College Football Stories

This was one of the most fun nights of football I’ve had in recent memory. This game hits closer with me because I was in the Superdome to witness it.. Classic uniform combinations. Two state universities. Cajun flavor. Electric atmosphere. High end-of-game drama. Brian Kelly getting laughed at. Everything you want from a college football game.

Prior to the game, all of the LSU fans that I encountered in the tailgating lots were very inviting. They offered me anything and everything that I wanted to eat or drink, and they did not care that I was sporting garnet and gold. They were welcoming but also engaged in some good-natured ribbing and trash talk. “You know you’re walking into a beatdown, right?”

Fans of a team that had fired their coach just two seasons after winning a national championship and hiring another one sporting a fake Southern-accent were telling me my team had no shot. The athletes in the SEC were far too superior for some upstart like Florida State to compete with. Mike Norvell and his team should just stay out late and enjoy the French Quarter, because there wasn’t a chance they’d leave Louisiana with a victory. “If you ain’t Tigers, you’re just Tiger Bait!”

First Quarter

After the first play from scrimmage, I’ll admit that they may have had a point. LSU’s starting quarterback–Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels–scrambled for a gain of 25-yards after Florida State’s Jared Verse lost contain on the edge. LSU started the drive from the 35-yard line after Seminoles kicker Ryan Fitzgerald kicked the ball out of bounds. To make matters worse, FSU cornerback Renardo Green got in a shoving match with Tigers wide receiver Brian Thomas and was flagged for a personal foul. LSU had gotten to the FSU 25-yard line in a matter of eight seconds.

After FSU safety Akeem Dent broke up a would-be TD pass from Daniels to WR Kayshon Boutte, the Noles defense stiffened. After a high snap went over Daniels’ head from new center Garrett Dellinger, the Tigers faced third-and-goal from the 19-yard line. Daniels left the pocket and was tracked down by FSU linebacker Kalen Deloach, who forced an errant throw and a fourth down. Freshman kicker Damian Ramos connected on a 36-yard field goal attempt to give LSU an early 3-0 lead.

Florida State took over at their own 25-yard line with Jordan Travis taking the snaps at quarterback. LSU’s defense was nasty. They were anchored by All-American defensive linemen Maason Smith and B.J. Ojulari. Travis completed a pass to tight end Camren McDonald on third-and-seven to move the sticks. On the next play, Travis found his 6-foot-7 wideout Johnny Wilson for a gain of 20-yards to the LSU 42.

A holding call negated a big run by running back Treshaun Ward. On 1st-and-20 after the penalty, Travis kept the read option to gain 23-yards to the LSU 29-yard line. On third-and-ten, Travis was flushed from the pocket and forced to throw the ball out of bounds. By the end of this drive, both Smith and Ojulari would be taken off the field with injuries.

Fitzgerald missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, and FSU’s first possession yielded no points. Daniels and the Tigers took over at their own 29-yard line. Deloach and fellow Noles LB Tatum Bethune combined for a tone setting hit and a loss of four yards on Tigers RB Armoni Goodwin. LSU TE Mason Taylor gained five yards on a short completion on the next play before Daniels was pressured and sacked on third down after a safety blitz by Noles DB Jammie Robinson. The three-and-out gave the Noles the ball back at the five minute mark in the first quarter.

Travis and company took over at their own 15-yard line after an excellent LSU punt. On third-and-long, Travis connected with McDonald again for 13-yards and another conversion. Wide receiver Mycah Pittman picked up another third down catch to the Noles’ 42-yard line. FSU running back Trey Benson carried for 7-yards before WR Deuce Spann caught a Travis pass for a third consecutive third-down pickup.

Second Quarter

The Seminoles opened up the second period with their 11th play of the drive from the LSU 45. Ward made it third-and-short after a pickup of five yards. Travis converted the Noles’ fourth third-down conversion of the drive after a run to the LSU 37. On second-and-long, with 13 minutes left in the second quarter, FSU struck with the first big play of the game. Travis took the snap in the pistol set form the LSU 39-yard line, handing off to Ward. The back ran right and pitched the ball to Pittman on the reverse, who tossed it back to Travis on a flea-flicker. From near midfield, Travis launched a missile into the end zone to Ontaria “Pokey” Wilson for the game’s first touchdown. FSU led 7-3 early in the second quarter.

