A fourth quarter to forget for Florida State defense leads to another loss
It was shaping up to be the best game the Florida State defense had played in quite some time.
The Seminoles were on the road. Against a Top 25 team. And through three quarters, the hosts had scored a grand total of 10 points.
Then the dam completely busted.
Virginia scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, totaling 221 yards of offense on those final possessions, en route to a come-from-behind, 31-24 win over the Seminoles on Saturday night.
"I wouldn't necessarily say they wore down," FSU head coach Willie Taggart said of the Seminoles' defenders, who were on the field for nearly 40 minutes of the 60-minute game. "But there were some big mistakes there."
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There were four personal fouls in the fourth quarter alone, including costly penalties on sophomore defensive tackle Robert Cooper and freshman cornerback Renardo Green.
The one on Green was especially critical because not only was he ejected for targeting, but it looked like it came on a pass he had a chance to intercept. Instead of making a play on the ball, he dove at the receiver with his helmet.
Moments later, Virginia scored to take the lead.
"When it comes to those selfish penalties, it can't happen," Taggart said. "You just can't have those things. We've got to do more in practice. We've got to do more from a punishment standpoint. ...
"Those are things you can't do. That's losing football."
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