TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State was shorthanded due to injuries, opt outs and transfers. But the Seminoles made the most of their depleted roster and pulled away from Duke in the second half.
Jashaun Corbin ran for three touchdowns while Jordan Travis threw for two TDs and ran for another as Florida State snapped a three-game skid with a 56-35 win over Duke on Saturday.
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Travis threw for 192 yards and two TD passes to Ja’Khi Douglas, as Florida State (3-6, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) won following a 28-day layoff that was prompted by two game postponements and a rescheduled matchup with Duke.
Florida State listed 50 scholarship players as having participated in the game, and the Seminoles started seven true or redshirt freshmen.
“It’s been a long time since we had an opportunity to compete in a game,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “It’s been a lot of adversity. It’s been an extremely challenging last month. Playing a lot of young players. Seeing those guys continue to work and invest in their improvement, it was a great sight to see tonight.”
Mataeo Durant ran for 127 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown, for Duke (2-9, 1-9). The Blue Devils ran 51 times for 245 yards but tossed three interceptions and managed just 148 yards passing.
The Seminoles are 21-0 in the all-time series vs. Duke. On Saturday, Florida State jumped out to a 28-0 lead and held off Duke’s comeback. With the Blue Devils clawing back into the game and trailing just 28-21 after touchdown runs by Durant and Deon Jackson, the Seminoles got back to work. Travis had a 27-yard TD run and Corbin added a 3-yard TD run as Florida State pulled away.
Duke has allowed 56, 56, 48 and 56 points in its last four games — all losses.
“A pretty somber locker room,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. “As you might imagine, 11 games now, a season coming to completion. Very thankful to our seniors … It’s been pretty phenomenal that they have not bailed out. At the toughest of times, they stayed the course.”
Corbin had 16 carries for 72 yards and two of his three touchdowns came out of the wildcat formation. Florida State ran for 324 yards and six touchdowns on 43 carries, the first time the Seminoles surpassed the 300-yard rushing mark since a Dec. 2017 win over ULM.
“Every day no matter who is here we are going to come to work every day,” Corbin said. “It felt good. It felt rewarding. Good vibes in the locker room.”
Hamsah Nasirildeen, Travis Jay and Brendan Gant had interceptions for the Seminoles.
TAKEAWAYS
Duke: The Blue Devils were again undone by their own mistakes, tossing three interceptions and giving up a fumble. Duke has given up 20 fumbles and 19 interceptions, with the 39 turnovers leading the FBS.
Florida State: The Seminoles averaged 7.5 yards per carry and surpassed the 200-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season.
RECORD NIGHT
Travis ran for 90 yards on 12 carries on Saturday. He now has 559 rushing yards, the most by a quarterback in a season in Florida State history. Charlie Ward had owned the record with 504 rushing yards in 1992, the year before he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to the national title.
UP NEXT
Duke: The regular season is over.
Florida State: Play at Wake Forest next Saturday
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