Travis Etienne calls out Florida staff for usage of brother during game vs. FSU
Jacksonville Jaguars star Travis Etienne was clearly watching Friday night when his younger brother, Trevor Etienne, and Florida were taking on Florida State. He also had some thoughts about Billy Napier’s use of the running game in the second half.
After a strong rushing attack helped the Gators to a 24-21 halftime lead, Florida had just seven carries for 55 yards. The elder Etienne took to Twitter to share his thoughts about that number as Florida State rattled off 17 unanswered points to take a 38-24 lead into the fourth quarter.
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“RUN THE DAMN BALL,” Etienne tweeted with a crying emoji. “Just hand it off 1 time.”
His call to action worked. Right after he hit tweet, Trevor Etienne took a 35-yard run to the Florida State 40-yard line to get the Gators back in business. The drive ultimately ended with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Montrell Johnson to cut the deficit to 38-31.
Then, Trevor Etienne got in on the fun with a 45-yard touchdown run with 7:41 left in the game to tie things up 38-38. It sure seems like his brother had a point.
Florida was in good position heading into halftime, totaling 159 passing yards and 130 rushing yards to take a lead into the break. But Florida State made some good adjustments to eventually take the lead back and put the Gators’ backs against the walls entering the fourth quarter.
The Seminoles came out of the locker room hot, throwing for 100 yards and rushing for 40 as they outscored the Gators 17-0 in the third quarter. But Florida got back in business late in the period and into the fourth quarter with the score to keep pace and, eventually, tied it up.
The start of the half was exactly the type what Mike Norvell expected as he headed into the locker room at the break.
“The first half, we had too many mistakes,” Norvell told ABC’s Taylor McGregor at halftime. “We gave up some explosive plays, had some miscommunications. Had some missed opportunities on offense, some dropped balls. We’ve just got to clean it up and come out and play 30 minutes of clean football. I know how our guys will respond.”