On the first play of LSU’s next possession, Daniels was sacked by Bethune for a short loss. LSU picked up a few first downs with passes to wide receivers Brian Thomas and Malik Nabers. Daniels continued to run well, picking up another first down to get down inside the red zone. After an FSU timeout, Daniels was leveled and driven backwards by Renardo Green. Nose tackle Fabian Lovett stuffed Williams after a short gain on second-and-eight. A false start by the Tigers made it a third-and-long. A missed throw to Boutte in the end zone forced LSU to attempt another field goal. FSU transfer defensive end Jared Verse blocked Ramos’ kick, and the Noles took over at their own 20-yard line.

With 5:43 remaining before halftime, Travis and the FSU offense took the field. A near interception on second-and-eight set up a third-and-long. Travis found Wilson to move the chains. The Tigers defense finally got the Noles off the field on a third-down after Travis’ pass to Wilson was just out of reach at the sideline.

FSU’s punter Alex Mastromanno boomed a big punt, which was subsequently muffed by LSU’s Malik Nabers and recovered by FSU TE Wyatt Rector at the LSU 16-yard line. The Tigers defense showed some fight, and the Noles were forced to attempt a fourth-and-two from inside the 10-yard line. The gamble not to take the three “easy” points didn’t pay off, as Pittman couldn’t come down with Travis’ throw in the end zone. LSU’s mistake didn’t prove costly and the Tigers took over deep in their own end with just over a minute remaining before the break.

After Daniels picked up nearly 15-yards to get the Tigers past the 30-yard line on second-and-two, Verse came through with another big stop. The transfer edge rusher bullied LSU left tackle Will Campbell off the line of scrimmage and broke through the get to the elusive Daniels before he could escape the pocket. The sack resulted in a loss of 12-yards and killed any chance at the Tigers mounting a drive before halftime. The Noles led 7-3 at the break.

Third Quarter

Florida State got the ball to start the second half. Travis and the offense went 68-yards on 14-plays, keeping the ball for six and a half minutes. After Travis found Pokey Wilson on back-to-back throws to start the third quarter, Ward carried twice for eight yards. From near midfield, running back Lawrence Toafili converted a third-and-six with a 10-yard completion on a screen pass. Several plays later, Travis cnnected with Johnny Wilson for a gain of 24-yards to get into the red zone. Several Ward runs got the Noles to within the 10-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Travis’ pass to McDonald was nearly intercepted in the end zone by LSU cornerback Mekhi Garner. Fitzgerald was brought out to kick a field goal. FSU grew their lead to 10-3 with 8:29 to play in the third quarter.

On the ensuing LSU possession, Daniels and the Tigers took over from their own 23-yard line. Goodwin’s carry on first down was stopped behind the line of scrimmage. On third-and-ten, under immense pressure, Daniels found Brian Thomas for three yards on the Seminoles’ sideline. The Tigers punted it back to the Noles with seven minutes to play in the third quarter. Travis and the FSU offense took over at their own 43-yard line after a poor Jay Bramblett punt.

Eight plays and 57-yards later, the Noles struck another huge blow by way of another connection from Travis to Pokey Wilson. Ward got things started by picking up 7-yards and moving the chains on second down. Several plays later, Pittman converted a huge third-and-ten on a shallow cross to gain 14-yards. From the 27-yard line, facing anothe third-down, Travis found his favorite target for the score. Facing intense pressure from LSU DE Ali Gaye, Travis stood strong and took a huge hit as he launched a pass to Wilson in the end zone. Wilson, despite interference from Tigers’ CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse, reeled in Travis’ throw with one hand. With just over four minutes to play, the Noles led 17-3. The noise on the FSU side was deafening; the LSU faithful were quieter than church mice.

The LSU players, however, would not remain quiet for long. The Tigers next drive would be their best of the night to that point. Daniels engineered an 82-yard drive to get LSU into the end zone for the first time all game. A questionable roughing the passer call on Dent gave the Tigers a fresh set of downs. On the next play, LSU got gifted another 15-yards as FSU’s Robinson was flagged for pass interference.

Daniels took advantage, finding wide receivers Kyren Lacy and Nabers, and TE Taylor on three of the next four plays to get the ball into the red zone. Tigers’ running back Noah Cain ran four straight times from inside the 10-yard line, ultimately scoring on fourth-and-short. LSU was right back in this ball game. FSU led 17-10 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Noles responded to the Tigers’ touchdown drive with one of their own. Travis and the offense went 79-yards on 12-plays, chewing up over six minutes of clock. Ward and Toafili rushed for gains of 8- and 7-yards, respectively to move the sticks. Travis found Pittman for 25-yards and Johnny Wilson for a gain of 15 to get the ball down inside the Tiger 30-yard line. Spann took it 16-yards on an end-around and tight end Markeston “Biscuit” Douglas caught a pass for an 8-yard gain to get the ball inside the ten. Travis converted a third-down to the 1-yard line before linebacker/fullback D.J. Lundy did the rest. Lundy took the hand-off and leapt over the line to put the Noles up by two scores. With nine minutes left in the game, FSU led 24-10.

