No. 4 Florida State is tabling playoff talk. The ACC title game, No. 15 Louisville are on the clock
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Florida State wasn’t dominant against its archrival, but the No. 4 Seminoles were effective enough to remain unbeaten — and to pop back into the College Football Playoff’s top four.
The No. 4 Seminoles are tabling those playoff talks for now with No. 15 Louisville on the clock Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Louisville, led by first-year coach and native son Jeff Brohm, is eager to prove its impressive transition is no illusion against an old conference foe.
“We didn’t make it all this way just to get to the game,” Cardinals center Bryan Hudson said. “We want to go win. So, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Florida State (12-0, 8-0 ACC, No. 4 CFP) is playing in its first conference championship game in almost a decade. Louisville (10-2, 7-1, No. 14 CFP) is in the game for the first time. Both schools have kept the ACC in playoff discussions at points this season, but a Florida State win in Charlotte, North Carolina, would provide the league its best chance of getting into the four-team field that will be announced Sunday night.
“It would mean a lot, especially for the team, knowing all we’ve been through and bringing coach (Mike Norvell) here,” Seminoles free safety Akeem Dent said. “It would mean a lot to get the ball back rolling for the fans and for the organization.”
The championship game matches teams with top-20 defenses and top-30 offenses. The schools have played each other annually in the Atlantic Division since Louisville joined in 2014, but didn’t face each other this season with divisional play eliminated.
“Louisville has played at an elite level throughout this year,” the fourth-year coach Norvell said. “They’ve got a great offense, a great defense. … We believe we’ve got some of those same characteristics and that’s why we’re both getting a chance to compete in this game.”
Sadly, one player unable to compete is Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, a Louisville transfer who had directed the attack until sustaining a serious leg injury two weeks ago that ended his college career. Travis nonetheless was named the ACC’s player of the year this week and remains in the Heisman Trophy discussion.
Backup Tate Rodemaker is now behind center and has directed two victories. That includes last week’s 24-15 road defeat of rival Florida, a game the Seminoles trailed 12-0 before clamping down and outscoring the Gators 24-3. Rodemaker threw for 134 yards without an interception in his first start since 2020 and will face the team he tossed two TDs against last year.
Meanwhile, Louisville looks to rebound from last week’s 38-31 loss to rival Kentucky that delayed its pursuit of its first 11-win season since 2013.
The Cardinals outgained the Wildcats 403-289, but were outscored 31-21 in a wild second half. They’ve done well establishing control but have had some second-half lulls in recent weeks.
“We know against this type of team that the margin for error is very small,” said Brohm, who’s making his second consecutive title-game appearance after guiding Purdue to last fall’s Big Ten final against Michigan. “You can’t have those type of errors or it’s going to cost you. We have to understand that it’s very hard to overcome anything like that when you’re playing this type of team, so we’re going to have to really be sharp.”
START FAST
Louisville has outscored opponents 97-21 in the first quarter, with 14 of those points allowed two weeks ago at Miami. The Cardinals also close well (95-50 in the fourth quarter), though Kentucky outscored them 17-7 in the final quarter with chunk-play touchdowns and a 67-7 advantage in rushing yards.
REMEMBER THIS VERSE
Seminoles defensive end Jared Verse posted a career-high 2.5 sacks at Florida, his third multiple-sack game this season. The junior has seven total among 9.5 tackles for loss, while his 16 career sacks are best among active Florida State players.
POUNDING PAIR
Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo have formed a formidable rushing tandem for the Cardinals, who rank fifth in the ACC at 183.5 yards per game. Guerendo has rushed for 639 yards, with 387 of those and five touchdowns coming in the past four contests while Jordan was limited by an injured hamstring. Jordan is the ACC’s No. 2 runner with 1,076 yards and 13 scores.
PRECISE AND PROTECTIVE
Florida State’s five turnovers committed are the nation’s fewest, while its plus-11 margin ranks fifth in FBS. The Seminoles have thrown just two interceptions all year and none over the past six games.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Florida State and Louisville each have seven victories over bowl-eligible Power Five teams, tied for the most in the nation.
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AP Freelance Writer Bob Ferrante in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football