“I love the response:” Mike Norvell confident in Florida State’s continued growth as FSU moves to 8-0

With its win over Wake Forest on Saturday, No. 4 Florida State (8-0, 6-0 ACC) continued its best start under head coach Mike Norvell and overall since the 2014 season.

The 41-16 win was FSU’s 14th in a row, a streak that has also featured the Seminoles scoring 30 points in each victory.

“I’m proud of our football team...not just because of winning the game but who they are, the mindset they bring, the way that they fight for each other,” Norvell said after the win. “I thought our guys played really hard, I thought they executed. We had some penalties, a couple negative plays...but I love the response.”

“To finish out the second quarter the way we did, it was a heck of response...it was a big jump.”

Norvell is now 26-16 at Florida State and 18-3 over the last two seasons.

He spoke on the Seminoles’ win, how the offense and defense played today, what worked for FSU, performances from Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, Trey Benson and others and some thoughts on the upcoming College Football Playoff rankings.

Head coach Mike Norvell

Game notes, via FSU Sports Info

• No. 4 Florida State improved to 152-29 all-time when ranked in the top 5 with a 41-16 win at Wake Forest Saturday afternoon.
• FSU is 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the ACC for the first time since 2014.
• The Noles are now 23-6 all-time when ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, including 6-4 on the road and 5-0 this year.
• FSU is 31-9-1 all-time against Wake Forest, with a 10-5 mark in Winston-Salem.
• Florida State extended its winning streak to 14 games, trailing only Georgia and Washington entering Saturday. It is tied for the 6th-longest winning streak in FSU history.
• FSU’s 14-game streak scoring at least 30 points is the longest active streak in the nation and the 2nd-longest in ACC history, behind FSU’s 17-game streak in 2012-14.
• FSU scored 24 consecutive points against Wake Forest, taking the score from 10-7 to 34-7.
• Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Travis was 22-for-35 passing for a season-high 359 yards and 3 touchdowns, from 14, 29 and 80 yards. Travis added 29 yards on the ground, with a 13-yard touchdown run.
• Travis has accounted for multiple touchdowns in 15 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country and breaking a tie with 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston for the longest in Florida State history. Travis is the 3rd ACC player in the last 20 years with a streak of at least 15 games, joining 2020 Heisman Trophy finalist Trevor Lawrence (17) and 2021 Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett (16).
• Travis has thrown at least one touchdown in 20 consecutive games, FSU’s longest stretch since Jameis Winston (27, 2013-14).
• Travis’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Trey Benson was the longest pass of his career, and FSU’s first between 80-89 yards since 1999.
• Travis’s rushing touchdown was his 6th of the year. Travis is now tied with Devonta Freeman (2011-13) and Amp Lee (1989-91) for 4th in school history with 30 career rushing touchdowns.
• Travis accounted for 306 of FSU’s 351 yards in the first half, and all four touchdowns. The last time FSU had 34 points and 350 yards in the first half against a Power 5 team was 2013 vs. Syracuse.
• Already FSU’s career leader in total touchdowns and total offense, Travis ranks 11th in ACC history with 94 total touchdowns and 17th with 9,936 yards of total offense.
• Travis’s FSU career ranks: t-3rd, 63 TD passes; 3rd, 7,997 passing yards; t-4th, 25 wins as starting QB; 5th, 590 completions; t-11th, 5 300-yard passing games.
• Benson led FSU with a career-high 100 receiving yards, the first 100-yard receiving game for an FSU running back since Dalvin Cook had 106 vs. North Carolina in 2016. Benson added 55 yards on the ground with an 18-yard touchdown, FSU’s longest run of the game; He leads FSU with 7 rushing touchdowns.
• Benson’s 80-yard catch was the longest of his career, and he is responsible for FSU’s two longest offensive plays this year (85-yard TD run vs. Virginia Tech). Benson is the first player in FSU history with an 80-yard touchdown catch and 80-yard touchdown run in his career; Benson is the first player since Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn in 2022 with an 80-yard catch and 80-yard run in the same season.
• Benson crossed the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark as a Seminole on his 80-yard catch and has 2,067 over 21 games at Florida State. He reached 1,500 rushing yards as a Seminole in the second half against the Demon Deacons.
• Wide receiver Keon Coleman led FSU with 7 catches, for 66 yards and two touchdowns, from 29 and 14 yards. Coleman’s nine touchdown catches lead the ACC, are a single-season career high and are tied for 16th-most in a season in FSU history. Coleman has three multi-TD games this season.
• Florida State’s starting offensive line - the most experienced in college football - has combined to start 170 career games.
• FSU held Wake Forest to 75 yards in the first half, with 51 yards coming on one run. The Demon Deacons averaged 2.4 yards per play, were dropped for eight TFLs, including four sacks, and completed just one pass in the opening 30 minutes.
• Jared Verse tied a career high with 2.0 sacks, both in the second quarter. He is FSU’s active leader with 13.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss in his career.
• Kalen DeLoach started his 30th consecutive game for the Seminoles. He had eight tackles, 1.0 sack and a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss.
• Patrick Payton also had a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss. As a team, FSU had 10.0 TFL, the second game with double-digit TFL this year.
• Redshirt freshman Omar Graham Jr. earned the first tackle for loss of his career.
• Alex Mastromanno booted a 54-yard punt to the 1-yard line in the first quarter, his 11th punt of 50+ yards this year.
• Deuce Spann returned a kickoff 43 yards, the second longest of his career. The reigning ACC Special Teams Player of the Week, Spann returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown last week against No. 16 Duke.
• Wide receiver Kentron Poitier made his second career start and caught his first pass of the year, for 33 yards. Ja’Khi Douglas also caught his first pass of the season.
• Redshirt freshman Rodney Hill caught a 23-yard pass, the longest catch of his career. » Wake Forest completed 6-of-16 passes. FSU entered the week allowing a 50.2 completion percentage - best in the country - and is now the only team in the country with fewer completions allowed than incomplete passes (49.4).
• FSU is the only Power 5 team to have not allowed a passing touchdown in the month of October and the only team in the country to not allow a passing touchdown while playing four games in October.
• Wake Forest wide receiver Wesley Grimes leads the ACC in yards per completion, at 18.69. The Noles held him without a catch Saturday.