Game recap: No. 4 FSU pulls away from No. 17 Duke in 4th quarter to improve to 7-0

Coming off its most dominant victory of the season, No. 4 Florida State (6-0, 3-0 ACC) prepares for one of its biggest challenges yet in No. 16/17 Duke (5-1, 2-0) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Seminoles upended Syracuse last week by 38 points in a wide 41-3 victory. While they were without wide receiver Johnny Wilson, the FSU offense had no issue finding the end zone and putting points on the board.

It welcomes in a Duke team that boasts one of the top defenses in the country, headed by a rush-heavy offense. It's unknown if quarterback Riley Leonard will play, as pregame reports listed him a game-time decision after suffering an ankle injury against Notre Dame.

The Seminoles are still expecting one of the biggest defensive challenges they've seen all season. Saturday's game is also big when it comes to the ACC Championship game. Both teams are in a race for a spot in December's championship game alongside No. 10 North Carolina.

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FSU football's unofficial mascot:Meet Garnet the Goldfish, who has been to every Florida State game this season

FSU survives upset scare from Duke to remain undefeated

Off a dominant fourth-quarter effort, FSU survives a potential upset bid from Duke, defeating the Blue Devils, 38-20. The Seminoles improved to 7-0 on the year and 4-0 in ACC play and have now won 13 straight games.

Jordan Travis completed 27 of 36 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 62 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown. Johnny Wilson left the game in the early fourth quarter but led the passing effort with 58 yards on five receptions.

Jahiem Bell had a big night, finishing with 53 yards receiving on eight receptions. The FSU defense had 29 tackles, four for a loss of yardage. Duke quarterback Riley Leonard left the game in the third quarter and did not return.

FSU will take on Wake Forest next week on the road.

Rodney Hill dashes in for FSU's 3rd touchdown of the half

FSU continues to pile on the points in the fourth quarter as running back Rodney Hill scores on a 9-yard rush and extends the Seminoles' lead to 18 late in the fourth quarter. Five plays on 32 yards over 2:57 minutes on the scoring drive.

FSU leads Duke, 38-20, with 4:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Lawrance Toafili extends Seminoles' lead

Another strong drive by FSU ends a 21-yard touchdown play as Jordan Travis hits Lawrance Toafili to bump the FSU lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter. It's the first time tonight the Seminoles have been able to find some breathing room against this Duke defense.

Keon Coleman also made an impressive grab to move the Seminoles just beyond midfield under double coverage. Seven plays for 74 yards in 3:12 minutes.

FSU leads Duke, 31-20, with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Travis gives FSU its first lead of the night

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Seminoles go 96 yards, capped off by a 2-yard rushing touchdown for Jordan Travis to give the Seminoles their first lead of the night. Jaheim Bell has been a force in this game, recording 53 receiving yards on eight catches.

He had eight yards on two catches on that drive. Travis had a monster run for 20 yards to get into the red zone. Big time score for the Seminoles to open the final quarter of the game. 14 plays for 96 yards over 6:18 minutes.

FSU leads Duke, 24-20, with 13:03 left in the fourth quarter.

Johnny Wilson comes out of the game at end of third quarter

Johnny Wilson made an 11-yard reception from Jordan Travis to the Duke 44 and came down hard. He went down to one knee after the play before getting up, struggling to stand and then going back down. He was attended to by medical staff and came off the field at the end of the quarter.

Wilson didn't play last week against Syracuse after suffering an injury in the game against Virginia Tech. This is first game back since the injury. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Wilson left for the locker room.

Duke leads FSU, 20-17, at the end of the third quarter.

FSU defense gets huge fourth-down stop at its own 4-yard line

Duke quarterback Riley Leonard leaves the game after getting hit but is still on the sidelines staying stretched out. Henry Belin IV comes in at quarterback at Duke and takes it down to the FSU 4. Blue Devils go for it on fourth down, but pressure on Belin forced him to throw it away.

FSU takes over at its own 4-yard line with 4:21 left in the third quarter.

Todd Pelinos' 33 yard field goal edges Duke ahead at halftime

Flags back up Duke to the FSU 16-yard line on fourth and 16, forcing the Blue Devils to settle for a field goal. Pelinos comes back out for a 33-yard field goal attempt and hits to give Duke a 20-17 lead at halftime. It's his second make of the night.

