Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel had to step in the game for the Seminoles because Christian Ponder suffered a concussion early in the first half. Manuel was not fazed by it, because he threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Taiwan Easterling to give the Seminoles the 26-17 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome. “I was so happy,” Manuel said after the game. “I was so happy to win this game. We were moving the ball how we wanted to.”
That last drive of the game was much needed for the Seminoles because South Carolina scored on the previous drive with a Brian Maddox 7-yard touchdown run to cut the Seminoles lead to two early in the fourth. But the Florida State offense was able to answer with a 13-play drive which took over six minutes off the clock.
“E.J. is special,” Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “He is going to be a really special player. I’m glad he is on my team.
Manuel completed 11 of his 15 passes with 84 yards and a touchdown. But credit also has to go to running back Chris Thompson who was named Offensive MVP for his 148-yard, one touchdown performance in the win.
South Carolina got off to a very rocky start. They started the game at their own17-yard line and were able to drive all the way down to the Seminole 20. But when Stephen Garcia threw a short pass to Marcus Lattimore, Florida state cornerback Greg Reid forced Lattimore to fumble with a ferocious tackle and was recovered by Kendall Smith which was returned to the South Carolina 29-yard line. That led to a Dustin Hopkins 29-yard field goal to give the Seminoles the 3-0 lead with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
“This game was for the fans,” Reid said who was named Defensive MVP. “We played ball tonight and it was just fun.”
What made matters worse for South Carolina is when Lattimore got hit by Reid, his mouth was cut and he had to leave the game.
“Marcus is still in the hospital,” South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said. “He got hit right under the helmet and got a little bit of a concussion.”
Later in the quarter, South Carolina looked to get on the board but on the first play of their offensive series Garcia threw his first interception of the game to Kendall Smith which put the ‘Noles at the Gamecocks’ 27-yard line. But Florida State could only muster negative three yards on four plays and that led to a Hopkins 48-yard field goal to give Florida State the 6-0 lead.
After forcing South Carolina to go three-and-out on the ensuing drive, Florida State started the second quarter with another solid drive, as they were able to get down to the Gamecocks 2-yard line. But they came away with the zero points because Christian Ponder had Lonnie Pryor wide open out in the flats on a fourth-and-one play, but threw a bounce pass and the ‘Noles turned the ball over on downs.
That would be the last play of the game for Ponder because he suffered a concussion, so head coach Jimbo Fisher had to go to E.J. Manuel which was the spark the Seminoles needed. With 2:08 left in the half, Manuel led FSU to their first touchdown of the game with a Chris Thompson 27-yard touchdown run to give the Seminoles the 13-0 lead. That play was possible because Manuel had a 32-yard run which put Florida State at the South Carolina 27-yard line.
South Carolina was able to answer though, as they drove down to the FSU 23-yard line which led to a Spencer Lanning 40-yard field goal to cut the FSU lead to 10 at the half.
Florida State was able to swing momentum back to their side at the start of the second half when Hopkins kicked a 35-yard field goal to go up 16-3. South Carolina look to answer on the ensuing drive but Alshon Jeffery fumbled at the Seminoles 42-yard line which was recovered by Christian Jones to give FSU a golden opportunity to put the game out of reach.
But Florida State turned the ball over, as the Seminoles tired a wide receiver pass with Burt Reed, but his pass was picked off by Stephon Gilmore. That led to a Ace Sanders 3-yard touchdown pass to Garcia to cut the FSU lead to six.
Despite the loss, South Carolina had a solid year, winning nine games and reaching the SEC Championship game. But Spurrier knows it could have been a better season.
“It’s unfortunate, but that’s as good as our team could do this year,” Spurrier said. We got nine wins. We got beat and we got beat in a bowl game.”
Florida State finishes their year with a 10-4 record which is a successful year for the Fisher and the program. And Fisher believes the reason his team won today is the same reason they have won 10 games this season.
“We are not a team we are a family,” Fisher said. Our kids hang with each other. In all three phases of the game our kids played together.”
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