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Stats & notes package: Florida State thumps Georgia Tech to snap 3-game losing skid

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tate Rodemaker (18) calls a play. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tate Rodemaker (18) calls a play. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida State improved to 15-11-1 all-time against Georgia Tech, including a 15-4 mark as ACC opponents and 7-2 in Tallahassee.

»For the third time in school history, FSU had a 375-yard passer (Jordan Travis), a 100-yard receiver (Johnny Wilson) and a 100-yard rusher (Trey Benson). FSU previously did it against Clemson in 2000 and Maryland in 1992.

»Travis was 24-for-38 passing for 396 yards and three touchdowns, setting a career high in passing yards and tying his single-game highs in passing TDs and completions. He has completed at least 60 percent of his passs in nine of his past 12 games.

»For his career, Travis ranks 14th in FSU history with 346 completions; 14th with 4,371 passing yards and 16th with 35 passing touchdowns.

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»Travis threw for 270 yards in the first half, a new career-high for a half, and Saturday was his fifth game in 2022 with at least 250 passing yards.

»Travis' two first-half touchdown passes went 78 yards (to Wilson) and 62 yards (Lawrance Toafili). He is the first FSU quarterback since James Blackman in 2019 at Boston College with multiple 60-yard touchdown passes in a game (Travis made his FSU debut and had two TD runs that game).

»Travis's pass to Wilson was the longest pass of Travis' career and the longest catch for Wilson. It was FSU's longest offensive play of the year and the longest reception for the Noles since a 91-yard completion in the 2019 Sun Bowl.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell watches a Seminole scoring drive. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell watches a Seminole scoring drive. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

»Wilson led FSU with 111 receiving yards, his fourth straight game with at least a share of the team lead. It was his second career 100-yard receiving game (149 at Louisville earlier this year) and he now leads FSU with four receiving touchdowns.

»Toafili scored two touchdowns, adding a six-yard rushing touchdown. Toafili is the first Seminole since Cam Akers in 2019 (vs. Wake Forest and ULM) with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. He set a career high with 84 receiving yards and leads FSU with five rushing touchdowns this year.

»Benson made his first career start and set a career high with 111 rushing yards. He had runs of 22 and 27 yards and has eight rushes of 20+ yards this season.

»CJ Campbell made the first appearance of his career and ran three times for 23 yards and a seven-yard touchdown that completed a season-long 97-yard scoring drive...defensive lineman Shambre Jackson also made his Seminole debut.

»Florida State held Georgia Tech to 24 yards on 24 plays in the first half, with two sacks and eight tackles for loss. The Yellow Jackets' three points came on a four-yard drive. FSU led 24-3 at halftime, the fifth time this season the Noles held an opponent to three or fewer points in the first 30 minutes (Duquesne, LSU, Boston College, NC State).

»Georgia Tech was 1-for-8 on third down and notched just one first down in the first half. FSU’s defense is holding opponents to an average of 144.9 yards of total offense in the first half, with an average of 62.0 rushing yards and 82.9 passing yards in the first half of games this season.

Redshirt sophomore running back Lawrance Toafili (9) celebrates a touchdown. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Redshirt sophomore running back Lawrance Toafili (9) celebrates a touchdown. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

»The defense had four sacks and 10 tackles for loss, both season highs.

»Linebacker Tatum Bethune and defensive end Leonard Warner III set career-highs with 1.5 sacks, while safety Jammie Robinson led FSU with 10 tackles, with a career-high-tying 1.5 for loss. Robinson now has 11 games in his career with double-digit tackles.

»Defensive end Jared Verse pushed his season total to 11.0 tackles for loss with 2.5 on Saturday. He also leads FSU with 4.5 sacks after splitting a sack vs. GT. He finished with five tackles, giving him 103 for his career.

»Ja'Khi Douglas caught a 27-yard pass on his first snap of the game, his longest of the year. He tacked on a 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter, his second in as many games. FSU entered Saturday first in the country with 7.6 plays/game of 20 or more yards and added nine more against Georgia Tech.

»FSU did not punt for the first time since 2010.

»Miscellaneous: Defensive tackle Fabien Lovett started his 27th career game, returning from an injury after missing five games...FSU won the coin toss for just the second time this season...Douglas' touchdown was on the first drive of the second half and FSU has now scored on 11 of its 16 first drives in a half this season (with 10 touchdowns)...Mycah Pittman returned a punt 23 yards and is averaging 12.1 yards on 10 punt returns this year. He added three catches for 22 yards...Travis completed passes to 10 players, a season high...three of FSU's touchdown drives were 90+ yards.

- FSU sports information 

Redshirt senior defensive end Leonard Warner III (35) celebrates a sack. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Redshirt senior defensive end Leonard Warner III (35) celebrates a sack. Florida State football defeated Georgia Tech, 41-16, On Oct. 29, 2022, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Scoring summary

Georgia Tech 3 0 7 6 - 16

FSU  7 17 7 10 - 41

First Quarter

GT: FG 38, G. Stewart, 3:50. Drive: 4-3, 1:57

FSU: L. Toafili 7 run (R. Fitzgerald kick), :02. Drive: 9-80, 3:50

Second Quarter

FSU: J. Travis 78 pass to J. Wilson (R. Fitzgerald kick), 10:34. Drive: 4-90, 1:26

FSU: J. Travis 62 pass to L. Toafili (R. Fitzgerald kick), 2:52. Drive: 4-66, 1:28

FSU: FG 34, R. Fitzgerald, 0:00. Drive: 8-24, 1:14

Third Quarter 

GT: Z. Pyron 32 pass to E. Jenkins  (G. Stewart kick), 13:05. Drive: 6-54, 1:52

FSU: J. Travis 24 pass to J. Douglas (R. Fitzgerald kick), 8:20. Drive: 12-91, 4:40

Fourth Quarter

FSU: FG 24 R. Fitzgerald, 13:31. Drive: 13-74, 6:03

FSU:  C. Campbell 7 run  (R. Fitzgerald kick), 1:09. Drive: 12-97, 7:01

GT:  Z. Pyron 8 run (no kick), 0:00. Drive: 9-70,

Oct 29, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Lawrance Toafili (9) reaches for the pylon as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back K.J. Wallace (16) tackles during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Lawrance Toafili (9) reaches for the pylon as Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back K.J. Wallace (16) tackles during the first half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Individual Stats

Passing: Jordan Travis 24-38-0, 396 yards

Rushing: Trey Benson 18-111, Lawrance Toafili 13-70, Rodney Hill 6-41, C.J Campbell 3-23, Malik McClain 1-6, Mycah Pittman 1-2, Jordan Travis 1-(-7).

Receiving: Johnny Wilson 3-111, Lawrance Toafili 5-84, Ja'Khi Douglas 4-63, Camren McDonald 3-39, Ontaria Wilson 1-24,  Mycah Pittman 3-22,  Kentron Poitier 2-32, Trey Benson 1-10,  Preston Daniel 1-6, Malik McClain 1-5.

FSU kick returns: Sam McCall 2-36

FSU punt returns: Mycah Pittman 2-23

FSU kicking: Ryan Fitzgerald 2-2 FG; 5-5 PAT

FSU punting: No punts

Team Stats

First downs: FSU 32, Tech 16

Total yards: FSU 642, Tech 264

Passing yards: FSU 396, Tech 198

Rushing yards: FSU 246, Tech 66

Penalties: FSU 13-104, Tech 9-107

Turnovers: FSU 2, Tech 0

Possession: FSU 34:53, Tech 25:07

Up Next

FSU renews its rivalry against Miami Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jordan Travis throws for a career-high 395 yards to lead FSU over Ga. Tech