Facing undefeated Florida State is no small task, but Louisville is only a slight underdog (+1.5) against arguably the best Seminole team since the Bobby Bowden era.
10-2 Louisville, led by QB Jack Plummer, RB Jawhar Jordan, and WR Jamari Thrash, has averaged 33 points a game this season, gained 5200 yards overall, and has challenged teams with a sparkling 60%+ 4th down success rate. But losing two games to +7.5 underdogs has spoiled an otherwise stellar season–to Pitt earlier in the year, 38-21, and Kentucky last week, 38-31.
FSU, on the other hand, comes into the game undefeated and ranked #4 in the most recent College Football Rankings. The Seminoles can punch their ticket to the CFP semifinals with a win against the #14 Cardinals. Returning to national prominence has been a long climb for the Seminoles, a team that used to occupy that perch regularly, playing for five national titles from 1993-2001 and winning three.
Jordan Travis is one reason FSU is re-positioned to achieve greatness. His perseverance and leadership are palpable, with 2,755 passing yards during the regular season and 20 touchdowns. But the ACC Player of the Year suffered a season- and career-ending leg injury on November 18 in the Seminoles’ 58-13 win over North Alabama. Tate Rodemaker (junior from Valdosta, GA) has thrown for 351 yards and two touchdowns in two games since replacing Travis and has 510 yards and five TDs in total this year.
Travis’s loss puts more pressure on running back Trey Benson (838 yards, 14 touchdowns, and a 6.1 yd average) and wide receiver Keon Coleman (639 yards, 11 touchdowns, 13.9 yards-per-catch average), a Michigan State transfer. Benson and Coleman combined for just shy of 200 yards total since Travis’s departure and will likely need to do more if the Seminoles are to prevail over the pesky Cardinals.
The ACC Championship will be played Saturday at 8 p.m. at ABC at Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
