Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Florida State scored 18 unanswered points in the second half to come away with an 18-14 win in Orlando Fourth-Quarter FAILURE State offense found its stride in the final 15 minutes and did just enough to come from behind for an 18-14 vic- tory over Notre Dame in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Seminoles ran off 18 unan- T swered points in the second half to put a stop to what at times looked like it would become Notre Dame's third consecutive bowl win. The loss gave the outgoing group of Irish se- niors their first postseason defeat and dropped Notre Dame's record to a stagnant 8-5 on the year. Irish head coach Brian Kelly said earlier in the week that he saw his team evolve and improve during the past 12 months, but on paper they return to South Bend with an identi- cal record as the second year head coach's rocky maiden voyage. The same problems that sank the Irish in September tied the final bow on Notre Dame's fifth loss of the year. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees started and ended the game with interceptions in the Flor- ida State end zone. The Irish had the ball inside the red zone with a chance to win late in the fourth quarter, but Rees' pass into double coverage was picked off to essentially end the 2011 season with an all too familiar scene for the Irish football team. "We have to get our offense better, and when I say better, I'm not talking Notre Dame's defense, seen here closing in on Florida State running back Devonta Freeman, domi- nated for three quarters but faltered in the final 15 minutes when the Seminoles rallied to victory. PHOTO BY GREG OYSTER www.BLUEANDGOLD.com BY DAN MURPHY hree quarters of the Champs Sports Bowl played out as predicted with two dominant defenses stuck in a low-scor- ing gridlock. Then the Florida about the way our guys compete. I'm talking about how we turn the ball over," an emphatic Kelly said during his post-game interview. "We can- not win football games at the highest level if we continue to turn the ball over." Another turnover also aided Florida State's relative offensive on- slaught early in the fourth quarter. This time sophomore Andrew Hen- drix was the responsible party. The Seminoles scored their first touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter when senior Bert Reed held on to an 18-yard pass on his way out of bounds. Three plays later, Hendrix threw a frozen rope right into Nigel Bradham's chest, and FSU's All-ACC linebacker returned it to the 18-yard line. Florida State capitalized on the mistake when quarterback EJ Manuel found freshman Rashad Greene in the middle of the end zone for a 15- yard scoring strike. Florida State attempted and failed two-point conversions on each touchdown, but enough damage was done. The Seminoles ran off 12 points in 96 seconds to take a 15-14 lead at the start of the final quarter. Green was named the bowl's MVP with five catches for 99 yards, in- cluding an acrobatic 42-yard recep- tion to push Florida State into field goal range on the drive following his touchdown catch. "I was trying to make plays for my team, just doing it for my team," Greene said. "Just like Coach [Jimbo] Fisher said when the line got settled and realized they could play, it was a lot more we could do. EJ gave me a chance, and I made a play for the team." Notre Dame's defensive line did a good job corralling the athletic Man- FEBRUARY 2012 27