If college football had an MVP award, it would by definition go to Christian Ponder, the Florida State quarterback who carries every ounce of hope the Seminoles may have in his pocket and his alone. Ponder brought the Seminoles back from a 24-6 hole by throwing a 98 yard TD standing just a few inches from the back of his own endzone and then blitzing the UNC defense for 395 yards and three TDs on the night, giving Florida State their first win in the ACC and keeping the barbarians from storming Camp Bowden for another week.
Florida State May Only Be Partially Dead
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Mentions of the game have to include something Cleveland Browns fans might not want to read about: mismanagement of the game by Butch Davis in the 4th quarter. With four minutes left in the game and sitting on 4th and 5 on the FSU 44, Davis elected to punt rather than go for it down by three points. The book says that’s what you do, so Butch Davis did it.
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FSU went on to pin UNC deep after running the clock down to 47 seconds—a largely useless 47 seconds due to their terrible field position, toothless passing game, and FSU’s ability to pressure with not four, but a mere three pass rushers. Even the usually mockable Craig James spotted the error a mile away: “Why opt to put the ball in the hands of your opponent’s strong suit (FSU’s offense) instead of their weak suit (the Seminole defense?)”
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Good question, Craig. Because you’re Butch Davis, maybe? That’s as good an answer as we have. Pay me two million dollars a year and I’d be happy to coach off a percentages card, too. Similar results—winless in the ACC—guaranteed!
↵If you’d like to read an FSU view on the game, check out Tomahawk Nation’s story on the game, zeroing in on Jimbo Fisher’s offense. As for Carolina, well, they simply have come to expect the team to find new ways to lose.
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