FSU Perseveres, Beats BC

FSU was playing a close game with a lesser opponent. Again. The ‘Noles were going to come up short. Again. And Florida State won. Again. The Seminoles scored just three points in the second half tonight. And they were all FSU needed, as the first game-winning field goal Roberto Aguayo has ever attempted gave Florida State a 20-17 victory and extended the Seminoles’ win streak to a national-best 27 straight.

The game was dominated by stories surrounding FSU’s star receiver Rashad Greene. On FSU’s first drive, he became the first player in Florida State history to catch a pass in 40-straight games, surpassing Rodney Smith’s old mark of 39 in a row. But it wasn’t all good news for Greene. After Karlos Williams’ three-yard score capped that first drive and finally gave FSU the good start for which it had been searching, the Seminoles held BC to a field goal. The ‘Noles then took the ball effortlessly down the field once more, looking to break this one wide open.

And wide open is precisely what Greene was when Jameis Winston found him in the end zone. Winston, who threw quite accurately in the wet conditions, drilled a strike to Greene, and although Greene got both hands on the ball, he was unable to haul it in.

Instead of achieving a two-score lead, Florida State settled for a field goal and a 10-3 advantage. FSU still looked primed to break it open when it forced a BC three-and-out, but a Winston interception on a slant route kept the Eagles in the game. A Jalen Ramsey defensive slip left Shakim Phillips wide open, and Tyler Murphy found him for a 49-yard TD to tie things up.

There was more Greene drama in the second quarter. On a drive that ended in a Winston dart to Nick O’Leary for a 30-yard score, Greene was sandwiched between BC defenders and writhed on the ground, holding his right arm. He was taken straight to the locker room for X-rays, because, as Jimbo Fisher cleared up after the game, FSU medical staff were concerned that the arm may have been broken. The X-rays were negative, however, and Greene returned to the FSU sideline, much to the relief of Florida State fans everywhere.

After exchanging punts to begin the second half, the Eagles pulled even on a drive aided by a targeting call on Florida State linebacker Matthew Thomas, who was ejected and will also be held out of the first half of the Florida game. The tying score came on one of the few occasions that Murphy was able to break loose, as the FSU defense has not gotten credit for the job it did on Murphy: he came in rushing for 100.60 yards per game, the most of any quarterback on a P5 team. Tonight he rushed for just 48 yards on 15 carries (an average of 3.2 YPC, less than half his average entering the contest, which was 7.03 YPC).

The ‘Noles appeared to have the lead back on the following drive, but the nearly automatic Roberto Aguayo missed, for the first time in his FSU career within the state of Florida, from 40 yards out, and the 17-17 deadlock remained heading into the fourth quarter.

Boston College controlled the ball for more than half of the beginning of the fourth quarter, finding a rhythm on the ground and driving to the FSU 25 before the ‘Noles held. Mike Knoll, who usually handles field goals for BC, remained on the bench as Steve Addazio went with kickoff specialist Alex Howell on the go-ahead field goal attempt. The move did not pay off, as his 42-yard effort sailed wide right.

Taking over with 4:37 on the clock, FSU worked the ball down the field on a well-called drive that mixed both the run and the pass. The final two throws went to — you guessed it — Greene. The first grab, for 11 yards, tied him with Ron Sellers for the most receiving yardage in Florida State history. After a false start penalty backed the Seminoles up, Greene made another nice catch, this one for 15 yards, that put FSU in field goal range and Greene’s name in the Florida State record book once more.

Dalvin Cook then improved FSU’s chances by rushing five straight times for 22 yards, getting it down to the BC 8, when Fisher called a timeout with seven seconds remaining to bring out Aguayo for the winning attempt. But that’s not how it was supposed to go down. Fisher actually told the ref that he was about to call a timeout, but the official granted it immediately. Fisher wanted the timeout with four seconds left, so FSU wouldn’t have to kickoff.

More from Chop Chat

So Aguayo, coming off just the third miss of his career, stood in the pouring rain on a soggy field and waited on a slick ball to be snapped back to Cason Beatty. The snap was a tad high, but Beatty got it down nicely and Aguayo was true. Again.

The win, which, we’ll surely hear, did not demonstrate adequate “game control” by the Seminoles, did show yet another way this FSU team has found to win: by shaking off mistakes — drops, misses — and making plays when it matters most. Next up for the 11-0, No. 3 Seminoles: a visit from the rival Florida Gators on Saturday the 29th.

Home/FSU Football