|
 Overcoming a 21-0, second-quarter deficit Thursday night, the
Seminoles outscored 25th-ranked Louisville 35-10 in the second half
to pull out a 42-31 Atlantic Coast Conference win at sold-out Papa
John's Cardinal Stadium.
Quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns
to lead Florida State (8-0, 5-0). Third-string running back Dalvin
Cook rushed for 110 yards on nine carries, including the go-ahead,
38-yard touchdown with 3:46 left in the game.
"We put ourselves in tough circumstances," Seminoles coach Jimbo
Fisher said, "but all we worried about was the next play. I thought
our players and assistant coaches made some great adjustments at
halftime."
Winston threw a career-high three interceptions, the first two
resulting in Louisville touchdowns off short fields, and he played
most of the second half with an injured right ankle. However, he
still threw for 278 yards after halftime, including a
game-clinching, 35-yard scoring strike to fullback Freddie Stevenson
with 2:11 remaining.
It was the fourth time this season that Florida State, which was
never pushed last year until the national championship win over
Auburn, trailed in the second half. However, this one seemed a bit
more perilous than earlier escapes.
Louisville (6-3, 4-3) entered the game with the nation's top-ranked
total defense and an improved offense, fueled by the recent return
of senior wide receiver DeVante Parker and running back Michael
Dyer.
The defense flustered Winston for most of the first half, aided by a
spate of Florida State penalties. Parker finished with eight catches
for a career-high 214 yards, while Dyer rushed 28 times for 134
yards and three scores, including a 1-yard run that gave the
Cardinals their last lead at 31-28 with 9:20 left in the game.
It still wasn't enough.
"That hurts a lot," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "We got
ahead of them and had our opportunities. You have to give Florida
State a lot of credit for them being able to make plays when the
pressure was on."
The Cardinals could have made things much harder on the Seminoles
when they got the ball on their 12 with 5:55 left after sacking
Winston and forcing a punt. However, the Cardinals went
three-and-out, and a 31-yard punt from Ryan Johnson set up Florida
State in Louisville territory.
[to top of second column] |
The speedy Cook cashed in on the next play, zipping around right end
for his second long scoring run of the game. With 6:17 left in the
third quarter, he drew the Seminoles within 24-21 thanks to a
40-yard jaunt.
Coming into the game, Cook had just 270 yards on 59 attempts. He is
one of a handful of freshmen who are adding to Florida State's
already enviable depth.
"We trust them," Fisher said of the newbies. "They are allowing us
to expand our offense and defense because of their development."
Quarterback Will Gardner completed 20 of 38 passes for 330 yards for
the Cardinals, who rolled up 488 total yards and 24 first downs in
one of their best offensive performances of the season. Even so,
they were left wanting more.
"We knew we had to keep playing, but we fell short at the end,"
Gardner said. "Our offense took big strides, but I guess you have to
say the negatives outweighed the positives since we didn't get the
win."
NOTES: According to the latest NFL Draft Rankings compiled by
NFLDraftScout.com, 12 of the top 100 prospects for the 2015 draft
played in Thursday night's game. Nine of those are from Florida
State. ... Seminoles LB Terrance Smith, the team's leading tackler
this year with an average of 10.2 per game, was declared out in
pregame drills due to a neck strain. ... At No. 2, Florida State is
the highest-ranked opponent to play in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
since 2006, when No. 3 West Virginia absorbed a 44-34 loss.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
