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A Terp Thumping

The Associated Press

Christian Ponder (7) splits Maryland defenders Jeff Allen, left, and Dave Philistin, right, for a touchdown.

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By COREY CLARK

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: November 23, 2008

Updated: 11/23/2008 12:44 am

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A road win and a Rhodes win.

Not a bad Saturday for the Florida State football program.

Less than three hours after safety Myron Rolle was awarded with the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in Birmingham, Ala., the Seminoles jumped all over the Maryland Terrapins for an emphatic 37-3 win.

"It was a good day," said quarterback Christian Ponder, who accounted for 224 yards of offense and two touchdowns. "We've been in a bad light these past couple of weeks, so to finally get something positive going ... it really couldn't have been a better day."

With the victory, FSU (8-3, 5-3) remains alive in the ACC Atlantic Division race - the Seminoles will need a Maryland win next week at Boston College to earn a spot in the Dec. 6 conference championship game in Tampa.

However, the Terrapins offense will have to play better than it did against the Seminoles, who punished quarterback Chris Turner all night.

Florida State has six sacks, 31/2 by defensive end Everette Brown, and forced four turnovers - including a fumble caused by Brown that was scooped up by linebacker Derek Nicholson and returned 22 yards for a touchdown (Rolle had just walked into the locker room when his teammate raced into the end zone) in the second quarter.

"At first I didn't think they were going to keep it," Nicholson said. "Because I was looking at it and it looked kind of close if his knee was down or not. So I just ran it in and I ran to the sidelines right away. I didn't want to do all that celebrating or nothing because I didn't know if we had to go right back out there again."

Nicholson's celebration-less TD pushed the lead to 14-0 for the Seminoles, who got their first score on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Ponder to Preston Parker with 14:51 to go in the second quarter.

"He responded," FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said of Ponder, who completed 19 of 24 passes on the night after throwing three interceptions last week against Boston College. "When you have bad situations, everybody says you build character. You don't. You reveal it, and what you really have inside. And he has it inside."

A two-play highlight reel by senior linebacker Toddrick Verdell 10 minutes later helped push the lead to 21-0 heading into halftime.

With the Terrapins at the FSU 30, Verdell crushed Turner on a blitz for a 7-yard loss. On the next play, Verdell stepped in front of a pass and intercepted it at the FSU 24-yard line. He returned it 38 yards to the Maryland 38.

Backup quarterback D'Vontrey Richardson hit Parker for a 17-yard completion, Ponder rushed for 16 yards and two straight Antone Smith runs got the Seminoles into the end zone with 1:35 left in the half.

Florida State, which leads the nation in tackles-for-loss, had eight in the first half as Maryland went into halftime with just 1 rushing yard.

"The main thing was go out there and play Seminole defense," FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. "Go out there, be aggressive, have fun, make plays and play as a team."

The Seminoles offense came out in the second half and continued to pound the Terrapins. A 13-play, 61-yard drive - which included 31 yards rushing by Ponder - ended with a Graham Gano 22-yard field goal and a 24-0 lead. More importantly, the time-consuming march chewed up 8:13 of clock.

When Maryland got its first points of the game on the ensuing drive - a 34-yard field goal - there was 3:46 left in the third quarter.

It would be the last points the FSU defense would allow.

With Brown leading the way, the Seminoles dominated and demoralized the Maryland offense.

Especially Turner.

"They had a good pass rush and some really good defensive linemen," Turner said. "I took a few hits and I am hurting a little bit, but I will be fine today."

Said Brown: "It's fun when you're dominating and you're out there getting big hits. Then the weather doesn't become a factor. I mean, it can get real cold out there if you're losing."

The Terrapins managed just 252 yards of total offense against a Florida State defense that flew around all over Byrd Stadium - racking up 10 tackles-for-loss and forcing four turnovers.

The last one, a Michael Ray Garvin caused fumble, led to a Ponder 1-yard TD run and an insurmountable 34-3 lead with 8:49 left.

Gano then finished out another All-American type effort with a 48-yard field goal with 5:19 left.

"We finally put a game together," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "Offense, defense and special teams were all good."

"This is one of the best games we've played," Parker said. "We've got to keep it up and next week come out the same way."

Next week, some highly ranked team from Gainesville visits Tallahassee.

But on Saturday night, the Seminoles weren't thinking about the Gators. Instead they were enjoying a road win unlike any in the history of the FSU program.

"Myron Rolle was so great," Bowden said. "It was like getting two wins to be honest with you."

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