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Another Step Backward For Noles

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Over the past few seasons, a lot has happened at Florida State that once seemed unimaginable.

Add another to the list: Wake Forest students - yes, those dominant Demon Deacons - taunting the Seminoles with chants of 'over-rated, over-rated' near the end of Wake Forest's 24-21 victory at chilly BB&T Stadium on Thursday night.

The No. 21-ranked Noles stepped onto the field against Wake Forest seeking revenge and nothing less. That's what a humiliating 30-0 loss at home last season - one that ultimately changed the direction of the program - does to a team, especially when the team you lose to is a perennial league doormat.

But the defending ACC champion Demon Deacons proved their days of being pushovers appear over, defeating FSU for the second consecutive season after losing 14 in a row to the Noles by an average of 29 points from 1992-2005. The victory allowed Wake Forest (4-2, 3-1 ACC) to remain in sole possession of second place behind Boston College in the Atlantic Division. FSU (4-2, 1-2) squandered an opportunity to move into second, and now must get a lot of help if it plans to qualify for the ACC title game in Jacksonville in December.

'We are a much better team than this,' quarterback Xavier Lee said after FSU gained only 105 in the second half. 'We have to finish games stronger. Wake Forest didn't do anything different in the second half. We just didn't execute.'

A sloppy see-saw game swung back to Wake Forest - this time for good - when receiver Kenny Moore slipped behind FSU defensive back Jamie Robinson and hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Skinner. Moore's catch gave Wake Forest a 21-14 lead with 6:41 left in the game, forcing FSU to play catch-up on the road.

Moore, who leads the ACC in receiving, appeared to put the Demon Deacons up earlier in the second half. But Moore's punt return for a touchdown was negated by an illegal block.

FSU's first loss since the season opener at Clemson ended when Graham Gano's onside kick was recovered by Wake Forest. Lee, replaced for a series late in the game by Drew Weatherford, re-entered once Wake Forest regained the lead. But Lee's first pass after coming back in was intercepted when Greg Carr, leaping to make a long catch downfield, had the ball bounce off his hands and into those of Wake Forest's Chip Vaughn.

'He was running the wrong plays, so we put Drew in there,' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. 'Toward the end, we needed a big play, so we put Xavier back in. This was a battle of quarterbacks and Wake Forest got the best of it.'

Sam Swank's 48-yard field goal with 1:48 left put Wake up by 10 points (24-14), but Lee's 17-yard run with 17 seconds left provided FSU one final opportunity that the Noles failed to pull off.

Wake Forest running back Josh Adams broke a scoreless tie with 8:30 remaining in the second quarter when he darted through an opening at the line of scrimmage and then raced down the right sideline for an 83-yard touchdown run, the longest scoring run against the Noles since Wake Forest's Morgan Kane went 80 yards on Nov. 9, 1996. Adams beat FSU safety Myron Rolle to the end zone, waking up a cold crowd of 32,906 at BB&T Field that up until that point had witnessed mostly a comedy of errors.

However, FSU didn't stay behind for long. On the ensuing drive, the Noles struck back with a six-play, 67-yard drive capped by Lee's 6-yard scoring pass to Preston Parker, the first touchdown catch of Parker's career. The play was set up when Lee broke free from the rush on 3rd-and-6 and passed 57 yards to Parker, moving the Noles to Wake Forest's 7.

Right before halftime, both teams exchanged fumbles, with Marcus Ball's recovery with 2:52 left in the half giving FSU possession at its 25. On the first play, Lee, who finished 24 of 45 for 283 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions, hit Carr for 58-yard pass play to Wake's 25. Four plays later, Lee's 4-yard touchdown pass to Carr gave FSU a 14-7 lead.

However, Skinner's 6-yard pass to Adams late in the third quarter tied the game, and from there, FSU's offense mostly stalled, prompting offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to go with Weatherford for a series until FSU fell behind for good.

In a first quarter filled with more mistakes than a second-grader's math quiz, neither team managed to generate much offense until FSU drove from its 1 to Wake Forest's 43 on its final drive of the opening quarter. However, three consecutive incomplete passes by Lee forced the Noles to punt.

Earlier in the quarter, FSU appeared to be set up with great field position after Anthony Houllis blocked Wake Forest punter Sam Swank's kick. However, the ball crossed the line of scrimmage before FSU's Toddrick Verdell snagged it out of the air. Attempting to run, Verdell fumbled and Wake Forest's Ben Wooster recovered to give possession back to Wake Forest.

That pretty much sums up what kind of night it was for the Noles.

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

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