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Hurricanes Snatch One Away From Seminoles

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2007

Updated: 10/21/2007 12:16 am

TALLAHASSEE - In the days leading up to the 52nd showdown in the Miami-Florida State rivalry, most of the hype focused on how this year's game lacked, umm, hype. For the first time since 1977, neither team was nationally ranked, and don't even talk about national championship implications. Instead, can you say bowl eligible?

But then the two teams stepped onto the field Saturday at packed Doak Campbell Stadium, and it seemed like 1987 or 2000 all over again. The game featured six lead changes, nine turnovers and enough late drama to remind everyone why this rivalry matters so much in the first place.

And like so many times before, right when it appeared Florida State was set to win, Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman learned to throw, leading the Hurricanes to a 37-29 victory on a seven-play, 83-yard drive with less than three minutes remaining.

'Everybody said it wasn't going to be a big game,' Miami coach Randy Shannon said. 'Well, you know what - ABC is happy, we're happy, Florida State might not be as happy as they want.

'It's just unbelievable that you can play games like that.'

Freeman, who hit one of his first eight passes after replacing injured starter Kyle Wright in the first half, went 3-for-3 for 55 yards on the winning drive, the last completion a 13-yard touchdown to Dedrick Epps with 1:30 remaining. Still hoping to stage some late drama of its own, FSU took over at its 29 with 1:12 remaining. However, on the drive's first play, FSU quarterback Xavier Lee fumbled on a hit by Miami's Teraz McCray, and Hurricanes linebacker Colin McCarthy scooped the ball up and raced 27 yards for the touchdown, leaving the Noles stunned at the quick turn of events.

'That's the strangest one I have been around in a long time,' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. 'When you think you had the game won, they made the plays they had to have. We had two enemies. One was them, and one was us.'

The Seminoles appeared on their way to a third consecutive win against the Hurricanes for most of the second half thanks to five Gary Cismesia field goals and Freeman's struggles. But like in last week's loss at Wake Forest, FSU's offense went cold for much of the second half, plagued by penalties, turnovers and a lack of execution.

After Lee's second interception of the game - this one tipped at the line of scrimmage and returned to FSU's 11 by Miami cornerback Randy Phillips midway through the fourth quarter - FSU's defense stopped Freeman on fourth-and-1 from the 2, swinging the momentum back to the Noles.

The momentum swing was short-lived when FSU's offense stalled on the following drive, setting up Freeman's late-game heroics. After Lee missed on three consecutive passes on FSU's final drive of the game, Miami players ran to celebrate in the north end zone with their fans.

Meanwhile, FSU players walked off the field stunned as their somber fans looked on in disbelief at another close loss to Miami.

'We just basically let up on them and didn't get the job done,' FSU cornerback Patrick Robinson said. 'It's a heartbreaking loss. The better team lost.'

FSU players remained visibly shaken 15 minutes later when addressing the media.

'I can't believe we lost,' said linebacker Derek Nicholson, who was in on the goal-line tackle that stopped Freeman late in the game. 'I still can't believe it. It seems like we go through this stuff over and over every game.

'We got them pinned back, and they drive 83 yards and score. You can't blame one person. You can't blame one guy. You have to look yourself in the mirror and say, 'What could I have done to prevent that from happening.' We've got to get better. We have to improve.'

Miami snapped a two-game losing streak in the highest-scoring game between the teams in six years, while FSU now has a two-game losing streak with the hardest part of its schedule coming up after next week's game against Duke. FSU still must travel to Boston College, Virginia Tech and Florida.

'It hurts. We needed this darn game; we needed this game,' Bowden said. 'The toughest games are ahead. I mean, we needed this doggone ballgame. We knew it wouldn't be easy.'

With Lee playing well most of the first half and Antone Smith posting his first 100-yard game of the season, FSU's offense seemed to come to life after its second-half disappearance in a 27-24 loss at Wake Forest last Thursday.

'We couldn't finish in the fourth quarter,' Lee said. 'We've got to learn to finish games. I've got to learn to finish.'

Having to rely on Cismesia and the defense too much cost the Noles in the end, prompting Bowden and offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to say they plan to re-evaluate the team's quarterback situation once again. Lee finished 14 of 33 for 208 yards, but was responsible for four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles).

'We'll look and see,' Fisher said of changing quarterbacks. 'We've got to evaluate. We have to do what we have to do for our football team. It's not an individual decision, it's based on 100 individuals.'

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

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