Florida State football: Trey Benson, Jordan Travis set tone leading Seminoles to win over Boston College

A late game Saturday meant Florida State football seeing in-state rivals Miami and Florida going down.

The Seminoles came out with an all-business mentality, clobbering Boston College early with three first quarter touchdowns in a 44-14 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium.

FSU (4-0, 2-0 ACC) is off to its best start since 2015 when it started the season 6-0. Boston College fell to 1-3, 0-2.

Jordan Travis came into the game questionable with an undisclosed lower body injury and made the start for the Seminoles. He completed 16 of 26 from the field for 321 yards and one touchdown. It was Travis' first career 300-yard game.

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Running back Trey Benson set the tone with a 93-yard kickoff return to begin the game. He added a 15-yard TD run later in the quarter.

The game was the first sellout under the new capacity at Doak Campbell Stadium of 79,560. The last time the Seminoles sold out a home game came in 2015, a 29-24 victory over Miami.

"We have challenged our guys," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "We need to you come out and play a game where we show we could dominate a game. We challenged them in practice. I mentioned to the media throughout the course of the week, really like the approach of how our guys came to practice. Thought it was our best week of practice that we've had."

Here are five takeaways from the Seminoles ninth win in their last 12 games.

What injury?

The major question surrounding the FSU program coming into the week was the health of their QB Travis, who suffered a lower leg injury against Louisville in the first half last week and did not return.

Norvell said he knew Travis was playing following Wednesday's practice.

Travis answered questions about his health early and often, evading a sack and making a strong throw on the opening drive.

"He absolutely is one of the best quarterbacks in the country," Norvell said. "I've been around a lot of good quarterbacks. We have got a special one here. He's got to continue to work, continue to do the things necessary.. but his ownership and management of the game -- what I love is we all know the athletic ability he has. He put that on display tonight."

On the fourth drive, Travis again evaded a sack, rolled out and picked up 16 yards on a scamper.

His day ended following the first drive in the third quarter following the Seminoles building up a 37-0 lead.

His 321 yards surpassed his previous career-high of 274 last year vs. Miami.

Travis completed passes to six different receivers. Wide receiver Darion Williamson led the way with five catches for 98 yards, Onataria "Pokey" Wilson added three grabs for 85 yards and tight end Camren McDonald had two catches for 52 yards.

Kentron Poitier had a leaping catch over a BC defender on a 31-yard deep ball from Travis.

Tate Rodemaker, who was the hero last week in relief, came in and played mop up duty with FSU building a commanding lead.

Third-string QB AJ Duffy and fourth-string running back Rodney Hill entered the game in the fourth quarter. It was the second appearance for both freshmen, meaning they can still get into two more games and still be able to redshirt this season.

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Trey Benson sets the tone

Benson's 93-yard kickoff return sparked the Seminoles. On the kickoff, the running back collected the ball at the seven-yard line, found an opening and broke off a long return.

“I kind of visualized it last night," Benson said. "I had it playing out through my head last night. It was a surreal feeling. As soon as I caught the ball, I zoned out. I kind of tapped into a mode. I can’t even explain it. But it was a surreal feeling, doing it at home. So I’m happy for that.”

In vintage Benson fashion, he broke a pair of tackles, including one near the 20-yard line.

Later in the quarter, Benson broke off a 15-yard scamper, dragging a pair of BC defenders into the end zone standing to push the lead to 21-0.

Benson capped off his strong day with a 36-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

"He's so very hard to tackle," Norvell said. "But I wanted to see if we could help spark him and if he could help spark us in the return game. There are ten other guys that absolutely did a great job in helping that, but, boy, when he got in the open field he knew what to do with it."

Benson finished with 10 rushes for 78 yards and the two touchdowns. Treshuan Ward added 14 runs for 48 yards and a score, while Toafili added a score on his four carries.

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Aggressive mentality

The aggressive mentality went beyond Benson for the Seminoles.

On the opening defensive drive, cornerback Omarion "Duke" Cooper intercepted a pass from Phil Jurkovec.

The interception set FSU up in BC territory and led to another aggressive call from head coach Mike Norvell.

With the Seminoles looking at a 50-yard field goal on fourth-and-nine, Norvell opted to keep Travis and the offense on the field. Travis rolled out and found McDonald for a 32-yard throw over the middle of the field. McDonald was tackled at the 1, setting up a rushing TD for Toafili touchdown run.

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Cooper returning to form?

Cooper played just five snaps against Louisville and missed the opener against Duquesne. Norvell said Cooper willed out the start against LSU, though he was still injured.

Saturday, Cooper looked back to his old self. He collected his third interception in 11 games for the Seminoles. He dove, securing a low pass from Jurkovec. It set up the second score for FSU.

"He had a good week this week," Norvell said. "We felt very confident in what he showed. It's been a hard stretch at the beginning for him, but this week it looked like what we are used to."

Greedy Vance also added a first half interception.

The defensive backs came into the game and an important stretch for the Seminoles as a question mark. They answered the call.

FSU limited Boston College to 163 total yards, including 51 on the ground on 29 attempts for 1.8 yards per carry entering the final drive. The Eagles gained 72 yards and a score on the final drive against all reserves.

"First game back at Doak," Cooper said. "Just came out executed and made a play. It felt great for my team to be able to count on me."

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Injuries on DL

Starting defensive end Jared Verse and defensive tackle Fabian Lovett both missed the game due to injuries. Lovett got hurt on the final drive against LSU and hasn't played since and Verse got hurt in the first half against Louisville.

The injuries piled on for the defensive line for the Seminoles on Saturday. On the second drive in the second half, nose tackle Robert Cooper and defensive end Derrick McClendon both appeared to suffer undisclosed injuries.

In the second quarter, following a 52-yard grab, Williamson left the field limping. He did not return to the game.

No immediate updates on the injured players statuses were available.

Redshirt freshmen Patrick Payton was one of the players who stepped into a bigger role. Payton had three tackles and a sack.

"I was really excited about the opportunity because that’s what builds good teams," Payton said. "If one man goes down, the next man can come up and play as good. I was just really focusing on doing my job and trying to make some plays."

Up next

The Seminoles will host Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1) at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

It begins a stretch of three straight games against top ACC opponents in the Demon Deacons, NC State (Oct. 8) and Clemson (Oct. 15)

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: Seminole football: Jordan Travis returns from injury, defeating Boston College