Florida State Squeaks Past Jacksonville State

Sports Betting News - September 13th, 2009 - Written by John

Just win it seemed things were turning around, Florida State nearly fell to a new low.

The Seminoles escaped with a late win over Division I-AA Jacksonville State, 19-9, Saturday night, avoiding becoming the third ACC team this year to fall to a team from a lower division. It was an adequate result in what should have been a tune-up game for their trip to Provo, Utah, for their game against no. 9 BYU next week.

"I sure am happy to win," head coach Bobby Bowden said on Warchant.com. "I feel lucky to have won. I have never played a ballgame in my life where so many things went wrong, never."

Wideout Richard Goodman saved the day with a fantastic snag of a high pass and took it down to the 1-yard line to set up Florida State's game-winning touchdown with 1:11 left in the game. Ty Jones capped the 57-yard drive with a plunge through the line. On the ensuing Gamecocks' possession, Jacobbi McDaniel broke through the line and sacked Ryan Perrilloux. The quarterback tried to rush off a pass and the wobbly flip fell into the lap of defensive end Kevin McNeil, who promptly deposited it into the end zone.

Goodman has been a bright spot for the 'Noles, after missing the last two seasons with injuries. In his final year of eligibility, Goodman has lead the team in catches and yards in each of the first two games. The senior caught eight balls for 80 yards against the Gamecocks. He was a big part of Christian Ponder's career night, throwing for 324 yards on 22 completions.

“(Goodman) and No. 7 (Ponder) have something to them now,” FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher told the Tallahassee Democrat. “They have something to them. And they can keep competing when it’s adverse. And they battle and they fight.”

The win gets Florida State back on track after losing to Miami in a Labor Day thriller last Monday.

Well, sort of.

The Seminoles was plagued by three turnovers and dozens of mental mistakes that nearly cost them the second game in a row. Patrick Robinson rolled into the punter and allowed the Gamecocks' drive to continue late in the fourth quarter. In the third, a Seminole touched a punt that should've been left untouched and Jacksonville State recovered. On 3rd-and-15, Perrilloux ran for 16 yards to extend the drive they would eventually score the first points of the game.

Even the kicking team had problems. Freshman Dustin Hopkins missed his second and third extra points on the year, giving some concerns about what could happen when points are a luxury against a superior opponent.

“It’s kind of sad that we had to wait until the last two minutes of the game to actually try to do something,” linebacker Dekoda Watson added to the Democrat. “… I’m just glad that we pulled it out.”

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