Mike Norvell and John Papuchis have been consistent in the time they have allocated for special-teams work in practices. FSU's coach has at times mentioned the payoff hasn't been reflected with the investment, but it was clear on Sunday that some of the biggest plays in the game were blocked kicks and coverage of muffed punts that were significant contributors to the Seminoles' 24-23 win over LSU.

"It continues to reinforce the message that we send every day in the meting rooms: We can dominate and win games with that third unit, that special-teams phase," special teams coordinator John Papuchis said. "And it's critical for us to be able to do that moving forward."

Papuchis was first asked about Shyheim Brown's block on the extra-point attempt with no time left.

"It was a great team moment," Papuchis said. "We needed it. The guys work extremely hard to prepare themselves for the moment. I'm just excited that in that situation, at that time we were able to execute and get it done."

While FSU saw it's 14-point lead in the fourth quarter nearly evaporate, Papuchis had similar reflections to what Norvell said postgame about the resiliency and effort of the Seminoles.

"More than anything, it provided a great example for all of our players and everybody in our program," Papuchis said. "... Two things: No. 1 is momentum only affects the people that allow it. You can change the momentum with one play. And then 2, let your effort always be your defining factor. The effort that was given after everything that went through at the end of the game was phenomenal. And it's what ultimately allowed us to come out of that successfully."

FSU recovered two muffed punts in the game, one by Wyatt Rector and another by Brendan Gant. Papuchis said sometimes Alex Mastromanno's Aussie-style punts have a "weird knuckle to them."

"Expect the ball to come out," Papuchis said he tells the punt coverage unit. "If it doesn't, it doesn't. You're in position to make the tackle on the play. Off the top of my head, that's the fifth or sixth time Alex has forced a fumble with his hang time and then the guys doing a phenomenal job in coverage. I'm pretty sure every time the ball has hit the turf, we have gotten the ball back."

Papuchis said it "couldn't have been a worse start" for Ryan Fitzgerald with his two kickoffs out of bounds and a missed field-goal attempt, but he liked how the kicker bounced bak the rest of the game.

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