Florida State football: Tate Rodemaker, Johnny Wilson lead Seminoles to victory over Louisville | 5 takeaways

Leading up to the Louisville game Friday, Florida State football coach Mike Norvell stressed to his team how they respond is the most important thing.

FSU, of course, responded to a potentially program-changing victory over LSU two weeks ago.

But the Seminoles responded in another big way to two major injuries in a 35-31 victory over the Cardinals at Cardinal Stadium.

Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker led FSU (3-0, 1-0 ACC) to the victory and the program’s best start since 2015, coming on in relief of starting quarterback Jordan Travis.

Running backs Treshuan Ward and Trey Benson, as well as wide receiver Johnny Wilson also played key roles in the come-from-behind victory over Louisville (1-2, 0-2).

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The redshirt sophomore for the Seminoles following an injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis (lower leg) in the second quarter.

He turned to receiver Wilson early and often to lead the team to a comeback victory.

“First off, I am just so very proud of our football team,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. “We essentially started back in January. It’s about the investment, the work, the relationships; and we’ve got a very competent football team in times of adversity because they know that they invest in work.

“I thought that tonight, even with the adversity that showed up, you had guys that went down or some guys who were not available and didn’t make the trip – some of our best football players.”

Travis, along with defensive end Jared Verse (lower leg) were both ruled out at halftime. The Seminoles were able to overcome injuries to their two best players.

Shyheim Brown made a key play for the second straight game, breaking up a key pass on second down on the Cardinals’ final drive.

Story continues

Here are five takeaways from Florida State’s second straight stunning victory.

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Here’s Johnny (Wilson)

Against LSU, it was Ontaria Wilson who stepped up for the Seminoles. This week it was Arizona State transfer Johnny Wilson who stepped up and took over the game in the second half.

Johnny Wilson finished with seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He had four catches for 111 yards coming into the season and finished with 12 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown last season for the Wildcats.

A 69-yard catch setup a 10-yard touchdown for Johnny Wilson from Rodemaker. The deep pass was the longest of the season to this point for the Seminoles. He added a 2-yard touchdown which proved to be the game-winner.

“Johnny has been incredible,” Norvell said. “Just his growth from spring practice to this fall. We believe that we got a special player there. He sees them all, with his size and his speed and going in and attacking the ball. That was really, really an impressive performance.”

Tate Rodemaker strong in relief

Following a slow start, Rodemaker found his stride in the second half. After he threw his second pass for an interception, he settled in following the halftime break.

Rodemaker finished 6-of-10 for 109 yards, two touchdowns and the interception. Travis was 13-of-17 for 157 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He started the game 11-of-11.

Rodemaker completed three of his final four passes after starting 3-for-6.

“I’m so proud of Tate Rodemaker,” Norvell said. “I knew we could win with Tate. I knew we could win with Tate. I’ve seen it in practice. I’ve seen him work. I’ve seen so much investment in being prepared for the moment. He got put in a challenging situation on the road. But, he just went out there and responded in the second half.”

Running game continues hot start

The run game aided Rodemaker in the victory.

The Seminoles ran 43 times for 245 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Louisville had allowed 208 yards in each of its first two games.

Treshaun Ward led the backfield with 126 yards on 10 totes, finishing with 12.6 yards per carry.

Trey Benson added a 37-yard run to setup the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Benson finished with 70 yards on 10 carries.

Lawrance Toafili ran six times for 20 yards and scored a touchdown.

Injuries pile up

The second quarter was brutal for the Seminoles. FSU was shut out on the scoreboard and turned the ball over twice, but more importantly, injuries to Travis and Verse stymied them.

Travis started 11-for-11 passing, including two touchdowns, but he left the game in the first half with a lower-leg injury. He did not return.

Defensive end Jared Verse left the game a couple of drives earlier on defense. He went straight to the tent and was in street clothes in the second half.

The Seminoles entered the game without Fabian Lovett, another key defender. As a result, the defense got off to a slow start, with the Cardinals scoring on three of their first five drives.

In the fourth quarter, left tackle Robert Scott left the game with a lower leg injury, as the hits kept piling on for FSU.

“Through the ups and downs, through the adversity, the coaches preach it everyday,” FSU cornerback Kevin Knowles II said. “They’ve been preaching since day one. Adversity is going to hit, but it’s on us. Momentum only affects the person who lets it.

“With the injuries, with Jared Verse going down…that’s people we depend on. But we know the people behind them are depending on them as well. They came and stepped up to the plate. Jared Verse went down, Patrick Payton came in and made a play. That’s people we depend on. That’s people we will depend on in the future. I’m just happy to see how that all played out.”

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Missed tackles early, but defense steps up late

Cunningham doesn’t need second or third chances. The sixth-year senior racked up 127 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns on the ground. He added 243 yards and a touchdown on 63% passing.

FSU talked all week about getting him to the ground on the first contact, but struggled to do so during the first half.

Cunningham broke multiple tackles on his runs of eight yards and 18 for touchdowns.

The Cardinals finished with 252 yards rushing. The Seminoles felt the absence of Fabian Lovett, who missed the game and the subsequent injury to Verse.

Cunningham’s one mistake came on the final drive when he threw one interception to Kevin Knowles, which sealed the victory for the Seminoles.

“Our coaches preach situations every time and that was one of them,” Knowles said. “I know I did my job. Doing my job put me around the ball. In that situation I was around the ball and was able to make that interception and end the game.”

Earlier on the drive, last game’s blocked kick hero Brown broke up a pass that would have gotten the Cardinals significant yardage.

The Seminoles limited Louisville to 10 points in the second half.

Up next

The Seminoles return to Doak Stadium for another ACC game against Boston College (0-2, 0-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Seminole football: Tate Rodemaker leads FSU to victory over Louisville