Duke will get the ball back at the start of the second half. Duke has leaned heavily on its rushing offense, recording 144 yards on 20 attempts, led by Jaquez Moore (100 yards on 10 attempts and one touchdown).

FSU has found its edge in its passing game, recording 168 yards on 16 passes. Jordan Travis has completed 16-22 passes tonight for one touchdown and one interception. Johnny Wilson leads the receiving effort with 47 yards on four catches. Jaheim Bell follows closely with 30 yards on three catches.

Special teams have been huge tonight as both kickers have attempted and made field goals. Deuce Spann had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Duke scored on a pick-six, set up by a punt defense that pinned FSU back at its own 6-yard line.

On defense, Duke has already recorded 47 team tackles to FSU's 29. Four Duke players have five or more tackles at halftime.

Duke leads FSU, 20-17, at halftime.

Ryan Fitzgerald's 32-yard field goal ties game for FSU

Shyheim Brown's interception starts the drive at FSU's own 41. The Seminoles failed to find the end zone and opt for a field goal attempt from Ryan Fitzgerald. He nails the 32-yard attempt, to stay perfect on the year, and tie the game up at 17.

Six plays on 45 yards for 2:44 on the scoring drive. Fitzgerald is 8-8 in field goals the year, with a season-long of 48-yards against Clemson and Syracuse.

FSU and Duke are tied, 17-17, with 7:31 left in the second quarter.

FSU's Shyheim Brown picks off Duke QB Riley Leonard

After a strong showing last week against Syracuse and a continuing emergence as the top player in the secondary, Shyheim Brown picks off Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. FSU driving at its own 41 with 10:15 left in the second quarter.

Deuce Spann takes kickoff return to the house for special teams TD

Special teams could decide the game tonight and both teams have understood that assignment. Pick six score from Duke, on the kickoff, Deuce Spann takes it 99 yards to the house and FSU quickly responds to the Blue Devils' defensive touchdown.

The Blue Devils had averaged 20.21 yards on opponent kickoff returns and hadn't allowed a kickoff return touchdown this season until the score by Spann.

Duke leads FSU, 17-14, with 12:51 left in the second quarter.

Pick 6 from Chandler Rivers extends Duke's lead to 10

FSU is pinned deep in its own zone as it starts the drive from its own 8-yard line. Jordan Travis throws a pass targeted to Keon Coleman under heavy coverage that's broken up and bounces into the hands of Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers.

Rivers takes the pick 13 yards into the end zone for the score. Special teams are going to be extremely important in this game as Duke boasts one of the best punt return defenses in the country, and as we just saw, was a huge part of that defensive score.

Duke leads FSU, 17-7, with 13:04 left in the second quarter.

Caziah Holmes gets FSU on the board at the end of the first quarter

A long drive by FSU, highlighted by a reception made by Markeston Douglas with his backside, ends with a 7-yard touchdown pass for Jordan Travis to running back Caziah Holmes. His second touchdown of the year, and first receiving touchdown of the year.

13 plays for 85 yards over 6:29. Long, long drive for the Seminoles as the Duke special teams and defense have paired well tonight. Holmes scores with 13 seconds left in the quarter. Duke has the ball at its own 25.

Duke leads FSU, 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Todd Pelino's 45-yard field goal extends Duke's lead to 10

After FSU's second failed fourth down conversion of the night, the Blue Devils get the ball back at the Seminoles 35-yard line in prime scoring position. They fail to find the end zone, but Duke kicker Todd Pelino nails a 45-yard field goal to put the Blue Devils up by 10.

Four plays for seven yards over 1:29 on the scoring drive. Questionable call by Norvell and coaching staff to go for it on fourth down that deep in FSU's own territory. Seminoles also trailed Clemson, 10-0, before winning in overtime.

Duke leads FSU, 10-0, with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

Jaquez Moore rushes into the endzone to put Duke up early

Duke running back Jaquez Moore makes a 42-yard dash to the end zone, clipping the corner to put the Blue Devils up early, 7-0. It's the first time since the Clemson game that the Seminoles have not scored the first points of the game.

Six plays for 64 yards over 2:06 minutes on the scoring drive.

Duke leads FSU, 7-0, with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

FSU-Duke has kicked off

Duke calls tails and tails is the toss. Duke has won the toss and has elected to defer to the second half.

Kickoff weather: 73 degrees and partly cloudy skies over Tallahassee. Wind blowing southwest at 3 miles per hour.

