Ponder Rallies Florida State Past North Carolina 30-27

NFL News - October 23rd, 2009 - Written by Scott

Down 24-6 early in the third quarter, it appeared as though the Florida State Seminoles would continue on the downward spiral they had experienced all season. They were having problems defensively and penalties continued to stall potential scoring drives. Quarterback Christian Ponder put the weight of the team on his shoulders and orchestrated a second half comeback and the Seminoles got their first ACC win of the year 30-27. Florida State ended their three game losing streak and for the interim, possibly silenced some of head coach Bobby Bowden's critics. Bowden has been harshly criticized by Seminole supporters and was asked to step down at the end of the year by the board of trustees after their horrible start.

"The talk that we've had down there, there's only one thing that solves it. Winning," Bowden said. "Play close and fight your guts out? Who cares? You've got to win."

North Carolina (4-3, 0-3) took the opening drive of the game 80 yards and took a 7-0 lead on a 5 yard run by Greg Little. Dustin Hopkins would respond for Florida State on a 48 yard field goal to cut the Tar Heels lead to 4. Late in the opening period, North Carolina would score again on a 13 yard pass from T.J. Yates to Ed Barham to put them ahead 14-3. Both schools would notch field goals in the second quarter and the Tar Heels would take a 17-6 lead heading into half time.

After stopping Florida State on their opening drive of the second half, Yates would score on a 10 yard run to put North Carolina ahead 24-6. Ponder would then begin to work his magic. The junior quarterback would connect on two touchdown passes in the third quarter, a 6 yard pass to Taiwan Easterling and a 98 yard pass to Rod Owens, to cut North Carolina's lead to 24-20. Both schools would exchange field goals in the first half of the final period and the Tar Heels led 27-23. Ponder would connect with tight end Beau Reliford with 6:20 remaining to give Florida State a 30-27 lead. The 98 yard touchdown pass to Owens changed the momentum of the game.

"I think we definitely got the momentum back on our side and we just took advantage of it and kept rolling," Ponder said of the long pass play. "When the defense makes plays like that, it's our job as an offense to take control of that opportunity and do something with it, and that's what we did."

Florida State's defense has been abused all season through the air, but on Thursday night, held the Tar Heels to just 95 yards passing on the night. The Seminoles also racked up 438 total yards against one of the top defenses in the country.

"It's too frustrating," North Carolina cornerback Kendric Burney said. "I don't know what to say or how to explain anything right now. It tears you apart." For those of you who participate in College Football Betting, this was an especially exciting game to watch, and an even funner one to bet on. To read more about this game be sure to visit our page on all of the NCAA Football Game Recaps.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/