FSU football: Noles overcome adversity and injuries to beat Louisville

FSU football overcame turnovers, missed field goals, and losing starting quarterback Jordan Travis in the first half but found a way to defeat the Louisville Cardinals 35-31 on the road Friday night.

FSU started the game with a three-and-out on defense, with the offense scoring a touchdown on their first possession. Jordan Travis started the game going 11 for 11 throwing the ball.

It looked like FSU football would be too much early, but Louisville responded to tie the game and eventually take a 14-7 lead after the Noles missed a 37-yard field goal.

FSU responded with a three-play 75-yard drive to tie the game 14-14. Louisville fumbled on their next possession, but FSU gave the ball right back on an interception from a pass that deflected off Camren McDonald not looking for the ball.

Jordan Travis got injured on the play and didn’t return from what looks like an ankle injury. Tate Rodemaker replaced him and looked awful early, throwing an interception, with Louisville taking a 21-14 lead into halftime. I thought the game was over at this point.

However, Rodemaker led the Noles on a TD drive on their first possession of the third quarter to tie the game 21-21. The FSU defense forced punts on two consecutive possessions, but the ‘Noles offense couldn’t get anything going.

Louisville took advantage of good field position and took the lead on an 18-yard run. Just when we thought the Noles would fold, Tate Rodemaker came to life and scored on three plays to tie the game 28-28. The big play on the drive came on a post route to Johnny Wilson:

Wilson would cook Brownlee again for the touchdown. FSU would hold Louisville to a field goal on their next possession for a 31-28 lead, which felt like a win on that series. The Noles went 75 yards on eight plays to take a 35-31 lead for what would be the final score. The best part was Johnny Wilson mossed Jarvis Brownlee again:

FSU had a chance to take on more points, but Ryan Fitzgerald missed another field goal, giving Louisville the ball back with 1:39 left. However, Kevin Knowles intercepted an errant pass from Malik Cunningham to seal the win with 37 seconds remaining.

Johnny Wilson finished the game with seven receptions for 149 yards. Treshaun Ward had 126 yards on 10 carries. What a huge win for the Noles!

However, Jared Verse, Robert Scott, and Jordan Travis sustained injuries in the game, which could impact next week against Boston College.