No. 16 Duke football loses Riley Leonard again, and loses to No. 4 Florida State, 38-20
No. 16 Duke carried a lead into the fourth quarter at No. 4 Florida State on Saturday night but Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis made the plays that flipped the result.
Travis’ touchdown run put the Seminoles in front and his touchdown pass five minutes later made FSU more comfortable in a 38-20 ACC football win at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) suffered its first ACC loss of the season while the Seminoles (7-0, 5-0) remained unbeaten.
“We obviously came into this game with high expectations of how we play and how we would perform,” Duke coach Mike Elko said. “I think for three quarters, we showed that. And then just in the fourth quarter, we didn’t have the responses that we needed.”
Here are three takeaways from Florida State’s comeback win, in which the Seminoles scored the game’s final 21 points.
Riley Leonard gave it a go
Quarterback Riley Leonard played at less than 100 percent health before his gimpy right ankle absorbed another hit that sent him to the sidelines.
Injured on Sept. 30 in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame, Leonard returned to the lineup after missing Duke’s 24-3 win over N.C. State on Oct. 14.
Leonard wasn’t his usually sharp self, though. He completed 7 of 16 passes for 69 yards while rushing once for 13 yards.
Still, Duke led 20-17 in the third quarter when Leonard limped to the bench. With 6:56 remaining in the third quarter, Florida State’s Braden Fiske ripped Leonard’s helmet off while tackling him for a sack. The play drew a personal foul facemask penalty, but the hit caused Leonard’s right foot to absorb his full weight.
He fell to the turf in pain and received medical attention. He eventually walked under his own power to the bench.
Redshirt freshman Henry Belin IV finished the drive at quarterback. Duke had a fourth-and-3 play from the Florida State 4 and wide receiver Jalon Calhoun was open in the end zone but Belin’s pass was just out of his reach.
After Florida State took a 24-20 lead, Belin quarterbacked the next series and Duke went three-and-out.
Leonard ran on the sidelines, attempting to return to the game. But Belin took the rest of the snaps for the Blue Devils.
“He wanted to come back in,” Duke coach Mike Elko said. “He was begging me on the sidelines to come back in. I just I didn’t feel comfortable with where he was health wise to bring him back.”
Now Duke has to be concerned whether or not Leonard will be available to play next Saturday at No. 21 Louisville.
Jordan Travis too much
While Duke found success stuffing Florida State’s running backs, Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis made big plays with his arm and feet to propel FSU’s offense.
Travis completed 27 of 36 passes for 268 yards with two touchdown passes. His 2-yard touchdown run with 13:03 to play in the game gave the Seminoles a 24-20 lead and he fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to Lawrence Toafili with 8:23 to play, extending FSU’s lead to 31-20.
Travis completed passes to nine different receivers. His passing helped Florida State convert 7 of 13 third-down plays into first downs.
Travis also led FSU in rushing with 62 yards on 10 carries. That accounted for nearly half of FSU’s 152 rushing yards.
Duke’s run game fueled its offense
With Leonard not at his full health, Duke still managed to move the ball effectively against the Seminoles, though mostly only in the first half.
Entering the night with the ACC’s top rushing offense (198.2 yards per game), Duke rushed for 197 yards against Florida State with 144 of them coming in the first two quarters.
Junior running back Jaquez Moore rushed for a career-best 110 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring.
That running game was not as effective after halftime, though. Duke only had 53 rushing yards over the final two quarters as the Seminoles pulled away in the fourth quarter.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 6:12 PM.