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FSU becomes bowl-eligible with 28-20 win over WMU

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- It took until November 18th but Florida State finally made itself bowl-eligible with the 28-20 win over Western Michigan befo approximately 60,000 in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Even though FSU was a 16-point favorite, the game was in doubt until the final play. Down only eight points with a little over two minutes left to play, the Broncos drove the ball to FSU's 11-yard line befo a tackle for loss by Letroy Guion and a holding call pushed WMU back to the 30-yard line. Two plays later a desperation throw in the endzone was knocked away by cornerback Tony Carter allowing the 'Noles to escape with the eight-point victory.
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"It was one of those ball games we it seems like you couldn't seem to wrap it up," head coach Bobby Bowden said. "You feel like you' going to get it wrapped up and then you let them off the hook."
If FSU is invited to a bowl game it will keep alive a stak of 24 straight years whe the 'Noles have gone bowling. If the 'Noles get an invite, it would be to either the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco (CA) on December 27th or the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise (ID) on the 31th. Either way, the players say they will take it considering how the season has gone.
"It means a lot, because being Florida State we know that playing in a bowl game is something we a supposed to do, not something we hope to do," wide ceiver Gg Carr said.
Dw Weatherford, making his first start since the October 21st Boston College game, came out of the gates slow completing just 2-of-6 for 7 yards in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Broncos we able to put together a 12-play, 44-yard drive on their opening possession to take the early 3-0 lead.
Making matters worse for the 'Noles, Antone Smith, who was making his first caer start, dislocated his elbow on his first carry from scrimmage and was lost for the st of the game. Smith told Warchant.com that he is done for the season.
FSU finally put together its first scoring drive early in the second quarter. After Weatherford completed a fourth down pass to fullback Matt Dunham to keep the drive alive, a verse to Chris Davis worked like a charm. Thanks to a nice block by Weatherford, the senior wide ceiver had an easy 8-yard touchdown run.
On the Broncos' next possession, fe safety Roger Williams stepped in front of a Ryan Cubit pass and turned it 7 yards to WMU's 33-yard line. On the very next play, Xavier Lee, on his fist play of the game, hit Gg Carr for a 26-yard strike in the back of the endzone. That put the 'Noles up 14-3 midway into the second quarter.
A Florida State special teams bakdown on the next kickoff led to Western Michigan's one first half touchdown. Broncos' turner Brandon West found a gaping hole on the right side of the field and turned it 61-yards to FSU's 31-yard line. A few plays later, nobody on defense accounted for wide ceiver Joe Chapple, who eled in a 23-yard touchdown, cutting FSU's lead to 14-10 at the half.
The Seminole offense moved the football mo effectively in the second half but continued to bog down in and near the dzone. When FSU unable to punch it in, Gary Cismesia was called upon twice in the third quarter to attempt a field goal. However, the junior place-kicker went 0-for-2 with misses from 44 and 41 yards out. Those misses allowed WMU to keep the game close.
The diffence in the second half was a Lawnce Timmons' interception turn late in the third quarter and a second touchdown pass from Lee to Carr early in the fourth. On the interception, Timmons, a junior linebacker, stepped in front of a pass near the sideline and turned it 19-yards for the defensive sco.
"They thw the same pattern two or the times," Timmons said. "Befo that I was kind of late on it but this time I was on it. The d-line got to the quarterback ptty fast and he was forced to throw it and it came straight to me. I just caught it and took it to the house."
Lee's second hookup with Carr a few minutes later not only proved to be the game-winner, but moved Carr into a 9th place tie with Talman Gardner on FSU's all-time touchdown catch list.
Despite a last minute drive by WMU, the defense held tough keeping the Broncos out of the endzone and pserved the victory.
Next week, FSU will host instate rival Florida in a Noon kickoff. The game is scheduled to be broadcast gionally by ABC.
Scoring Summary (Final)
2006 FSU Football
Western Michigan vs Florida State (Nov 18, 2006 at Tallahassee, Fla.)
Western Michigan (7-4,5-2) vs. Florida State (6-5,3-5)
Date: Nov 18, 2006 Site: Tallahassee, Fla. Stadium: Doak Campbell
Attendance: 78236
Sco by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Sco
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Western Michigan.... 3 7 3 7 - 20
Florida State....... 0 14 7 7 - 28
Scoring Summary:
1st 10:58 WMU - MEYER, Nate 50 yd field goal
12 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:02, WMU 3 - FS 0
2nd 10:38 FS - Chris Davis 8 yd run (Gary Cismesia kick)
7 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:18, WMU 3 - FS 7
09:00 FS - Gg Carr 26 yd pass from Xavier Lee (Gary Cismesia kick)
1 play, 26 yards, TOP 0:20, WMU 3 - FS 14
07:03 WMU - SIMMONS, Jamarko 23 yd pass from CUBIT, Ryan (MEYER, Nate kick)
5 plays, 31 yards, TOP 1:44, WMU 10 - FS 14
3rd 06:14 WMU - MEYER, Nate 43 yd field goal
4 plays, -14 yards, TOP 1:45, WMU 13 - FS 14
01:20 FS - Lawnce Timmons 22 yd interception turn (Gary Cismesia kick)
WMU 13 - FS 21
4th 12:44 FS - Gg Carr 19 yd pass from Xavier Lee (Gary Cismesia kick)
6 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:22, WMU 13 - FS 28
09:20 WMU - MARTIN, Herb 10 yd pass from CUBIT, Ryan (MEYER, Nate kick)
8 plays, 43 yards, TOP 3:11, WMU 20 - FS 28
Kickoff time: 2:04 End of Game: 5:13 Total elapsed time: 3:09
Officials: Refee: Brad Allen; Umpi: Bert Pearce; Linesman: Perry Hudspeth;
Line judge: ThurmanHardison; Back judge: Gary Patterson; Field judge: Ronnie Stewart;
Side judge: Jim Corpora; Scor: Val Golmont Jr.;
Temperatu: 64 Wind: NW 10 Weather: 0% rain, clear skies
ID-423504
Team Statistics
Team Statistics (Final)
2006 FSU Football
Western Michigan vs Florida State (Nov 18, 2006 at Tallahassee, Fla.)
