graham Mertz suffered a shoulder injury in Week 12 against Missouri. Brown looked overmatched as he threw for just 86 yards and tossed an interception on his last pass of the game.
Assuming the committee keeps ranking undefeated teams ahead of the one-loss teams like it has all season, it’s reasonable to expect Florida State to move back up to No. 4 on Tuesday and ahead of Ohio State after it was jumped by Washington in the rankings a week ago. If Florida State is at No. 4 on Tuesday, the Seminoles’ path to the playoff should simply require a win over the Cardinals.
