TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State's defense is ranked among the worst units in the nation, and it has a chance of giving up more points and yards than any defense in coordinator Mickey Andrews' 26-year tenure.

But for the second consecutive week, the Seminoles made a stand with the game on the line. Last week at North Carolina, they preserved a 30-27 victory by sacking the Tar Heels' T.J. Yates near midfield on the game's final play. On Saturday, N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson was able to throw his Hail Mary attempt as time expired, but cornerback Patrick Robinson deflected the pass in the end zone, and senior safety Jamie Robinson hauled it in for a game-clinching interception.

``Things might happen in the first 59 minutes and 45 seconds,'' junior cornerback Ochuko Jenije said. ``But those last 15 seconds can change the whole outcome of the game. We might not start off so hot. But these last two weeks, we've ended pretty good. And I'm just thankful we got the win.''

In the week leading up to Saturday's game, FSU's coaches frequently compared Wilson to former Seminoles star Charlie Ward. And Wilson looked the part, completing 20 of 30 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 34 yards.

But with the game on the line, the Seminoles had the final say. On a second-and-11 from FSU's 44-yard line, junior linebacker Mister Alexander sacked Wilson for a 6-yard loss. The Seminoles forced Wilson to throw incomplete on third down and then intercepted his final attempt.

``We knew we had to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback,'' sophomore linebacker Nigel Bradham said. ``We knew the game was going to come down to us. The offense had made great plays and went down and scored -- we knew it was up to us to win the game."

UNUSUAL HOMECOMING

Despite the fact that it was FSU's homecoming, the announced crowd of 67,712 appeared to be a generous estimate, as large sections of Doak Campbell Stadium were filled with rows of empty bleachers.

According to Florida State's media guide, it was the smallest announced crowd since 1993, before the stadium was expanded to 82,000 seats.

``I really was [surprised],'' coach Bobby Bowden said of the sparse turnout. ``I thought they'd do better than that. I'd count on that picking up. You've got to win. If you win, everything's lovely. If you don't, nobody's happy.''

Junior quarterback Christian Ponder and several of his teammates said they understood the fans' frustrations.

``You'd love to see the stadium full, but it's not a big deal to us,'' Ponder said. ``We're out there playing ball. It would be great to have all the fans there. But no matter what, we're out there to play.

``We've had a disappointing season. It hasn't gone the way that we thought. We had a lot of high expectations going into the season, and so did the fans. I understand why they're upset, but we can't worry about that.''

GROUND GAINS

Florida State's 278 rushing yards was its second-best performance of the season; the Seminoles had 313 against Brigham Young.

Aside from Jermaine Thomas' career-high 186 yards, the Seminoles also got a boost from freshman tailback Chris Thompson, who scored his first two career touchdowns.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@