Former FSU football quarterback and first round draft pick EJ Manuel announced his retirement from football Monday.
Former FSU football quarterback EJ Manuel is a player that largely seems forgotten by most Nole fans despite being a top recruit and helping win some important games in his time.
It could be that most fans never felt he reached his potential or it could be that he only had one full season where he was able to start every game.
Nevertheless, Manuel was one of the most important players of the last decade. He helped lead FSU to a ton of wins and was 25-6 as a starter.
In fact, Bobby Bowden likely doesn’t make a bowl game and finishes with a losing record in his final season if not for Manuel stepping in as a true freshman for an injured Christian Ponder.
The Noles were 4-5 with three regular season games remaining. Manuel led them to two wins and a come from behind victory in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia to finish 7-6.
Manuel filled in for a injured Christian Ponder again in 2011, most notably in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and helped lead the Noles to a win over South Carolina.
Manuel went on to become the full time starter in 2012 and led the Noles to a 12-2 record, including winning FSU’s first BCS Bowl game since 2000.
He was able to parlay that success into becoming FSU’s second straight QB drafted in the first round. Manuel was drafted with the No. 16 overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2013.
He never seemed to find his footing in the NFL and announced his retirement from football Monday.
Since he never seems to get much love I wanted to take a look at Manuel’s five best games in the garnet and gold. I’m taking into account stats, what was happening with the team and other factors so your list could differ a great deal from mine.
No. 17 West Virginia 2009 Season (Gator Bowl)
I’ve mentioned this game in the first part of the piece, but it’s likely FSU football never even makes it to this bowl game without EJ Manuel stepping in for an injured Christian Ponder.
If the Noles lost this game it would have been Bobby Bowden’s first losing season since his first at FSU in 1976.
The 2009 FSU defense was atrocious and the FSU offense had to basically outscore opponents much of the season.
This isn’t a game that will wow you from a statistical perspective.
FSU was down 14-3 in the first quarter but the FSU offense behind Manuel’s legs and arm battled back to take a 16-14 lead early in the third quarter.
Most importantly, Manuel didn’t turn the ball over during the game while completing 70 percent of his passes for 189 yards and rushing for 70 yards on 14 attempts and a touchdown.
It was an impressive feat for a true freshman playing against a top 20 opponent.
Notre Dame 2011 (Champs Bowl)
Did I mention EJ Manuel never lost a bowl game while at FSU? This was his third installment against a decent Notre Dame team that played for a national championship the following season.
The impressive thing about this game is Manuel played this game with a fracture in his leg. FSU football was down 7-0 at halftime and 14-0 early in the third quarter and had literally nothing sparking on offense.
A huge kickoff return by Lamarcus Joyner in the second half seemed to wake up the Noles and they battled back to win 18-14 while scoring 15 of those points in the fourth quarter.
EJ Manuel finished the game with 20-31 for 249 yards and two touchdowns through the air with no turnovers.
The win gave the Noles a ton of momentum program wise and helped reel in some of the most important players on future teams.
NC State 2011
I know I know. Any time you think of EJ Manuel and NC State the 2012 game likely comes to mind although that loss can’t be squarely placed on Manuel’s shoulders.
The year prior saw the Noles mud stomp the Wolfpack in front of the home crowd to the tune of 34-0
Statistically, Manuel had a good game as he was 25 of 34 for 321 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The interception came in the third quarter with FSU football up three scores near the red zone trying to be aggressive.
Manuel only rushed eight times in the game but was used on a lot of speed option plays where he’d pitch it out to the running back as typical to how Jimbo Fisher would use Manuel in the run game before Manuel decided he didn’t want to run in 2012.
Boston College 2012
EJ Manuel put up some monster stats in this game against Boston College. The Noles got on the board early in the first quarter on a 77 yard bomb from Manuel to Kenny Shaw.
They scored early and often giving FSU football a commanding 31-7 lead at the half.
Manuel finished the game 27 of 34 for 439 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Most importantly, this game came the week after the devastating 17-16 loss on the road against NC State.
It was like Jimbo Fisher and the team were taking out their frustrations from the loss on a really bad Boston College team.
Clemson 2012
This game is one of my favorite FSU games of recent memory. It was a high stakes game with No. 4 FSU hosting No. 10 Clemson.
It was one of the first big time ACC Primetime games the conference had had in a while and it lived up to the hype.
The game saw FSU football battle back from a two touchdown deficit in the third quarter to overtake the Clemson Tigers and win 49-37.
This game announced the Noles were a real player and looking to breakthrough to that elite status they once claimed for so long. The losses to NC State and Florida put a damper on the 2012 season, but this win against Clemson was huge at the time.
EJ Manuel finished 27 of 35 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns while also running 11 times for 102 yards for what was his best game wearing the garnet and gold.
I wish EJ Manuel all the best in retirement.