South Carolina churned out more than 400 yards of offense. It’s much beleaguered pass defense allowed just 90 yards. Even without Marcus Lattimore, the Gamecocks rushed for 139 yards. Those are the kind of numbers that likely would have delighted any South Carolina fan and frightened any Florida State follower before the Chick-fil-A Bowl kicked off.
Chick-Fil-A Bowl, South Carolina Vs. Florida State: Seminoles Capitalize On Gamecock Errors, Claim 10th Win
But the Seminoles forced five turnovers by the Gamecocks and ran for 218 yards, all while surviving a furious South Carolina rally in the third quarter to give Jimbo Fisher a bowl win in his first season as head coach in Tallahassee. The victory also gave the Seminoles their 10th of the year, a landmark the storied program hasn’t seen in seven years.
The biggest contributor for the Seminoles was Greg Reid, who forced two fumbles — one on the hit that knocked Lattimore out of the game — and had punt returns of 28 and 25 yards. Chris Thompson carried the ball 25 times for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Dustin Hopkins was perfect on four field goals.
The game started out sloppy, with neither team scoring a touchdown until the second quarter was almost over. At that time, Florida State had what seemed to be an insurmountable 13-0 lead. The Gamecocks did manage to kick a last-second field goal, but even the 10-point halftime margin seemed too much to overcome.
Down 16-3 in the third quarter, South Carolina started coming back. But the Seminoles stayed one step ahead of them. When the Gamecocks cut the lead to 16-10, Florida State added another field goal. Florida State answered a Brian Maddox touchdown with a touchdown of its own, taking a 26-17 lead late in the fourth quarter that effectively ended the game.
For Jimbo Fisher, it’s proof that being the man that follows the man might not be fatal. And it sets up the Seminoles to try to make another run at the ACC Championship Game next year, with E.J. Manuel looking solid taking over for Christian Ponder.
Meanwhile, South Carolina is left with another bowl loss, the fourth in five postseason appearances under Steve Spurrier. The 2010 edition of the Gamecocks still achieved a list of things that had never been done in school history — including an SEC East title. But the final two games, losses to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game and Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, make for another bittersweet ending for a fan base all too familiar with coming up just short.
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