TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After McKenzie Milton dislocated his knee at Raymond James Stadium in 2018, doctors didn’t know if he’d be able to keep his leg. His surgeon hoped he’d be able to walk without pain eventually.
Playing again? That would be nothing short of miraculous.
Which makes Sunday beyond belief. In his first game at Florida State, the UCF grad transfer came off the bench to lead the Seminoles back against No. 9 Notre Dame before a missed field goal in overtime led to a 41-38 loss.
Seeing the field was an amazing achievement enough for Milton, and it wasn’t planned. The Hawaii native and two-time AAC offensive player of the year backed up Jordan Travis, who had flashes of success but also threw three interceptions that led directly to Irish touchdowns.
But Travis left with an apparent injury in the fourth quarter with FSU trailing 38-28. Second-year coach Mike Norvell turned to Milton, who made his first appearance since that ghastly knee dislocation against USF in November 2018.
He responded immediately with a 22-yard completion on his first pass. He kept the drive alive with a third-down conversion, and the possession ended in a touchdown rush by Tampa Bay Tech product Treshaun Ward that cut FSU’s deficit to 38-35.
Milton had more magic in him. FSU (0-1) got the ball back with 4:29 left at its own 29. Milton quickly led the ‘Noles down the field. A shovel pass to Darion Williamson. A 5-yard scramble. And drive that ended in a 43-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald to tie the game.
The Irish had a chance to win, but Travis Jay intercepted their Hail Mary to force overtime. And give Milton another shot at a miracle.
Milton’s Seminoles stalled on the first drive, and the ball slipped out of Milton’s hands on third down to end his 5-of-7 night. FSU’s 37-yard field goal sailed wide left, and Notre Dame (1-0) answered with a 41-yarder to spoil Milton’s comeback and put a stain on FSU’s best night in years.
The announced crowd of 68,316 buzzed in a way Doak Campbell Stadium hasn’t since 2018, when the Willie Taggart era opened on Labor Day with a three-score loss to Virginia Tech.
This was different. Much different.
Norvell’s offense built for playmakers finally has some. Running back Jashuan Corbin ripped off an 89-yard touchdown run. Another back, Ja’Khi Douglas, broke away on third down for a 60-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Both, notably, are Norvell pickups; he added Corbin from Texas A&M through the transfer portal. Douglas originally committed to Taggart and stuck with FSU after Norvell was hired.
So was Pinellas Park High product Lawrance Toafili, who bulldozed for a 20-yard run. And IMG Academy’s Malik McClain, who had a 21-yard catch and run. And Andrew Parchment, the Kansas transfer who caught a fourth-quarter touchdown.
The offensive line wasn’t great but was better, opening running lanes as the game wore on. Three different backs averaged more than 5.7 yards per carry.
The defense wasn’t pushed around the way it was last year in South Bend. Jermaine Johnson started four games in two years at Georgia, but Norvell saw enough to bring him to FSU; he had 2 1/2 tackles for loss (1/2 sacks) through three quarters and looks like a star. Another Norvell transfer, former South Carolina lineman Keir Thomas, had a pivotal third-down sack in the fourth quarter.
The ‘Noles notably didn’t fold, either, the way they have in previous years, not even facing an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t good enough to win Sunday against a top-10 team. It wasn’t enough to give Milton a storybook ending to one of the most unbelievable comebacks in state college football history.
But it was enough to make you think those days are coming. Soon.