Scouts from the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Shrine Bowl, Gator Bowl, Pop-Tarts Bowl and Hula Bowl are in attendance.

FSU starting lineups

FSU has announced its starting lineups for tonight's game. Bless Harris will be starting on the offensive line. Johnny Wilson is back in the starting lineup after not playing last week against Syracuse. Kentron Poitier is starting at wide receiver for the second straight week.

Offense

QB - Jordan Travis

RB - Lawrance Toafili

RB - Trey Benson

OL - Bless Harris

OL - Casey Roddick

OL - Jeremiah Byers

OL - D’Mitri Emmanuel

OL - Maurice Smith

TE - Kyle Morlock

TE - Jaheim Bell

WR - Johnny Wilson

WR - Kentron Poitier

WR - Keon Coleman

Defense

DE - Patrick Payton

Jared Verse

Joshua Farmer

Braden Fiske

LB - DJ Lundy

Tatum Bethune

Kalen DeLoach

Jarrian Jones

Fentrell Cypress

Shyheim Brown

Akeem Dent

Renardo Green

Special teams

LS - James Rosenberry

P - Alex Mastramanno

K - Ryan Fitzgerald

Players leaving field, WR Destyn Hill absent from warm-ups

FSU players have left the field for pregame warmups and heading back to the locker room. Freshman wide receiver Destyn Hill was absent from warm-ups. It's unknown whether he's playing or not. He started last week against Syracuse. Ja'khi Douglas is likely to start in his spot tonight.

FSU wide receiver Johnny Wilson dressed after missing game last week

FSU wide receiver Johnny Wilson is dressed and warming up with the FSU wide receiver group. He missed last week's game against Syracuse after suffering an injury the prior week against Virginia Tech.

Norvell said at Monday's press conference that he was feeling good about Wilson's progression that weekend.

FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, Duke quarterback Riley Leonard warming up

FSU quarterbacks Jordan Travis, Tate Rodemaker, AJ Duffy and Brock Glenn are out of the locker room warming up on the field. This is the first game Glenn has dressed since suffering an undisclosed injury against Southern Miss. Head coach Mike Norvell said he'd be dressed Saturday but is not ready to return to action.

Duke quarterback Riley Leonard is out on the field, fully dressed, warming up. It was announced earlier today that he'd be a game-time decision whether or not he'd be starting. Leonard's left ankle is heavily taped up.

U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence helicopter flyover for pregame

There will be a flyover taking place at 7:21 p.m. according to FSU. The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Novosel, Ala. will be providing a AH-64 Apache, two UH-60 Blackhawks, and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter flyover as part of tonight's pregame events.

FSU will take the field at 7:40 p.m. and the game is expected to kickoff at 7:44 p.m.

Weather forecast for FSU-Duke, Riley Leonard's current status

It's 79 degrees right now in Tallahassee under partly cloudy skies. There's a zero percent chance of rain into the evening and the temperature is expected to fall to 75 degrees by 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The wind is blowing west-northwest at 5 miles per hour.

Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, who is expected to be a game-time decision whether he will be starting or not, is currently working with Duke trainers. Leonard suffered an ankle injury against Notre Dame two weeks ago and missed the Blue Devils game against NC State last weekend.

FSU-Duke uniform combinations

FSU football is going with "classic threads" according to FSU Football on X. It will be wearing gold helmets, garnet uniforms and gold pants. Duke will be wearing white helmets, white jerseys and white pants according to Duke football on X.

When is the FSU football game today?

• When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 21

• Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Where can I watch FSU football vs. Duke?

• TV: ABC (check local listings)

• Streaming: WatchESPN (cable subscription needed) and the ESPN app, fuboTV (7-day free trial), YouTube TV (2-week free trial), Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial)

Chris Fowler will be the play-by-play announcer with Kirk Herbstreit as analyst and Holly Rowe as sideline reporter. Streaming options include fuboTV, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

What radio station is FSU football on?

• Radio: Seminoles Sports Network/WTNT 103.1 FM

• Online radio: Seminoles.com, SiriusXM.com Channel 955

FSU vs. Duke betting odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, October 20.

• Spread: FSU (-14.5)

• Over/under: 49.5

• Moneyline: Duke +450, FSU -650

FSU football schedule 2023

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU vs Duke score, updates from Florida State Seminoles football game