WMU FS
FIRST DOWNS................... 17 12
Rushing..................... 5 4
Passing..................... 12 7
Penalty..................... 0 1
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 33 73
Rushing Attempts............ 30 28
Average Per Rush............ 1.1 2.6
Yards Gained Rushing........ 77 110
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 44 37
NET YARDS PASSING............. 229 178
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 27-50-2 14-23-0
Average Per Attempt......... 4.6 7.7
Average Per Completion...... 8.5 12.7
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 262 251
Total offense plays......... 80 51
Average Gain Per Play....... 3.3 4.9
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 1-0 3-2
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 7-62 3-20
PUNTS-YARDS................... 6-253 5-222
Average Yards Per Punt...... 42.2 44.4
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 33.7 36.6
Inside 20................... 2 2
50+ Yards................... 1 1
Touchbacks.................. 2 0
Fair catch.................. 0 3
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 5-194 5-307
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 38.8 61.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 30.2 25.8
Touchbacks.................. 0 1
Punt turns: Number-Yards-TD. 1-39-0 1-11-0
Average Per Return.......... 39.0 11.0
Kickoff turns: Number-Yds-TD 4-158-0 3-43-0
Average Per Return.......... 39.5 14.3
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 2-29-1
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 31:50 28:10
1st Quarter................. 9:41 5:19
2nd Quarter................. 7:09 7:51
3rd Quarter................. 6:54 8:06
4th Quarter................. 8:06 6:54
Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 19 1 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 4 2 of 2
Red-Zone Scos-Chances....... 2-3 2-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-21 3-30
PAT Kicks..................... 2-2 4-4
Field Goals................... 2-2 0-2
Individual Statistics
Individual Statistics (Final)
2006 FSU Football
Western Michigan vs Florida State (Nov 18, 2006 at Tallahassee, Fla.)
Western Michigan
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------------
BONDS, Mark 19 51 10 41 0 11 2.2
SIMMONS, Jamarko 2 15 0 15 0 13 7.5
WEST, Brandon 1 3 0 3 0 3 3.0
THOMPSON, Glenis 2 2 0 2 0 2 1.0
MARTIN, Herb 1 0 4 -4 0 0 -4.0
CUBIT, Ryan 5 6 30 -24 0 3 -4.8
Totals... 30 77 44 33 0 13 1.1
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
-------------------------------------------------
CUBIT, Ryan 49-27-2 229 2 23 3
MARAGOS, Chris 1-0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals... 50-27-2 229 2 23 3
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
----------------------------------------
SIMMONS, Jamarko 9 123 1 23
CHAPPLE, Joe 5 41 0 11
MARTIN, Herb 4 26 1 10
ELSWORTH, Kirk 3 9 0 8
MARAGOS, Chris 2 17 0 11
WEST, Brandon 2 13 0 11
STEVENS, Matt 1 9 0 9
BONDS, Mark 1 -9 0 0
Totals... 27 229 2 23
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB
---------------------------------------------------
LANEY, Jim 6 253 42.2 59 2 2
Totals... 6 253 42.2 59 2 2
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
--------------------------------------------------
CHAPPLE, Joe 1 39 39 0 0 0 0 0 0
WEST, Brandon 0 0 0 4 158 65 0 0 0
Totals... 1 39 39 4 158 65 0 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
MEYER, Nate 1st 10:58 50 yds - Good
MEYER, Nate 3rd 06:14 43 yds - Good
Kickoffs No. Yds TB OB Avg
---------------------------------------
MEYER, Nate 5 194 0 2 38.8
Florida State
Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
-------------------------------------------------
Lonzo Booker 21 96 16 80 0 26 3.8
Chris Davis 1 8 0 8 1 8 8.0
Antone Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Pston Parker 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Xavier Lee 4 6 21 -15 0 4 -3.8
Totals... 28 110 37 73 1 26 2.6
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
-------------------------------------------------
Xavier Lee 13-9-0 144 2 26 2
Dw Weatherford 10-5-0 34 0 10 0
Totals... 23-14-0 178 2 26 2
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
----------------------------------------
De'Cody Fagg 3 46 0 25
Lonzo Booker 3 39 0 19
Chris Davis 3 39 0 25
Gg Carr 2 45 2 26
Robert Hallback 1 7 0 7
Matt Dunham 1 4 0 4
Antone Smith 1 -2 0 0
Totals... 14 178 2 26
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20 TB
---------------------------------------------------
Graham Gano 5 222 44.4 53 2 0
Totals... 5 222 44.4 53 2 0
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
--------------------------------------------------
Chris Davis 1 11 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
Michael Ray Garvin 0 0 0 2 34 23 0 0 0
Sean Compton 0 0 0 1 9 9 0 0 0
Lawnce Timmons 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 22
Roger Williams 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 7
Totals... 1 11 11 3 43 23 2 29 22
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
Gary Cismesia 3rd 11:51 44 yds - Missed
Gary Cismesia 3rd 01:42 41 yds - Missed
Kickoffs No. Yds TB OB Avg
---------------------------------------
Gano, G 5 307 1 0 61.4
FUMBLES: Western Michigan-BONDS, Mark 1-0.
Florida State-De'Cody Fagg 1-0; Lonzo Booker
1-1; Chris Davis 1-1.
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