Jordan Travis felt Clemson’s secondary was shading disrespect toward him.
Throughout the game Saturday, the Tigers dropped back in man coverage with single matchups between receivers and defensive backs, and it led to 289 passing yards from Travis, who took exception to the defense after throwing a game-winning touchdown 24 yards to Keon Coleman.
“They were disrespecting me a little bit. I don’t think they believed that I can make those throws, and I’m glad it ended like that. So glad it ended like that,” Travis said. “It kind of just shows the journey and all the ups and downs and, like a roller coaster, man, and I overcame it all and this football team overcame it all, and I’m so grateful for a moment like that.”
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Travis’ up and down journey can show in last week’s game, and to others, it can begin when he first stepped foot on a college football field at Louisville in 2018.
Travis spent a year with the Cardinals and appeared in three games before deciding to transfer to his dream destination at Florida State. A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, the transfer made a perfect fit.
Across the next four seasons, Travis would build a career that broke Florida State program records, and it hasn’t come easily. In came Mike Norvell as head coach prior to the 2020 season, and with him came a new system and offensive ideas.
Saturday’s 31-24 overtime win in Death Valley was a culmination of work that both Travis and Florida State attained over time, and it marked the Seminoles’ first win over Clemson since 2014.
“The joy is really special because we just love to see each other succeed, and that’s the main thing,” Travis said. “We don’t have selfish people on this football team and I think that’s what makes us really special. We have wide receivers that don’t get the ball all the time but they’re out there blocking their butts off no matter what, never hanging their head. Never come to yell at me, none of that type of stuff. It just shows the brotherhood of this football team.”
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Travis completed 57% of his passes against the Tigers, adding on two touchdown passes and the one that mattered most on his first pass attempt in overtime.
Coleman totaled 86 receiving yards across five catches, and two went for touchdowns.
“If they’re not doubling us, they can’t cover us so we might as well just keep throwing the ball,” Coleman said. “(Travis) trusted that and did what he does best and put it in the right spot.”
Florida State’s season has been widely successful thus far. The Seminoles notched a top-10 victory in Week 1 defeating then-No. 5 LSU 45-24.
The Seminoles struggled closing out their 31-29 win over Boston College a week ago. They allowed 19 unanswered points to end the game, and Travis exited with an apparent shoulder injury.
Travis would re-enter the game Sept. 16, and his shoulder has appeared healthy and he played well in the game against Clemson.
“We have practice (Sunday) so we’re going to get back to work (Sunday),” Travis said. “There’s no days off here. No matter what if we have an off day or not. We have to take the opportunity to watch film, be in the treatment room, working out, things like that.”
Travis has been with the Florida State program over the past several years during which it had three wins in 2020, five wins in 2021 and then its 10-3 season last year which marked the Seminoles’ first 10-win season since 2016.
Norvell said he loves coaching Travis, and he knows how much the quarterback means to the Florida State program.
“He is an absolute winner. That’s who he is,” Norvell said. “Coming off a game where he had a little bit of an injury and some challenges that he had to work through, and he stood up and stood up in the moment. And I’m so proud of him for who he is.”
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The Seminoles will have three-consecutive home games coming up over the next three weeks, and it presents an opportunity for Florida State to add to its 4-0 record.
But for now, Saturday’s win proved more than Flroida State’s first win over the Tigers in nine years and first on the road in 10.
“Honestly, man, I don’t remember. I’m so excited, so happy,” Travis said. “I had tears coming down my face in the locker room, man, because just the journey how far I’ve come as a man and as a player, so I’m grateful. I mean, that was a really special moment.”
