Tag: jordan travis

See: Notre Dame’s Hamilton picks off the first pass of the year

He’s pretty good, isn’t he?

It took almost all of the first half for Notre Dame star safety Kyle Hamilton to make an impact. But on a 3rd-and-8, Florida State’s quarterback Jordan Travis was flushed out of the pocket and forced a throw down the right side. Bad idea, as Hamilton was there and made the Seminoles quarterback pay with his gamble.

It is the 6th career interception for the safety, who continues to show the nation why he’s one of the best at his position.

Notre Dame at Florida State: First-Quarter Analysis

That quarter could have gone just a little better.

Notre Dame wasted no time making its presence known in Sunday’s season opener against Florida State. When you’re able to put up a quick score on offense and start out suffocating the quarterback on defense, good things are going to happen. However, bad things can happen, too, and that’s why the Irish are faced with a 7-7 tie after the first quarter.

Jack Coan connected with Michael Mayer, the Irish’s top returning receiver, on a 25-yard completion on the game’s first play from scrimmage to advance the ball to midfield. The offense soon was faced with a fourth-and-1, and Tommy Rees decided it was a good-time to test out his unit’s ability in that situation. So far, that ability appears to be good as Coan took advantage of a broken Seminoles coverage to complete another pass to Mayer, who ran 41 yards for the Irish’s first touchdown of the season.

The Irish had to punt on their next two offensive possessions, and it turned out they should have done more with those opportunities. Jordan Travis, who was named the Seminoles’ starting quarterback mere moments before his team took the field, had trouble moving the football, let alone getting beyond his own red zone. With his offense only moving backwards, it appeared the Irish’s defense was in control. That all changed when Jashaun Corbin, the Seminoles’ top returning running back, took a handoff at his team’s 11-yard line, broke a couple of tackles and was off to the races via an 89-yard game-tying touchdown run.

The Irish’s next turn on offense went better, and they were faced with another fourth-and-1 in Seminoles territory. Coan completed a short pass to Kyren Williams, but a measurement determined he fell down just short of the first-down marker.

We’re already being reminded of how quickly momentum can change in college football. That confidence isn’t quite there right now, is it?

Tale of the Tape: Leading Rushers – Kyren Williams vs. Jashaun Corbin

The Irish shouldn’t have a problem with this particular position battle.

Notre Dame will have a clear advantage at running back during its season opener against Florida State. Kyren Williams was terrific in 2020, demonstrating how capable he was at putting up 100-yard performances. In fact, the 185 yards he ran for in last year’s meeting with the Seminoles are his career high. More importantly, the Seminoles were one of five opponents against which he scored at least two touchdowns.

In 2020, Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis was the team’s leading rusher, but as far as actual running backs, that title went to Jashaun Corbin. While it wasn’t a bad accomplishment for the Texas A&M transfer, he hardly had what you would call breakout numbers. In sizing up the two running backs in this comparison, Corbin literally was half the player Williams was last season. If Mike Norvell starts McKenzie Milton instead of Travis on Sunday, Corbin might have to pick up the slack on the ground unless Milton effectively unleashes that part of his game.

Tale of the Tape: Starting Quarterbacks – Jack Coan vs. Travis/Milton

Two of these three quarterbacks will start Sunday.

Notre Dame and Florida State could present one of the most unique quarterback battles of the first full week of the college football season. The Irish have Jack Coan, a transfer who last saw action as Wisconsin’s starting quarterback in 2019. That year, he completed 69.6 percent of his passes to lead the Big Ten and rank seventh in the nation. He won’t be expected to throw for 200 yards in every game, but he should be able to produce enough to fill the void left by Ian Book.

As of this writing, Seminoles coach Mike Norvell has not chosen whether returnee Jordan Travis or UCF transfer McKenzie Milton will start against the Irish. On one hand, Travis is familiar with the offense and by far the most mobile quarterback out of this group. On the other hand, Milton is more accomplished, most notably as the quarterback of the undefeated 2017 Knights, but he didn’t play during either of the past two seasons. It’s a big decision for Norvell as it could make a difference in this game.

Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Third-Quarter Analysis

The Seminoles have shown they’re able to put points on the board against a top team like Notre Dame.

Florida State has shown it’s able to put points on the board against a top team like Notre Dame. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, the Irish are answering every score with one of their own. It could only be a matter of time before the Irish make the deficit big enough to make a comeback almost impossible. They lead, 42-26, after three quarters.

The Seminoles started the second half fast with a 30-yard pass from Jordan Travis to Tamorrion Terry. They continued to go to the air until they got into the red zone. La’Damian Webb punctuated the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. The subsequent pass on the two-point conversion was incomplete.

The Irish started the next drive on their own 14-yard line after a penalty on the kickoff. The distance didn’t matter because the offense put together perhaps its most impressive drive so far this season. Not only did it convert on a fourth down, but Javon McKinley caught a 38-yard pass from Ian Book to set the Irish up to score again. They did just a few plays later when Book took the ball into the end zone from 3 yards out.

Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Second-Quarter Analysis

Well, that’s a bit more like it. Notre Dame still doesn’t look it’s completely shaken the rust from its layoff.

Well, that’s a bit more like it. Notre Dame still doesn’t look it’s completely shaken the rust from its layoff. However, it takes a 35-20 lead over Florida State into the locker room. It has that to be grateful for.

After Javon McKinley caught a 36-yard pass from Ian Book to end the first quarter, the Irish continued their momentum on the drive to begin the second quarter. They gained positive yardage on every play until Kyren Williams scored his second touchdown of the game from the 1-yard line. After that, the game hit a bit of a lull as no points were scored on the next three possessions. It also was nice because it showed how well the Irish defense plays when the offense doesn’t put it in a tough spot.

With Williams already having contributed a bunch, the decision was made to give the ball to Chris Tyree in the backfield. He quickly showed why the Irish have faith in him. The drive took only four plays after he ran for 13 and 45 yards, respectively. The latter of those plays resulted in a touchdown.

Florida State saw how well the Irish were doing on the ground throughout the first half and decided to counter with their own ground game. Led by La’Damian Webb, the Seminoles marched downfield all the way to the Notre Dame 8. They might have gotten farther, but the Irish defended Jordan Travis’ passes well. Ryan Fitzgerald salvaged the drive by kicking his second field goal.

The next drive saw the Irish race against the clock and put together a complete effort. Jafar Armstrong returned a kick 36 yards to the Notre Dame 43, setting up a series of runs from Book. The Irish also were aided by a personal foul penalty from the Seminoles. It all culminated in a a 5-yard touchdown reception from Braden Lenzy with 11 seconds left.

Notre Dame vs. Florida State: First-Quarter Analysis

Those who figured the two-week layoff would hurt Notre Dame against Florida State were correct early.

Those who figured the two-week layoff would hurt Notre Dame against Florida State were correct early. Kyren Williams lost a fumble on his first carry of the game, and it cost the Irish an early field goal. Williams more than made up for it on the Irish’s subsequent possessions. Still, the Irish find themselves behind, 17-14, after the first quarter.

On the first play of Notre Dame’s second possession, Williams took advantage of a nice block from Tommy Tremble and ran 65 yards to the Florida State 10-yard line. That set up an 8-yard touchdown reception for Michael Mayer. One Seminoles punt later, Ian Book made a few nice passes before Williams ran the ball 46 yards to the house to give the Irish a 14-3 lead.

The Irish looked like they would hold that advantage after forcing a three-and-out, but Lawrence Keys III muffed a punt, and the Seminoles were more than happy to take over deep in Irish territory. That’s because all Jordan Travis had to do was call two run plays before running into the end zone himself from 4 yards out.

