Florida State smothers Louisville, 16-6, wins ACC Championship
CHARLOTTE — They won’t know for about 12 hours whether it was definitely enough to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, but the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles gave themselves a chance with a 16-6 victory Saturday night against Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.
Florida State won despite playing without starting quarterback Jordan Travis, the ACC Player of the Year, and backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker. Travis was on the sideline on crutches, and Rodemaker was scratched because of a concussion.
Freshman QB Brock Glenn had a difficult night, completing 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards. But the Seminoles got a big rushing performance from junior Lawrance Toafili (118 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries), and the Florida State defense was lights out for most of the game.
The Seminoles recorded a season-high seven sacks, led by three from senior defensive tackle Bradn Fiske
Despite being bottled up all night, Louisville actually had a prime opportunity to take its first lead after the Cardinals tackled FSU punter Alex Mastromanno deep in FSU territory in the fourth quarter. But on third-and-long, Seminoles linebacker Tatum Bethune intercepted Jack Plummer’s pass in the end zone to preserve Florida State’s 10-6 advantage.
Louisville then took possession with 7:31 remaining and the Seminoles clinging to a 10-6 lead. But the Florida State defense rose up again to force a three-and-out and a Louisville punt. The Seminoles then got a fourth-down stop on the Cardinals’ next possession.
With the win, FSU improves to 13-0 and claims its first ACC Championship since 2014. The Seminoles have now won 19 games dating back to last season.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Louisville found its offensive rhythm on its first possession of the second half. The Cardinals drove 56 yards on 13 plays to set up a 36-yard field goal that tied the score at 3-3.
But the Seminoles answered quickly to reclaim the lead. After generating just 80 yards of offense in the first half, Florida State went 75 yards on two plays — both wildcat runs by Toafili. The first carry went for 73 yards, and the next one was a 2-yard touchdown run to give Florida State a 10-3 advantage
Louisville then cut the Seminoles’ lead to 10-6 with a short field goal with 13:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Florida State had 80 yards of offense at halftime, while Louisville had 69. The Seminoles led 3-0 at the break, which marked the lowest scoring output in ACC Championship Game history.
Glenn, making his first career start, completed 6 of 12 passes for 44 yards in the first half. Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer completed 4 of 14 for 29 yards.
Both teams’ defensive lines were very effective with their pass rush; Louisville recorded three sacks in the first two quarters, and Florida State recorded two.
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