Returning to Glory Late Free Throws Guide Rnoles

page37 CYAN UU YELLOW MAGENTA Even Odd BLACK sports DFE;8PA8EL8IP0)''- G8><*. =JM@<N=CFI@;8=C8D9<8L EFC<EFK@FE =FFK98CC N\Xi\ I\klieè^kf^cfip =cfi`[XJkXk\ N`cc`\I\`[]fle[ _`jk_ì[gfj`k`fe Xk=cfi`[XJkXk\ nXjXZ_Xid ;%:%I<<M<J <[`kfiè:_`\] Many may forget that Willie Reid spent time at both receiver and tailback during A<EE@=<IB% his Florida State career. <KK@E><I His punt returning per- 8jj`jkXekJgfikj<[`kfi formances in his last two games, however, is what Florida State will always re- I can’t believe this season member. of college football is over. It The Kathleen, Ga. native doesn’t seem like that long capped off a versatile career ago that my friends and I were with what he does best, tak- scrambling to get a block for ing back a punt for an Orange the Miami game. It doesn’t Bowl-record 86 yards during seem that long ago that I was the second quarter of FSU’s flying to Boston, practically 26-23 triple overtime loss to overflowing with anticipation Penn State in the 2006 Or- over what was being billed as ange Bowl on Jan 3. one of the biggest road games Despite the loss, Reid of the season. It doesn’t seem took home the Orange Bowl like that long ago that people Most Valuable Player award, were hinting at the possibility his second MVP honor in as of my beloved ’Noles playing many games. their way to Pasadena. But that was a long time G_fkfYp1IfY;Xm`j J<<I<@;*/ ago, and this season wasn’t as =JLj\e`fii\Z\`m\iN`cc`\I\`[nXjeXd\[FiXe^\9fncDMGX]k\i=cfi`[XJkXk\Ëj_`jkfi`Z^Xd\X^XèjkG\eeJkXk\%?\nXjXcjfeXd\[DMGf]k_\8:::_Xdg`fej_fg% cut and dry as we had hoped K_\>\fi^`XeXk`m\j\kk_\i\Zfi[]fidfjkgleki\kliepXi[jèXYfnc^Xd\n`k_(/'% it would be after the Miami win. The team struggled, both on defense and on offense =FFK98CC throughout the season, and each side lost valuable play- ers to injuries. FSU quickly fell to 7-4, losing to teams we A very ‘special’ game shouldn’t have lost to, and falling from the top 25. Flor- ida State became everyone’s dezvous. The battle of the collegiate make Penn State work for its “W” with history and put him en route to a new favorite team to hate, again. Jg\Z`Xck\XdjgcXp coaching graybeards took place in a the aid of a key “third” of the team. record for all bowls with 180 punt re- Then came the ACC city where most people their age re- While both offenses had its moments turn yards. Championship against Coast- dXb\j]fiY`^dfd\ekj lax and retire, but these two are still and the defenses were clutch during The special-teams contribution al Division champ and a top 5 è)''-FiXe^\9fnc going strong with no possible signs of crunch time, it was the special teams added a boost to the offense as quar- squad in Virginia Tech. FSU a let up. play that made for the most exciting terback Drew Weatherford connected went into the game as 14-point Overshadowed by legends grac- moments. with Lorenzo Booker, who turned a underdogs. According to just 9I8E;FE?L;JFE ing the sideline were the two teams “It was a hard fought game by simple dump pass into a 57-yard score about everyone, it wasn’t Jgfikj<[`kfi still looking for respect from college both teams, and it was exciting that to put the ’Noles ahead momentarily. Florida State’s game to win; football critics after proving them it came down to the last kick,” FSU On the other hand, a missed point-af- it was Tech’s to lose. But no Prior to the start of the 2005 sea- wrong throughout the season. punter Chris Hall said. ter attempt allowed for Penn State to one told the Seminoles that. son, no one outside Tallahassee or Penn State’s 10-1 record has made The Garnet and Gold opened the regain the lead heading into the half. FSU dominated the Hokies, State College, Pa. thought the Semi- them one of the Cinderellas of the first quarter with a little resemblance The importance of special teams scoring 27 points against the noles or Nittany Lions would make it bowl season, but the ’Noles 8-4 mark to the team that lost all three games came back in the fourth as Seminoles No. 1 defense in the country to a BCS bowl. had them treated as one of the ugly in November. A mix of weak offen- placekicker Gary Cismesia tied the and sacking Marcus Vick four Florida State had to deal with stepsisters of the BCS ball, as well as, sive production and costly penalties game at 16; but