Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE there was a lot of second-guessing there." Manuel closed out the regular sea- son 183-of-280 passing for 2,417 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight inter- ceptions. He added 387 yards rushing (before factoring in sacks) and four scores for an offense that averaged 118.1 yards per game on the ground. After a 2-3 start to the season, Flor- ida State took advantage of a reprieve after leaving Winston-Salem, N.C. A bye week was followed by five con- secutive wins over Duke, Maryland, North Carolina State, Boston College and Miami. The Seminoles won those games by an average of 23.8 points. A 14-13 slip against Virginia on Nov. 19, however, would prevent the Noles from reaching 10 wins again, but they did complete the state sweep with a 21-7 victory on the road against Flor- ida in the regular season finale. Florida State finished the regular season sixth in the nation in total de- fense (274.6 yards allowed per game), second against the run (81.8 yards surrendered per contest) and 18th de- fending the pass (192.8 yards given up per outing). It ranked 10th in the country in tackles for loss (91.5), led by junior defensive end Brandon Jenkins Facts & Figures FLORIDA STATE VS. NOTRE DAME Game Info Date: Dec. 29, 2011 Site: The Citrus Bowl (65,438 capacity), Orlando, Fla. Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. ET Television: ESPN Radio: The broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129) or at Siriusxm.com Series Facts: This will be the seventh meeting between the two programs and the second matchup in a bowl game. Florida State holds a 4-2 advantage in the series. The most recent meeting was on Nov. 1, 2003, when the Seminoles blanked the Fighting Irish, 37-0. Florida State Coach Jimbo Fisher's Record • 18-8 (.750) in two seasons at Florida State Prime Personnel • QB EJ Manuel — The redshirt junior has thrown for 2,417 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 183-of-280 passing in 11 games this year … Built on his stint as a four-game starter in 2009, making 10 appearances with starts against Clemson and Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game last season … Came on in relief in the second quarter of the Chick-fil-A Bowl and helped guide the Noles to a 26-17 win over South Carolina, which included a seven-yard TD pass with just more than five minutes to play to cap off a 13-play, 63-yard drive which proved to be the game-clinching moment. • RB Devonta Freeman — The 5-8, 200-pound freshman tailback has rushed for 531 yards and eight touchdowns on 107 carries in 11 games … Considered one of the most versatile runners in the country as a star at Miami Central High, Freeman was rated as a four-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout. com, and was ranked as the No. 10 running back and the No. 108 overall player in the nation by Rivals. com, the No. 9 running back in the land by Scout.com, and the No. 5 RB and No. 52 overall player in the nation by 247Sports. • LB Nigel Bradham (13) — The senior linebacker had a team-best 77 tackles in 12 games, including nine for loss … Added an interception and four pass deflections … Registered 98 tackles last season and 93 in 2009, which led the team both years. • S Lamarcus Joyner (20) — The sophomore safety registered three interceptions and 47 tackles this season, and averaged 26.7 yards per kickoff return … As a true freshman cornerback in 2010, he played in all 14 games and finished with 23 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception. • P Shawn Powell (45) — The senior punter ranks first in the nation with a 47.0-yard average after 49 attempts this fall, which included a long of 69 yards and 21 punts of more than 50 yards … In 2010, Powell averaged a 44.3 yards per punt. For The Record • FSU boasts five receivers with at least 350 yards. Rodney Smith leads the way with 527 and four touchdowns on 32 catches. Rashad Greene caught a team-high 33 passes for 497 yards and six scores. Kenny Shaw registered 30 receptions for 354 yards and four touchdowns, Bert Reed compiled 28 catches for 385 yards and four scores and Christian Green added 25 receptions for 447 yards. • The most famous game between the two schools occurred when 10-0 and No. 1 Florida State visited 9-0 and No. 2 Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 1993, and it turned out to be ESPN's original "Game Day" on an on-campus site. Head coach Lou Holtz's Irish emerged with a 31-24 victory to move to No. 1 for one week before getting upset by Boston College the following Saturday. Florida State ended up winning the national title over No. 2 Notre Dame. www.BLUEANDGOLD.com (11 tackles for loss), sophomore end Bjoern Werner (10) and senior line- backer Nigel Bradham (nine). Brad- ham paced the squad with 77 total tackles — 22 more than anyone else. Other than injuries, FSU's real prob- lem was a lack of discipline, result- ing in 98 penalties for 831 yards. The Noles' average of 69.3 penalty yards per game was the third worst in the country this year. "Florida State has definitely shot it- self in the foot," Dowlar said. "That was a huge reason why Florida State lost four games this year. It has kind of defined Florida State's season." ✦ Junior defensive end Brandon Jenkins has racked up 32.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks during the past two seasons. PHOTO COURTESY FLORIDA STATE FooTBaLL BowL SuBDIvISIoN NaTIoNaL RaNKINGS TALE OF THE TAPE Notre Dame Category 51 (166.0) Rushing Offense 33 (258.1) Passing Offense 33 (424.1) Total Offense T-43 (30.5) Scoring Offense 54 (132.7) Passing Efficiency T-18 (1.08) Sacks Allowed 58 (147.1) Rushing Defense T-34 (202.2) Passing Defense 34 (349.3) Total Defense 28 (20.9) 56 (127.3) Pass Eff. Defense T-79 (1.7) Scoring Defense Sacks 104 (34.0) Net Punting 120 (0.3) 33 (23.3) Punt Returns Kickoff Returns T-117 (-1.1) Turnover Margin Florida State 99 (118.1) 34 (257.7) 73 (375.8) 35 (31.7) 18 (153.0) T-111 (3.0) 2 (81.8) 18 (192.8) 6 (274.6) 4 (15.2) 32 (119.1) 9 (3.0) 1 (42.0) 34 (10.5) 21 (23.4) T-42 (0.17) JANUARY 2012 35