2011 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football: Wake Forest vs Florida State

For the second time this season, the Florida State Seminoles lost an ACC road game by a 35-30 score. It’s hard to tell which loss hurt more, but it’s safe to say that this particular setback against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons has made a bad season far worse in the Florida Panhandle.

A few weeks ago, Florida State dropped a 35-30 decision at Clemson, losing hold of leverage in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. That loss smarted because of the divisional stakes involved, but FSU played nobly on that afternoon in Death Valley, getting a high-caliber performance out of freshman quarterback Clint Trickett, who was called upon to perform when veteran signal caller E.J. Manuel couldn’t strap on the pads due to an injury suffered the week before in a punishing battle against Oklahoma. When Trickett played well against Clemson, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher felt he had enough ammunition to take down the rest of the ACC. Given his team’s valiant loss to No. 3 Oklahoma on Sept. 17 – a game that was close until the final few minutes of regulation – Fisher had reason to feel confident. The Wake Forest program Florida State faced this past weekend had not been able to do much of any consequence since its 2006 ACC championship season. The Demon Deacons had fallen on hard times and, following a season-opening loss at Syracuse, appeared ready to sink to the lower reaches of the ACC.

Now, it’s Florida State that’s sinking, while the Deacs stand at 3-0 in the conference. How quickly the worm turns… in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and in every other place where major college football is played.

How did Wake score this significant upset, which has not only ended Florida State’s division and conference title hopes, but has also knocked the Seminoles out of contention for an at-large BCS bowl bid? The answer was simple, even if the events that brought about such an answer were still shocking to behold: turnovers.

> Check out our great selection of Wake Forest Apparel & Merchandise & the ACC Football Scores!

Florida State committed five turnovers in this contest, as Tricket – so solid against Clemson – lost his poise on Saturday at Groves Stadium on the Wake Forest campus. Trickett threw two picks and coughed up a fumble, enabling the Demon Deacons to gain a 16-7 lead late in the first half. Fisher held Manuel, his starter, out of the first 28 minutes because he was told by FSU’s medical team that one big blow could effectively end Manuel’s season. However, when Trickett collapsed under the weight of the occasion, Fisher pulled the trigger and inserted Manuel in the lineup. The move appeared to be a brilliant one when Manuel promptly hit Rashad Greene for a 46-yard touchdown with 54 seconds left in the second quarter. Wake went to the locker room with a narrow 16-14 edge, and the sense in the stadium was that the Noles were going to rock and roll in the second half.

The upperclassman took an 18-yard sack, threw two interceptions of his own, and – though operating at less than peak health – failed to manage the game the way his coaching staff wanted. Wake’s defense repeatedly pounced on opportunities, giving the Deacs’ offense a steady steam of great drive starts. When blessed with such good fortune, Wake’s offense didn’t miss. Quarterback Tanner Price was able to produce two red-zone touchdowns in the second half to keep the Deacs in front, and after FSU closed within one possession – at 32-24 – with 12:37 remaining in regulation, Price was able to counter with a clutch drive that culminated in a Jimmy Newman 32-yard field goal at the 6:27 mark of the fourth quarter. That three-point tally gave Wake a two-possession lead, taking all the tension out of this contest until FSU scored with 54 ticks remaining on a Manuel touchdown toss to Kenny Shaw. Florida State, out of timeouts, had to recover the ensuing onside kick to have a prayer, and when the kick failed, Wake’s season-changing upset was secure. Florida State’s season now lies in tatters – it’s not what Fisher had in mind when this season began.

Wake Forest vs Florida State Football Recap