No. 4 Florida State relied on a smothering defense and a two-headed ground attack to defeat No. 14 Louisville 16-6 in the ACC championship game Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C.
Now the Seminoles (13-0) will await their postseason fate as the College Football Playoff committee weighs where to rank them without their injured star quarterback, Jordan Travis.
With No. 2 quarterback Tate Rodemaker held out Saturday due to a concussion, true freshman Brock Glenn made his first start and completed 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards.
“There’s a lot of teams with ability. But a lot of those teams … they’ve shown the ability and they’ve lost games,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said on the ABC broadcast. “This team has not. This team has responded to all situations. This team has fought no matter what the circumstance was.”
Lawrance Toafili, tabbed as the game’s MVP, took 10 carries for 118 yards and the game’s only touchdown and Trey Benson added 67 rushing yards for Florida State.
“I couldn’t do it without my team,” Toafili said. “I was going out there and just trying to contribute however I could. God put that in front of me and I was able to make it happen.”
The victory gives Florida State its fifth ACC title and first since 2014.
Meanwhile, Louisville (10-3) was held to 188 total yards, with Jack Plummer going 14-for-36 for 111 yards and an interception. Braden Fiske had three of Florida State’s seven sacks, including one on fourth down with 2:35 to play. Jared Verse recorded two sacks.
The teams combined to start 0-for-9 on third downs as defense dominated the first quarter. A premature snap spoiled the Seminoles’ fifth third-down attempt, but Ryan Fitzgerald got them on the board with a 45-yard field goal with 10:32 before halftime.
Later, a 24-yard Louisville punt set Florida State up at the Cardinals’ 38-yard line for a 2-minute drill. But after Glenn lost 9 yards on a sack, Fitzgerald’s second 45-yard field-goal attempt of the night missed wide left, and it was just 3-0 at halftime.
The Cardinals went 56 yards in 13 plays on their first drive of the second half, ending in Brock Travelstead’s 36-yard field goal to tie the game. Jamari Thrash had two 11-yard receptions to power the drive.
But the Seminoles immediately responded when Toafili took a direct snap, hung back momentarily, then ran 73 yards down the right sideline to the Louisville 2. Toafili powered into the end zone on the next play at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter.
After Travelstead’s 33-yard field goal cut it to 10-6 with 13:36 left in regulation, Louisville forced a three-and-out. The Cardinals broke through the Seminoles’ punt protection and Jimmy Calloway tackled punter Alex Mastromanno at the 12-yard line.
But on third down, Plummer forced a throw in the middle of the end zone and Tatum Bethune intercepted it to quash Louisville’s golden opportunity.
Louisville’s final three drives netted a loss of 15 yards. Fitzgerald converted from 33 yards and 40 yards during the final 3:13 for the Seminoles’ final margin.
–Field Level Media