as Paterno and com- times in the first half alone. youth at various offensive and defen- the label of being a heavy underdog allowed Penn State the chance to put pany had the opportunity to end the The ’Noles fought their way sive positions — following a tumultu- for the second straight matchup. the game out of reach, but the FSU game, the kicking woes plagued PSU to a win and earned a bid to ous summer plagued with team trou- “All along, we were the under- defense allowed just one score. placekicker Kevin Kelly. the BCS Orange Bowl. bles. Its Big Ten counterpart looked to dogs, we were out to prove some- In the following quarter, Florida For the second time this season, The road to the Orange get back on track after two consecu- thing,” FSU safety Pat Watkins said. State looked more like the team that the special-teams gods smiled on the Bowl was littered with criti- tive losing seasons and falling behind “We were going in as the No. 22 team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Garnet and Gold as a missed kick cism that an 8-4 team didn’t Michigan and Ohio State in the con- against the No. 3 team. Coach Pa- championship a month ago. Senior kept hopes alive for a victory. But deserve to play among the ference-championship race. terno and Coach Bowden are two of Willie Reid changed the momentum of unlike the Miami game, the missed best when there were one- Five months later, head coaches the greatest in the game, and you just the game with an 86-yard punt return loss teams ranked much far- Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno are want to win for your coach so bad.” to tie the contest at seven. Reid’s re- ther ahead of them playing meeting 16 years after their last ren- However, Florida State would turn was the longest in Orange Bowl J<<FI8E><9FNC*/ in second-rate bowl games. But BCS rules said that this year’s Orange Bowl would pit the Big 10 Champ and the ACC Champ against each D<EËJ98JB<K98CC other. The Seminoles had earned a matchup with No. 3 Penn State. The two greatest coaches in college football, arguably, would be facing off CXk\]i\\k_ifnj^l`[\ËEfc\j on one field in one game. In the days leading up to the game, all I heard was =JLd\eËjYXjb\kYXcck\Xd ed on both of his foul shots. Penn State, Penn State, Penn Tech answered, however, as forward Cole- State. I heard the prediction g`ZbjlgÔijkZfe]\i\eZ\ man Collins’ dunk with 26 seconds remaining nèf]j\Xjfeè.+$-/ thinned the Seminole lead to just a basket J<<EFC<EFK@FE+. once more. This time, it was sophomore guard m`Zkfipfm\iMì^è`XK\Z_ Ralph Mims who was sent to the line and, just as his teammate had done a few seconds ear- 9I8E;FED<CCFI lier, he too converted both attempts to push DXeX^è^<[`kfi the FSU lead back to four points. JGFIKJ9I@<=J “I felt confident,” said Mims, who has been the Tribe’s most reliable free throw E:88 Florida State men’s basketball coach shooter this season. Leonard Hamilton doesn’t need a reminder Forward Andrew Wilson then iced the Virginia Tech quarter- about the competitive nature of the Atlantic game for the Seminoles with two success- back dismissed from team Coast Conference. ful free throws with just six seconds left to Virginia Tech quarterback “I said at the beginning of the year that I play. The sixth-year senior accomplished this Marcus Vick was dismissed think that the league is set up now where you feat after stealing the ball from Hokies lead- from the football team last can’t tell what’s going to happen from night to ing scorer Wynton Witherspoon, who notched week after an incident of un- night,” he said. “Any time you play a team in 19 points in the losing effort, on the previous sportsmanlike conduct at the the ACC, you have to be prepared to play for possession. Gator Bowl against Louis- 40 minutes.” For the game, the Tribe was 80 percent ville. Vick was suspended last And it was those sentiments that rang from the foul line after shooting 53 percent year for legal infractions, but true in a hard fought 74-68 victory by the Sem- from the charity stripe earlier in the week in was given a second chance, inoles (10-2, 1-1 ACC) over visitng Virginia the sloppy conference-opening loss to Clem- provided that any incidences Tech (10-5, 0-2 ACC) Saturday night, in a game son.

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