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Noles Pull Rank On Eagles

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2007

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - As he squeezed the final snap of the game and tapped his knee to the cold turf, Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford raised his arms in triumph, then ran to midfield and did a celebratory chest bump with receiver De'Cody Fagg.

The scene was a fitting one to end FSU's 27-17 victory against No. 2-ranked Boston College, the Noles' biggest win of the season. While the Noles' national title hopes ended long ago, thanks to Weatherford and Fagg, Boston College's dream of hoisting a national championship trophy was crushed Saturday on a cold and windy New England night at Alumni Stadium.

"We are trying to get back, and this will help us," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "This is the fourth game we've been ahead at the half, and we've lost two of them. I thought we were going to make enough mistakes to lose it at the end."

With FSU nursing a 13-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Weatherford hit Fagg for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 8:11 left that proved to be the decisive score. The roller-coaster Noles, who blew late leads against Wake Forest and Miami, were able to hold this time against the Eagles and Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Ryan. The victory was FSU's first against a team ranked in the Top 5 since defeating No. 5 Virginia Tech in the inaugural ACC Championship Game in 2005.

And much like that game, Weatherford came through in the clutch, hitting 29 of 45 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns, outshining Ryan in a game shown nationally on ABC. Meanwhile, Fagg finished with six catches for a team-high 111 yards.

For Weatherford, it was another step in regaining his confidence and the team's after he was benched earlier this season in favor of Xavier Lee.

"It was a big win," Weatherford said. "We showed the whole country we believe in what we're doing and the direction we're going. We executed from the start to the end. We're going to build on this win."

Weatherford passed for more than 300 yards for the second consecutive game since regaining the starting quarterback job from Lee, who remained in Tallahassee serving a two-game suspension for missing excessive classes.
Boston College rallied after Weatherford's pass to Fagg put FSU up, 20-10. On the Eagles' ensuing possession, Ryan hit tight end Ryan Purvis for a touchdown pass to cut FSU's lead to 20-17 with 6:43 left. After FSU was forced to punt at Boston College's 43, Ryan had a final chance to re-create his late-game heroics against Virginia Tech but his pass for Purvis was intercepted by Geno Hayes and returned 38 yards for a touchdown, ruining Boston College's national title bid and its perfect season.

The loss was Boston College's first at Alumni Stadium since losing to FSU in 2005, snapping a 16-game home win streak.

"Hey, they made the plays, and we didn't make them tonight," Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said.

Ryan, who threw two late touchdown passes at Virginia Tech nine days ago to keep Boston College's perfect season intact, couldn't duplicate his magic on a night that started with the remnants of Hurricane Noel blowing in from the Atlantic.

Ryan passed for 415 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions, the most costly the one Hayes returned for FSU's final score.

Early in the game, FSU looked as if it was going to have to rely on kicker Gary Cismesia once again. However, Cismesia's right foot didn't have as much magic in it as the past two games when he made nine of 10 field goals to provide much of FSU's offense. Cismesia missed twice Saturday, a 48-yarder late in the third quarter and another 48-yarder in a scoreless game in the second quarter.

But Cismesia also made two, hitting a 40-yard field goal to put FSU up 10-0 with 5:41 left in the third quarter and a 29-yarder early in the fourth quarter to put the Noles up 13-7. Cismesia's first field goal came after FSU cornerback Tony Carter picked off Ryan to give FSU possession.

Ryan's best performance came immediate after Cismesia's first field goal put FSU ahead 10-0. On the ensuing drive, Ryan drove the Eagles 70 yards on four plays, taking only 1:03 to shred FSU's defense on four consecutive pass plays. He hit Brandon Robinson for a 30-yard TD pass with 4:38 left in the third quarter, cutting FSU's lead to 10-7.

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