Florida State football: Why quarterback Jordan Travis was emotional following interceptions
It's hard to rattle Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.
The redshirt junior quarterback is usually even-keeled on the sidelines, whether he makes a big play or commits a mistake.
Which is why it was odd for Seminole fans to see Travis reacting with so much emotion after both his interceptions in Saturday's 19-17 loss to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium.
"Jordan is not really overly emotional," offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said at his Monday press conference. "Sometimes you’ve got to save him from himself of beating himself up. He takes it personally, he takes it like ‘it’s on me.’
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"We got to do a good job of understanding that it’s on all of us. We could’ve put you in a better situation, we could’ve put you in a better read, we could’ve done so much to prevent it. It’s not just you going out there to make a mistake. Mistakes are going to happen. Just like I’m talking about (left tackle Robert Scott Jr.) down blocking.
"I’m pretty sure he had every intention of doing it right, but it didn’t happen in that moment. I’m pretty sure Jordan didn’t go out there and say ‘you know what, on this play I’m going to go out and make some adversity for us. No one has planned. So just to not beat himself up and move on with that next-play mentality.”
Travis had his worst performance of the season against the Wolfpack, completing 15 of 30 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown and the two interceptions.
For the season, he has thrown for 1,407 yards, completing 67% of his passes for nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
His 91.1 offensive grade, per Pro Football Focus, ranks No. 4 nationally among FBS quarterbacks.
FSU coach Mike Norvell said he coaches his players differently on game day rather than at practice.
"I know after the interception the other day, nobody wanted that to happen," Norvell said. "It wasn't a great play-call into that look. I can tell him that. I could tell anybody. They had a good play-call defensively for what the play that was being run, and with all the right intentions and everything, probably made the decision that nobody wanted to have happen. In that moment it's just, hey, come over, take a deep breath.
"You can always let frustration get the most of you, but you can't let one play carry over and affect the next series or the next play. Just trying to get to that point.
"I think that's a job as a coach. How I coach on the practice field is much different than how I coach during the game because if it's a focus issue, if somebody is not -- if there are those things, you'll see me get animated with players in how we communicate.
"But when it's on game day, it's about communication. What did you see? What was the thought process? This is not just for quarterbacks, but for all positions so that you can communicate and help them make the adjustment that's necessary as you are moving forward."
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Ryan Fitzgerald's big moment
One of the bright spots for FSU against the Wolfpack happened just before halftime. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald connected on a 47-yard field goal to push the Seminole lead to two touchdowns.
Fitzgerald, who had entered the game missing six of his last eight kicks, was immediately mobbed by his teammates.
“It was a critical sequence in the game," FSU special teams coordinator John Papuchis said. "We were able to get a stop on third down and had an opportunity to set up the punt return.
"For Ryan to be able to go out and make a big kick in a big moment at the end of the half, I thought it was great for him. And then to see the team’s response, it was really good. There are a lot of guys in that locker room who are pulling for him, that want to see him do well, that empathize with the struggles that he’s had. That speaks volumes of what this team is all about.
"This is not a group that points fingers or lays blame. It is one that comes together. That is what we hope to continue to have as we move forward through this season.”
Quarterback Jordan Travis threw an interception on the Seminoles' final possession, which kept Fitzgerald from potentially attempting a game-winning field goal. FSU reached NC State's 23-yard line before the pick.
"As we have talked about here before, he has had some good weeks of practice," Papuchis said. "Obviously leading up into the game, he had struggled in both of the previous couple weeks in game scenarios. But we know it’s there, because we had seen it. And then for him to be able to go perform – he looked comfortable in pregame. He looked confident and comfortable throughout the course of the game.
"It’s not been a physical issue with Ryan. He just needed to get a little bit of confidence back. Hopefully that game triggered some confidence in him. Each game is its own game, and each week is its own week. But we are going to continue to pour into him moving forward and continue to coach him. I think we know what his physical skill set is. We just now have to see that at a consistent level. I think hopefully Saturday night will lead us in that direction.”
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Punting mistake
A key play in the game was when punter Alex Mastromanno was rushed on a punt and instead of kicking the ball, he ran ahead of the line of scrimmage before booting the ball.
The play resulted in a penalty and a loss of down, handing the ball to NC State in the red zone.
"There is probably a little bit of overthinking and maybe overcommunicating," Papuchis said. "If you look back at that play, it was the first play of the fourth quarter. So we were able to have that third quarter to fourth quarter transitional time. In the sequence of the game there, we are up four and backed up. It’s fourth and really long. NC State, their MO is to be aggressive on the punt-block unit. So we kind of talked through what the block scenarios were that we would see.
"It ended up being a return setup. But just by the way in which they aligned, there would be one free guy off the edge with operation and scheme. That’s going to be how it goes. I think it spooked him a little bit. The guy was not really going to be in a position to block the kick. But I do feel like he felt it, and it spooked him a little bit. So he pulled the ball. Now, his reaction after that was all instinct I guess, to take off and run. We talked about it yesterday, he just didn’t feel like he could get all the way there.
"He didn’t realize or think that he had crossed the line of scrimmage and went ahead and attempted the punt. Obviously a critical play in the game and one certainly that we would like to have back. But it was one of those things where I think he was trying to operate with the right intentions and lost track of where he was on the field. But we can certainly learn from it.”
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Worries about half-opening drives?
For the second straight game, an FSU opponent marched down the field following halftime. The Wolfpack never faced a third down and scored their only touchdown of the game.
Is that a trend that worries defensive coordinator Adam Fuller?
“No," Fuller said. "Gave up a touchdown on the drive. And, listen, it's just football, you get 12 series and they scored one touchdown and that happened to be that half and definitely not something, I mean, we've got a routine at halftime that we go through. And there's been some times that we played really well on the first drive of the game and sometimes we played really well on the first drive of the second half. But we look at everything.”
GAME INFORMATION
Who: FSU (4-2, 2-2 ACC) vs. No. 4 Clemson (6-0, 4-0)
When/where: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Doak Campbell Stadium
TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM
Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @CarterKarels on Twitter; @Ehsan_Kassim on Twitter; @jackgwilliams on Twitter
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: Why QB Jordan Travis was emotional following interceptions
