Jordan Travis threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as No. 4 Florida State kept its unbeaten record intact and bulldozed its way to a 41-16 win over host Wake Forest at Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday afternoon.
Travis completed 22-of-35 passes for a season-high 359 yards and also rushed seven times for 29 yards for the Seminoles (8-0, 6-0 ACC).
Trey Benson provided a big boost to the FSU offense, rushing 10 times for 55 yards and a touchdown, while also catching four passes for 100 yards and a score. Keon Coleman caught Travis’ other two scoring strikes as part of a seven-catch, 66-yard effort.
Coleman and Benson provided fireworks too. Benson’s receiving touchdown was a short pass that he took 80 yards to the end zone, and one of Coleman’s scoring catches was a one-handed grab.
Wake Forest (4-4, 1-14 ACC) ran the ball 49 times, but didn’t have much success on the ground with 2.6 yards per carry. Justice Ellison paced the attack with 77 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Demon Deacons quarterback Mitch Griffis returned under-center, but was largely ineffective, completing 6 of 16 passes for 82 yards.
Florida State got on the scoreboard quickly, starting the game with a nine-play, 75-yard drive in its opening series that ended with Travis scampering 13 yards for a touchdown.
After an FSU field goal, Wake scored its lone touchdown of the first half following a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Ke’Shawn Williams finding the end zone on a 2-yard run.
The Seminoles then scored 24 straight points to build a 34-7 halftime cushion.
Wake Forest had a Matthew Dennis field goal and scored another touchdown in the third quarter, on a Tate Carney rush from 2 yards out, but never got closer than 18 points of Florida State’s lead.
FSU’s victory snapped a three-game winning streak for Wake Forest in the series. It is also the first time since 2017 that the Seminoles have won at Winston-Salem.
The Seminoles played without wideout Johnny Wilson.
–Field Level Media