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Huge Rally Falls Short

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By COREY CLARK

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: November 2, 2008

Updated: 11/02/2008 12:14 am

ATLANTA - Three yards. That's all that separated Florida State from one of the best comeback wins in program history Saturday evening.

But those 3 yards never came as FSU junior running back Marcus Sims was separated from the football on a second-and-goal play from the Georgia Tech 3-yard line. The Yellow Jackets recovered the fumble in the end zone with 45 seconds remaining to escape with a 31-28 victory.

"It would have been the greatest comeback that I had ever had in my life," FSU linebacker Dekoda Watson said. "It was very special for me to be on the sidelines for it ... but it didn't just happen. You can't cry over spilled milk."

Or in this case, lost fumbles.

"Yeah, no doubt," FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said when asked if it was his toughest loss since joining the staff. "Because of how hard our kids fought ... That's the thing that makes sports so great. A loss hurts the fans. Think what it does to these kids and these coaches, too. It eats our hearts out, too."

The No. 16 Seminoles (6-2, 3-2 ACC) trailed 31-20 with just more than nine minutes remaining when they took over possession at their own 30-yard line. After starting quarterback Christian Ponder connected with Bert Reed for a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-3, backup QB D'Vontrey Richardson came in and threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to junior Preston Parker.

Ponder came back in to throw a 2-point conversion pass to Greg Carr and the Seminoles were within three with six minutes left.

Georgia Tech backup quarterback Jaybo Shaw, who came into the game for injured starter Josh Nesbitt in the third quarter, then threw his first and only pass of the contest one play later. FSU cornerback Patrick Robinson intercepted it at the FSU 41, setting the stage for a wild final five minutes - which included another fourth-down pass to Reed, a diving first-down catch by Parker and three successive Jermaine Thomas runs that gave the Seminoles first-and-goal at the Tech 6.

After an Antone Smith 3-yard run, Sims came in at the tailback spot.

Moments later - after freshman safety Cooper Taylor's helmet found Sims' arms - the ball was bouncing into the end zone and the Yellow Jacket fans were falling all over each other in celebration.

"He didn't do it on purpose, I can promise you that," Fisher said of the fumble.

Until the final quarter, the story of Saturday's game was the Georgia Tech offense. Or more accurately, the FSU defense's inability to stop it.

Until Nesbitt went out with an injured ankle midway through the third quarter, the Yellow Jackets' triple-option attack had sliced up FSU for a total of 334 yards and four rushing touchdowns on just 38 plays from scrimmage.

"We simply couldn't stop the wishbone," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "We simply could not stop it."

After Nesbitt hobbled off, the Georgia Tech offense managed 9 yards on 13 plays.

But the damage had already been done.

The Yellow Jackets, who hadn't scored more than 27 points in an ACC game this season, had 31 on the board with 13:42 remaining in third quarter after fullback Jonathan Dwyer's 66-yard touchdown run. Dwyer finished with 145 yards and two scores on 13 carries. Meanwhile, Florida State countered with a freshman tailback in Thomas, who rushed for a career-high 130 yards on nine carries.

With the Seminoles trailing 24-10 in the second quarter, the Jacksonville native busted off a 62-yard run. Ponder, who scored FSU's first points with a 3-yard TD run on the very first drive of the game, then hit fullback Seddrick Holloway on a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the Tech lead to 24-17.

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