The Tigers struck back on their next possession. Daniels found WR Jaray Jenkins for 9-yards before Cain gained another first down on a big run to the LSU 43-yard line. Daniels found Thomas for a third-down conversion past midfield. On fourth-and-two from the FSU 39, Boutte finally caught his first pass of the game; this one went for 7-yards and kept the drive going. Later in the drive, Daniels connected with Jenkins for six yards on a big third-down. With just over four minutes remaining, Jenkins hauled in a 22-yard touchdown reception on a catch-and-run to cut the lead to a single possession once again.

Florida State couldn’t get anything going on the next drive, and went three-and-out. Mastromanno booted it 47-yards inside the LSU 10-yard line. Awaiting his punt was Nabers, who had fumbled a punt earlier in the game. Lightning struck twice that night in New Orleans, as Nabers dropped the ball again. FSU’s Brendan Gant recovered, and the Noles took over at the Tigers’ 8-yard line with under two minutes left. Travis and the offense took the field ready to put a dagger in LSU’s heart and leave Louisiana with a sweet victory.

It would not be that easy. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, after an LSU timeout, Ward fumbled the hand-off on the toss sweep, and the Tigers recovered. Daniels and the LSU offense had 99-yards to go to tie the game, with 1:20 remaining and two timeouts. The Tigers did–almost–exactly that. Two completions to Nabers and a Daniels’ 14-yard run got LSU to the 29-yard line. Boutte and Thomas hauled in receptions to get the ball across midfield. Daniels took a loss of 6-yards on a sack by Verse and LSU was forced to call their final timeout.

Facing a second-and-fifteen, Daniels scrambled for a gain of 24-yards to the Noles’ 29-yard line. After spiking the ball, Daniels hit Thomas for a gain of ten to get in the red zone. With ten seconds remaining, Daniels tossed a ball to Taylor on a delayed shallow cross route. Taylor took it 17-yards and appeared to get out of bounds with one second remaining on the clock. High drama. After a lengthy replay review, the call–and time–was confirmed. Daniels hit Jenkins on a slant in the back of the end zone for six points, bringing the score to 24-23 with no time remaining.

As Ramos lined up for the extra point, Mike Norvell had to be beside himself. How did he let this opportunity slip away? His team had bullied LSU on the lines of scrimmage for much of this game. They just did not put away their opponent while they were down. The two special teams gaffes by the Tigers should have resulted in a minimum of six points, preferably more. After a tough, close loss to Brian Kelly and Notre Dame in the opening game of 2021, would the Noles really be saying “what-if” or “we almost” yet again? Nope. Not tonight. Ramos’ extra point was blocked by FSU safety Shyheim Brown, and the Seminoles prevailed. It was one of the most exciting games I had ever been to, with as crazy of a finish you will ever see.

Pure elation was felt from all those garnet and gold-clad fans in the Superdome. After more than five years of mediocrity (or worse), it felt good to be nationally relevant again. I felt this was true the moment I walked out of that stadium. This game was a catalyst for the 2022 and 2023 Seminoles. FSU went 10-3 in 2022, finishing ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. The Tigers bounced back from the opening season loss, winning the SEC West title after a 9-3 finish to the regular season. Despite getting trounced by Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, it was a successful first season for Kelly’s team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The two squads met again a year later, this time in Orlando, Florida. In a match-up of top ten teams, FSU destroyed LSU, 45-24. The Noles went 13-1 in 2023, winning the ACC Championship. FSU was snubbed from the College Football Playoff after Nick Saban called in a favor Jordan Travis suffered a severe leg injury in the penultimate regular season game. As of August 2026, Mike Norvell, despite being 7-17 over his last two seasons, is somehow still the head coach at FSU. Brian Kelly is working for CBS Sports after LSU fired him prior to the conclusion of the 2025 season.

Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Trophy in 2023, and was drafted in the first round by the Washington Redskins Football Team Commanders. Very recently, Daniels has issued a cease and desist to the LSU football program due to his jersey number being used by a current Tigers player. SEC journeyman coach Lane Kiffin has taken over in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, hoping to stay long enough to open up several hot yoga studios and land at least one more magazine cover. The Tigers have not appeared in the College Football Playoff since the magical 2019 season.