The Irish failed to pick up a first down on their next possession, really looking out of sync. When the Seminoles got the ball back, they decided to switch from attacking on the ground to doing so in the air. Travis completed three of four passes, targeting leading receiver Tamorrion Terry three times.  The final pass went 48 yards to Terry, who ran into the end zone and gave the Seminoles the lead back.

It was a quarter of both good and bad for the Irish, and most of the bad easily could have been avoided had they held onto the ball. Brian Kelly better figure out how to keep his guys on their toes because that extra time off seems to be taking a toll. At least they have enough time to figure things out. Still, Irish fans are in shock.

Tale of the Tape: Team Stats – Notre Dame vs. Florida State

Tale of the Tape: Team Stats – Notre Dame vs. Florida State

The advantages for Saturday’s game between Notre Dame and Florida State are clear.

The Irish are better than the Seminoles in most categories, and chances are they would be ahead in a few of the others if their game against Wake Forest hadn’t been postponed. The biggest edges the Irish have come on defense. They’re far ahead of the Seminoles in every defensive category, and they might even get some help from the penalty discrepancy between the teams.

Even though the Irish only have played twice, it’s surprising to see the Seminoles ahead in passing offense despite starting their third quarterback in four games Saturday.

Jordan Travis might even get a little help from his kick and punt return teams since there’s a slight advantage there. He and the Seminoles don’t seem to have much trouble picking up first downs.

None of that, however, will make a difference if they can’t score, and the Irish have a unit that can ensure almost at will.

Tale of the Tape: Starting Quarterbacks – Ian Book vs. Jordan Travis

When Notre Dame plays Florida State on Saturday, we’ll have one quarterback coming off a layoff and another who’s a bandage at the position.

When Notre Dame plays Florida State on Saturday, we’ll have one quarterback coming off a layoff and another who’s a bandage at the position. Though Ian Book mostly has superior numbers in spite of a two-week break, he has yet to dominate a game. Hopefully, the time off allowed him to clear his head so that he finally can play like the quarterback we’re used to seeing. However, a struggling team like the Seminoles should give him a little room for error.

Jordan Travis already is the third quarterback to get the starting nod in four games for Florida State. If nothing else, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to run the ball because he seems to do well there. It will take more than that to beat the Irish, however. Unless Travis successfully becomes pass-happy or the Seminoles’ equivalent to Michael Vick or Vince Young, it could be a long night in South Bend for the redshirt sophomore.

Florida State names starting QB for Notre Dame game

After leading the Seminoles to five straight touchdowns on Saturday, Florida State has an announced yet another starting quarterback.

When No. 5 Notre Dame hosts Florida State on Saturday night the Irish will be taking on a team that will be featuring their third starting quarterback already, in just fourth game for the Seminoles this fall.

Announced by Florida State head coach Mike Norvell on Monday, red-shirt sophomore Jordan Travis will get the start for Florida State after coming off the bench to help guide the Seminoles to their first victory of the year last week, a 41-24 win over Jacksonville State.

Travis replaced freshman Tate Rodemaker in that contest after Rodemaker struggled early as Jacksonville State jumped out to an unlikely 14-0 lead at Doak Walker Stadium.

Travis then led Florida State on five straight touchdown drives, going 12 of 17 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown along the way while also rushing for 48 yards and an additional score himself.

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James Blackmon, who started for Florida State the last time the Seminoles and Irish played back in 2018, started the season as the Seminoles starting signal caller but was replaced after their debacle in Miami.

“Jordan has really done a nice job; you can tell the work he did during quarantine and a lot of things he was able to do working on his own that was able to carry over,” Norvell said. “We’re excited about having him back, and some of the things he’s been able to do early in the season, even with limited repetition, speaks well to where his continued development can go and what he can be.”

For what it’s worth, Travis was graded as a three-star prospect out of The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach.  Originally a Louisville enrollee, Travis transfered to Florida State following the 2018 regular season.