‘Can’t wait to get out there’ … FSU QB Jordan Travis fired up for last trip to Clemson

Even if he wasn’t 100 percent healthy, Jordan Travis would never offer up how he truly feels physically before a game.

But during the first two days of practice this week, the Florida State senior quarterback has certainly looked like he’s not suffering any lingering effects from his injury in the Boston College game on Saturday.

On Wednesday morning, in fact, he looked especially sharp running the Seminoles’ offense and said he feels perfectly fine heading into this weekend’s showdown with Clemson in Death Valley.

“I feel really good,” he said afterward. “Can’t wait to get out there Saturday.”

Among other topics, Travis was asked about the struggles of the Florida State offense down the stretch in the 31-29 win over Boston College. He said the issues were all self-inflicted and didn’t seem all that concerned that the lull would carry over to this Saturday against the talented Tigers defense.

“We know we have to get better as a football team,” Travis said. “We came out and did enough to get the win. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t to our standard or expectation, but we got a win. We’re happy with that. We’ve got to get better. … You can’t turn over the ball, things like that. Basic stuff. Little things that we can control.

“They didn’t stop us at all. We stopped ourselves. … We just have to get better and not allow that to happen.”

The Seminoles will definitely have to be better this week. Against this team. In that venue.

It will be the third and final time Travis has started against the Tigers, and the second time he has done so in Death Valley, which is one of the most hostile and loudest stadiums in the country.

While acknowledging it’s a great atmosphere, Travis said it shouldn’t have too much — if any — effect on how the Seminoles play on Saturday. He said the only issue he has brought up with all the FSU starters (like Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, Trey Benson, and three-fifths of the starting offensive line) who haven’t played there is just not letting the crowd noise be a distraction.

Other than that, it’s a football game. That’s his message.

“You can’t get distracted,” Travis said. “At the end of the day, the crowd is a distraction. We just can’t allow it. We’ve got to go out and dominate and be ourselves. That stuff doesn’t matter. I mean, communication and stuff like that matters … but the stands, the people in the crowd should not affect our performance and execution. Just go out and play your game.

“It’s an amazing atmosphere. It’s something you dream of as a little kid, going out there and playing in front of all those fans. Especially Death Valley. It’s a blessing from the man upstairs. Just go out there and ball out.”

Two years ago, when Travis made his first start at Clemson, he wasn’t a Heisman Trophy contender. And he certainly wasn’t the quarterback of the No. 3 team in the country.

The Seminoles were heavy underdogs against a Tigers team that had one of the best defenses in the country. And yet in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Florida State had the lead.

The Seminoles wound up losing, but Travis did get the experience of playing in a tight game in the fourth quarter at one of the loudest stadiums in America.

“Just the whole communication thing,” Travis said, when asked about the lessons from that day. “That’s it. Just communicating with the line. It’s loud, man. But at the end of the day, we can control what we can control. You can’t control the crowd. You go up early and go score a bunch of points, you can control that.

“Just go out and ball out. That’s our goal.”

That’s what the Florida State offense has done for the majority of the season so far. Before the final four possessions against Boston College, the Seminoles had scored on 17 of the previous 20 drives led by Travis. Including 14 touchdowns.

They were operating at an incredibly productive clip.

Even though some receivers had been shut out in individual games — Wilson and Bell had zero catches against Southern Miss, and Coleman didn’t have one against Boston Collegs — Travis said the offense is all about finding the guy who is open. No matter who it is.

“We have to have unselfish players on this team,” Travis said. “I mean, our goal is to win every single week. Every single time we get a W and we get to break the rock every week, it’s a blessing from the man upstairs. Like I said before, I can go for 0 yards, 0 touchdowns, as long as we win the football game, that’s all that matters.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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