No. 4 Florida State beats No. 15 Louisville 16-6 for ACC title, but could miss playoff at 13-0

— Florida State coach Mike Norvell said the possibility of leaving his unbeaten Seminoles out of the College Football Playoff shouldn’t even be discussed.

It almost certainly will be.

Toafili was named MVP of the game.

Florida State made things as difficult as possible on the CFP selection committee, using a dominant defensive performance to beat No. 15 Louisville 16-6 on Saturday night for the fourth-ranked Seminoles’ first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 2014.

The Seminoles moved to 13-0, but even that doesn’t guarantee a spot in the four-team playoff after Alabama knocked off No. 1 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference championship and Texas, which beat Alabama this season, won the Big 12 title.

No Power Five team has ever gone unbeaten, won its conference title and failed to make the playoff.

Seminoles fans held up signs reading “Win and we’re in!” But Florida State’s offensive performance and unsettled quarterback situation created some doubt about whether it’s one of the four best teams in the country.

The Seminoles started freshman third-stringer Brock Glenn at quarterback, and he finished 8 of 21 for 55 yards. Their offense gained just 3.4 yards per play.

Lawrance Toafili ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Seminoles, who stuck to a conservative game plan with Glenn behind center.

Starting QB and Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Travis is out for the season with a leg injury. Tate Rodemaker, Travis’ backup, was sidelined with a concussion. In all likelihood, Rodemaker would be ready to play should Florida State make the playoff, but even he has only started two games.

The difference for the Seminoles in the ACC title game was their defense, which had a season-high seven sacks and a critical interception that kept Louisville out of the end zone. Florida State also had 14 tackles for loss and 10 pass breakups.

Trailing 10-6 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals (10-3) had a chance to take the lead after they tackled Seminoles punter Alex Mastromanno before he could get the kick away.

Louisville took over at the Seminoles 11, but three plays later, Tatum Bethune picked off Jack Plummer’s pass in the end zone.

Plummer finished 14 of 36 for 111 yards.

After a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald put Florida State ahead 13-6 with 3:11 left, the Cardinals had one more shot.

But Braden Fiske sacked Plummer on a fourth down, giving the Seminoles the ball at the Louisville 20 with 2:35 remaining. Fitzgerald made it a two-possession game with his third field goal of the game from 40 yards.

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