Why dominant win over LSU shows Florida State football is back

ORLANDO, Fla. − 1. Georgia

2. Florida State

That's it.

Only the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs belong ahead of the Seminoles when the college football Week 2 US LBM Coaches Poll is released Tuesday.

That's how dominant Florida State football was Sunday evening in a 45-24 victory over No. 5 LSU behind an impressive debut from wide receiver Keon Coleman.

The Seminoles entered the contest ranked No. 8, making this the lone top-10 matchup of the opening weekend of college football.

The Seminoles are back and head coach Mike Norvell is a large part of why.

Florida State should earn the respect of the nation following the dominant victory.

Florida State is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender and made waves that it is a national championship contender.

"Just start off, so proud of our team. There's been a lot of build-up and excitement about this game, this opportunity," Norvell said.

"Talked all the way through fall camp and even through the off-season, summer workouts, all of it, the mindset and the approach, these guys, what they bring to work every day. They have done a remarkable job in building relationships, just the way that they compete with each other. I told them before the day, that they are built for a time like this, this stage, two Top-10 teams in the country."

The Seminoles trailed 17-14 at halftime. They outscored the Tigers 31-7 in the second half, scoring on every possession in the second half, minus the final one where they ran out the clock in victory formation. They had a string of seven straight scoring possessions.

Florida State allowed just 97 yards of total offense in the second half until a 75-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left swelled the Tigers' final stat line.

The defense finished with four sacks, five tackles for loss and two key fourth-down stops in the first half, bullying an LSU team that usually uses its SEC strength to do the same to it's opponents.

Renardo Green added an interception of Tigers' quarterback Jayden Daniels, which came with LSU crossing midfield and threatening to even the score at 24.

"Defensively what a great second half that they had, creating the takeaway, obviously being able to get stops and get pressure on the quarterback," Norvell said. "And then I love the way that we finished being able to run the football. It shows your training, it shows your toughness, and it shows your desire and your will to finish. That's what we want to be and that's what we want to be known for."

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Florida State's best victory in a decade?

Florida State has arguably had some strong wins in the past couple of seasons. The victory over LSU in New Orleans last season was a nice statement, which allowed defense end Jared Verse to declare "FSU was back."

The Seminoles showed off its potential with six straight wins to end the season but lost three games to Clemson, Wake Forest and NC State in the middle of the season to prove the program was NOT back.

There was the 2020 COVID season victory over then-No. 5 North Carolina, a 31-28 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Seminoles finished off that season − the first under Norvell − with three losses in their final four games to finish 3-6.

Now, let's go back a decade and say this was Florida State's most impressive win since a 51-14 steamrolling of No. 3 Clemson in Death Valley.

In that game, Jameis Winston passed 444 and three touchdowns. It was the last time Florida State won the national championship and beat Clemson in a road game.

A couple of weeks later, the Seminoles beat No. 7 Miami 41-14.

Similar to Winston, Jordan Travis threw for 342 yards and a career-high four touchdowns Sunday against LSU.

Travis was for 9 for 10 passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the second half alone, following a slower start − for his standards in the first half.

His favorite target was Coleman, the transfer from Michigan State who finished with nine catches for 122 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Johnny Wilson racked up seven catches for 104 yards, marking the first time since 2018 (Tamorrion Terry and DJ Matthews) that two FSU receivers produced 100+ receiving yards in the same game.

The dominant victory is nice.

It's now time for the sustained success the program has been seeking since 2013. September plays a key part in that equation, too. Florida State meets Southern Miss Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in its lone home game of the month, followed by road dates at Boston College and No. 9 Clemson in another showdown with playoff implications.

"Just knew it was a matter of time," Travis said of Florida State's slow start against LSU. "Just had to get locked in and stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing. But once again it starts up front. If the offensive line doesn't protect and give me time, I can't make throws down the field. So shout-out to them and shout-out to all the receivers making plays."

"We started off slow with a couple drops in the first half. I've got to put the ball higher on the throws to make it easier for the receiver. But yeah, they make my job easy.

"Like I said before, they make it easy. It's fun out there, and it's fun winning football games."

The slow start, five penalties, turnover from Travis and three drops from receivers were all uncharacteristic of the Seminoles team which has been locked in during spring and fall practices.

Norvell delivered a strong message about his team and the potential it holds after the game. And for the media which sees FSU practice with regularity, it's believable.

"But just that second half, that was a glimpse, a glimpse of where -- what I think this team can do and where I think it can go," Norvell said.

"But there's a lot of things that we are going to have to clean up after. I appreciate them. Obviously, there's excitement in the locker room but that's one game and it was a first step and it was a big step. You get a chance to be on this stage, you want to go play well.

"I don't think we played our best game but I thought that second half, we were able to really finish the way that we wanted to. I'm proud of them for the way that they continued to battle, the way they showed the resilience and who they are."

Culture Mike Norvell has built at Florida State matters

The press conferences following the games could not be more different.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly made a bold statement Thursday ahead of the game during his weekly radio show appearance, proclaiming, "We're gonna go beat the heck out of Florida State."

While it's likely the Seminoles were too locked in to hear the obvious bulletin board material, it is more likely they heard it and used it as motivation.

But the players weren't ready to take the bait.

"Where he say that at?" Coleman said to laughter from the room.

"I don't recall. I didn't see anything at all," Travis added.

"It's good to be able to play the game," Norvell said to finish off the question.

LSU, as the losing team, was scheduled to talk before FSU following a 10-minute cooling period after the game.

However, it was announced after about 20 minutes the Seminoles would talk first.

When Kelly, who is in his second year as head coach at LSU, came out he quickly expressed dismay with how his team played. He also put the blame on himself.

"Congratulations to Florida State. Tonight they were the better football team. We certainly are not the football team that I thought we were, and we've got to do a much better job obviously in developing our football team," Kelly said.

"We clearly were short in a lot of areas tonight, and that falls on me to get our football team to be better in most of the competitive areas that you saw tonight."

Follow Ehsan Kassim on X at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).