Dome Dominators

Florida State defeated South Carolina 26-17 at the Georgia Dome in Friday’s Chick-Fil-A-Bowl. The Seminoles never trailed against the 19th ranked Gamecocks in winning their first bowl game under head coach, Jimbo Fisher. South Carolina committed five turnovers, despite 400 yards of offense and a late fourth quarter rally. For FSU, it was program’s first ten win season since 2003. The Seminoles won for the tenth time this year behind backup quarterback, E.J. Manuel and defensive back, Greg Reid. Reid, the sophomore cornerback, forced two fumbles and Manuel was a solid and efficient passer throughout the game. Manuel finished 11-for-15 for 84 yards and a touchdown. Running back, Chris Thompson, gained 145 yards on 25 carries. Thompson scored one of two FSU touchdowns.
Dustin Hopkins kicked a pair of first quarter field goals to give the Seminoles a 6-0 lead. Thompson’s 27 yard rushing score increased the FSU advantage to 13-0 with 1:02 remaining in the first half. Manuel set up the touchdown with a 32 yard scramble on second down. It was a turnover-filled first half for the Gamecocks. South Carolina would not go into the break without scoring on Spencer Lanning’s 40 yard field goal as time expired. Junior signal-caller for the Gamecocks, Stephen Garcia, went 6-for-8 on the nine play scoring drive as South Carolina’s offense finally got into a rhythm.
Twenty-third ranked Florida State opened the second half with another field goal. Hopkins’ 35 yarder made it 16-3 in favor of the Seminoles. Stephon Gilmore picked off an FSU pass inside the Gamecock’s 10 yard line for Manuel’s only interception of the night. The Gamecocks used a Wildcat formation to mix things up on offense. Garcia keyed the attack, capitalizing on the pick by hitting Ace Sanders with a three yard touchdown catch to cut the Seminole lead to six. Florida State answered with Hopkins fourth field goal, a 45 yard kick with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
Brian Maddox found the end zone early in the fourth quarter to trim the FSU lead to 19-17. Maddox, filling in for the injured Marcus Lattimore, rushed seven yards for the score and finished with 53 on the day. FSU struggled on third down most of the game, but during their final touchdown drive, wouldn’t settle for three. Manuel went 7-for-7 during a 63 yard drive that set up Taiwan Easterling’s seven yard touchdown on third-and-goal. The 13 play drive also knocked about six and a half minutes off the clock as time began to run out on Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks. Reid deflected a fourth down Garcia pass with just over three minutes to finish off the turnover-plagued Gamecocks. The Seminoles celebrated, ringing in the New Year with a 26-17 Chick-fil-A-Bowl win.

Parting Points: Not a great way to start off 2011 for the Pitt Panthers. New hire, Mike Haywood, was charged with domestic violence. As if recruiting high school players from the Midwest wasn’t challenging enough…in the absence of a decent coach, it’s virtually impossible.

Other Friday bowl winners-Notre Dame, USF and UCF.