Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Three-game losing streak flattens FSU's tires in 8-4 finish BY WES MORGAN EARLY WOES OVERCOME GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE SEPT. 3: NO. 6 FSU 34, LOUISIANA-MONROE 0 Redshirt junior quarterback EJ Manuel's play wasn't perfect out of the gate, but he made things hap- pen in his first game as the Semi- noles' undisputed starter. Manuel found nine different receivers and completed 22 of 34 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while also compiling 22 yards rushing. FSU split carries among junior Chris Thompson (5-8, 190 pounds), senior Ty Jones (5-10, 210) and true freshman Devonta Freeman (5-8, 200), who scored the only rushing score of the day on a one-yard run. The Semi- noles totaled 92 yards rushing. SEPT. 10: NO. 5 FSU 62, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 10 Florida State, which jumped one spot in the Associated Press rank- ings, choked the life out the Football Championship Subdivision Bucca- neers early at Doak Campbell Sta- dium, scoring on its first three pos- sessions and finishing with 647 total yards of offense. Manuel played until midway through the third quarter and fin- ished with 329 yards passing and a career-high four touchdowns. He completed 24 of 35 passing attempts and tossed one pick. Senior wide receiver Bert Reed caught a pair of touchdown passes, and junior Rodney Smith also reg- istered a TD snag en route to five receptions for 77 yards. NO. 1 OKLAHOMA 23, NO. 5 FSU 13 In week three, FSU went from cup- SEPT. 17: cakes to the top team in the land and hung in there with the Sooners in the national spotlight. In a 47-17 loss last year in Norman, Okla., FSU clearly wasn't prepared for Oklahoma's TNT-packed offense and surrendered 487 yards. This year, the Noles held OU to just 310 yards. 36 JANUARY 2012 Freshman running back Devonta Freeman reeled off back-to-back 100-yard efforts on the ground in victories over Duke Oct. 15 and Maryland Oct. 22 en route to team-best totals of 531 rushing yards and eight TD runs. PHOTO BY ROSS OBLEY/COURTESY FLORIDA STATE Senior cornerback Mike Harris and senior linebacker Nigel Bradham had nine tackles apiece, while sophomore safety Lamarcus Joyner compiled eight stops and an interception. Clint Trickett, a redshirt freshman, was forced into action late in the third quarter when Manuel left the game with an injured shoulder. Trick- ett connected with fellow freshman Rashad Greene for a 56-yard touch- down pass with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 13-13. The running game tallied just 27 yards on 26 carries behind a shaky offensive line. NO. 21 CLEMSON 35, NO. 11 FSU 30 Dropping six spots in the Associ- ated Press poll, FSU fell victim to SEPT. 24: self-inflicted wounds in Death Valley. Penalties and the inability to convert on third down doomed the Semi- noles and led to Clemson holding on with white knuckles. It was the first Atlantic Coast Con- ference contest for both programs and a costly loss for FSU, which would go on to finish one game be- hind Clemson in the Atlantic Divi- sion standings and miss out on the league title game. FSU struggled to establish the running game and recorded just 29 yards on the ground. Clemson con- verted nine of its 17 third-down at- tempts, and FSU committed 11 pen- alties for 124 yards — two stains on the stat sheet that did Noles reserve QB Trickett, starting in place of the injured Manual, no favors. The Tal- BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED