Florida State

now 0-2 in ACC

BY JUSTIN A. RICE

Special to The Miami Herald

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The pregame anticipation of another thriller between Florida State and Boston College seemed like it was just humidity left over from the torrential downpour that subsided just before kickoff Saturday.

FSU's 21-6 halftime deficit -- the Noles' largest halftime hole since they trailed Florida 28-9 at intermission of last season's season finale -- was surprising since every FSU-BC game since the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005 had been thrilling.

That included FSU's 27-17 upset of then-second-ranked BC two years ago, and the Eagles' victory against the then-20th-ranked Seminoles last season. So while fans might not have appreciated the 28-21 Boston College victory from the edges of their seats, at least they will look back on FSU's comeback fondly.

``The only good thing I like about us is we came back and made a game of it,'' FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. ``We tied it up in the last four or five minutes, but then when the game was on the line we didn't get it done. And they did.''

In particular, FSU's secondary didn't get it done. One play after freshman cornerback Greg Reid dropped a potential interception with 4:26 left, FSU senior safety Jamie Robinson was called for pass interference at the 20 on a third-and-10 play starting at BC's 43.

``It was an uncatchable pass in the first place,'' Bowden said. ``Maybe the guy tripped. That's not why they called it. I guess they called it us tripping them. I don't know.''

On the next play, BC sophomore running back Montel Harris, a Jacksonville native, ripped off a 42-yard, game-winning touchdown run with 4:07 remaining. Blame didn't only lie with FSU's young secondary. Freshman kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 37-yarder with 7:06 remaining.

``We have to learn how to win,'' said sophomore wide receiver Bert Reed, who finished with 107 yards on seven catches. ``Somebody has to make a play. We can't have foolish mistakes in crunch time.''

FSU tied the score at 21 with 10:48 to play thanks to a reverse on a two-point conversion. Freshman running back Lonnie Pryor handed off to Reed, who found senior tight end Caz Piurowski open in the end zone.

``Caz, before the play started, said, `Find me, just find me,' '' Reed said. ``Sure enough, I found him.''

The two points were tacked onto sophomore running back Jermaine Thomas' 2-yard touchdown run. The Seminoles' (2-3, 0-2 ACC) used another reverse to start their second-half comeback. Senior wide receiver Louis Givins took a handoff from Thomas and dived into the left pylon as time expired in the third quarter. At that point, BC led 21-13.

BC took a 21-6 lead into halftime by gaining 238 yards of total offense, including 180 in the air, despite the fact that Hopkins' 31-yard field goal was the first points of the game. He added a 39-yarder as time expired in the half. After the first field goal, however, BC marched down the field and Harris scored on a 3-yard run.

The Seminoles responded with a 14-play drive that stalled at the 1-yard line, where FSU blew four opportunities to punch it in. Pryor was stuffed on three of those tries, before junior quarterback Christian Ponder (29 of 42, 341 yards) rolled out to his right on fourth down before being sacked for an 11-yard loss. Three plays later, the Eagles (4-1, 1-1) got their longest pass play of the season, a 62-yard bomb from freshman Dave Shinskie (12 of 21, 203 yards, two touchdowns) to wide receiver Colin Larmond Jr.

Reid blew the coverage down the right sideline before tackling Larmond at the 25. The pass set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Shinskie to senior wide receiver Rick Gunnell to make the score 14-3 with 6:25 left in the half. The Eagles got another long touchdown pass, a 38-yard strike to Jeff Smith with 59 seconds remaining.

The FSU secondary was not helped by the fact that Miami native Patrick Robinson sprained an ankle late in the game and did not return.