It seems impossible for Florida State football to suffer a more embarrassing loss than when Jacksonville State came into Tallahassee in 2021 and walked out with a win.
A loss Saturday to fellow FCS team Charleston Southern would definitely be a worthy contender. The Buccaneers are just 1-10 and enter Doak Campbell Stadium on a nine-game losing streak. That said, they’ve been close in most of their losses, unlike 1-9 FSU, which has lost by more than 21 points five times during its during six-game skid.
Mike Norvell’s Seminoles come into this game with an FCS opponent after losing to a top-10 Notre Dame team, just as they did in 2021 when they were looking for a get-right game. FSU hadn’t lost to a team from the lower subdivision since it was created as Division I-AA in 1978. One Hail Mary later, they were 26-1.
As FSU looks to avoid falling to 28-2 against FCS teams, let’s hazard a look back at what (for now) is the most stunning loss in program history:
Who is Jacksonville State?
The Gamecocks came into that game in 2021 as a good but not great FCS team. They had gone 10-3 in 2020 and won a playoff game, and they made the FCS national championship game in 2015. But Jacksonville State started the 2021 season with a 31-0 loss to UAB and went on to finish 5-6.
Jax State had come to Tallahassee the previous season and lost 41-24. Quarterback Zerrick Williams went 22 of 30 in that game for 232 yards and an interception while running in a score. Jordan Travis threw for 210 yards and a touchdown and tacked on one of FSU’s five rushing TDs in the game.
Mackenzie Milton starts instead of Jordan Travis
Florida State entered the night game September 11, 2021, with a season-opening home loss to Notre Dame the week before. They had stormed back from 18 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime with mixed results from quarterback Jordan Travis, who threw for two touchdowns but completed under 50% of his passes and tossed three interceptions.
Norvell opted to start UCF transfer Mackenzie Milton against Jax State. He had gone 5 of 7 for 48 yards in his first game action since suffering a serious knee injury in 2018. Before his injury, Milton was a standout, throwing for 8,683 yards and 72 touchdowns against 22 interceptions in three years at UCF. He finished sixth on the Heisman Trophy ballot in 2018 after coming in eighth in 2017, the year the Knights went 13-0 and laid claim to a national championship.
His recovery from the injury was a triumph, though it did limit his ability as a quarterback. Against Jax State, Milton went 18 of 31 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception while rushing three times for 16 yards. Travis would get a handful of snaps, going 0 of 3 and getting 7 yards on his lone carry.
How did FSU lose to Jacksonville State?
Even though they ran for 202 yards, led by Jashaun Corbin’s 109 yards and a touchdown, the Seminoles had a hard time getting anything going on offense. They dropped two easy passes on the opening possession, including what would have been a touchdown on a fourth-down play. Against a team that has given up 517 yards the week before, FSU had just one play of 20 or more yards and faced an average third-down distance of 7.7 yards.
“We came out and definitely did not play in any way to the standard of what we’re capable of,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said after the loss. “Penalties, the self-inflicted mistakes, that’s 100% on me. I did not have the guys ready to go.”
Yet FSU had a 17-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a defense that locked down after allowing a Joshua Samuel 2-yard rushing touchdown to open the scoring early in the second quarter. But after the Seminoles turned it over on downs at the 3-yard line, they gave up a 97-yard touchdown drive that ended with under 5 minutes to go. Jax State was aided by 39 yards of FSU penalties, which negated an interception and gave the Gamecocks a first down on third-and-17.
FSU punted after a five-play possession, giving Jax State the ball with 83 yards to go in 1:32. The Gamecocks mustered 22 yards over the next nine plays. The 10th play left Doak Campbell Stadium stunned.
Jacksonville State Hail Mary vs Florida State
To call the play that ended this game a Hail Mary actually does a disservice to the play. With 6 seconds left at the Gamecocks’ 41-yard line, Zerrick Cooper unleashed a deep ball to a streaking Damond Philyaw-Johnson, who caught it in stride inside the FSU 20. At this point, there was 1 second left, and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and safety Sidney Williams were right there alongside Philyaw-Johnson, who looked to sprint toward the sideline in an attempt to get out of bounds and stop the clock.
But near the 10-yard line, he stopped, and both FSU defenders overran him. With help from a downfield block, Philyaw-Johnson cut back inside to finish the play and give Jax State the improbable win. That was Philyaw-Johnson’s only catch of the game. Cooper finished 17 of 38 for 242 yards and two TDs.
“I expected us to come out and play better,” Norvell said after the game. “I expected us to make the adjustments we needed to make, to be able to go out there and execute at the level that we’re capable of executing at. That did not occur.”
How much did FSU pay Jacksonville State?
Rubbing salt in the wound was the fact that FSU had paid Jacksonville State $400,000 to come to Doak Campbell Stadium and pick up the biggest win in program history. That check was larger than the ticket sales for all the school’s athletics programs in both 2019 ($385,852) and 2020 ($347,390).
“We’re thankful for the money, but what’s going to benefit us is the publicity we will receive,” Jax State athletics director Greg Seitz said after the win. “We’re not able to be on ESPN or in the mainstream media. The opportunity to be in headlines across the country, it’s hard to put a price tag on what that means for Jacksonville State athletics.”
The Gamecocks were beginning their transition to FBS and joined the higher division starting in the 2023 season. They went 9-4 that year and won the New Orleans Bowl over Louisiana.
How did FSU football respond after Jacksonville State loss?
It took a while for FSU to shake off the rust in 2021. The Seminoles started 0-4 in a skid that included three home losses.
“Nobody really knew what to say or do,” said former FSU player Marshall Hilaman, a graduate assistant in sports performance at Boise State. ” I don’t remember much from that game. Just that play. You almost couldn’t process it.”
They turned things around after that, going on a three-game winning streak after that and finishing 5-7.
The following season, FSU would start with a four-game winning streak en route to a 10-3 finish. Then came the 13-0 start in 2023 that included an ACC championship and an eight-year contract extension for Mike Norvell.
Where to watch FSU vs Charleston Southern: Time, TV channel, streaming
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When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, November 23
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Where: Doak Campbell Stadium (Tallahassee, Florida)
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TV: ACCNX
Florida State vs. Charleston Southern will broadcast nationally on ACCNX in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. The digital streaming channel is available to those who have ACC Network in their TV subscriptions. Shawn Kenney and Forrest Conoly will call the game from the booth at Doak Campbell Stadium. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ and Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Contributing: Jim Henry, Ehsan Kassim and Curt Weiler, Tallahassee Democrat
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Look back on Florida State football loss to Jacksonville State in 2021
