2008 Woodie Awards
FSU-Miami Caps Opening Weekend in College Football
Juan Bernal
Issue date: 9/11/06 Section: Sports
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Traditionally many college football powerhouses such as Florida State and Miami kick off their opening weekends with opponents that they can easily defeat so that they can start their seasons off on the right note. However, for the past three seasons the Seminoles and the Hurricanes have renewed their historic rivalry on Labor Day. This weekend the 51st edition of the Seminoles and Hurricanes turned out to as great a game as a football fan could appreciate.
The Seminoles struck first blood in the first quarter with a Gary Cismesia 37 yard field goal. The kicking game would turn out to be a pleasant surprise for Florida State, who had experienced a world of heartbreak in the kicking category at the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles had missed three potential game winning field goals at the Orange Bowl in the past 15 seasons. In 1992, FSU kicker Dan Mowrey missed wide right, an event that Miami fans infamously refer to as "Wide Right II," just a year after "Wide Right I," in which the Hurricanes won the game in Tallahassee. In 2000, "Wide Right III" came off the left foot of Matt Munyon and two years later, Xavier Beitia was the unlucky kicker in "Wide Left I." Cismesia himself missed two potential game winning field goals and an extra point in the Seminoles triple overtime loss at the Orange Bowl to Penn State at the end of last season. In the second quarter the Hurricanes would respond with their longest drive of the game. In a seven play, 51 yard drive, Miami running back Charlie Jones put the Canes up 7-3 with a four yard touchdown run. Miami would add a field goal four minutes before halftime to go up 10-3 going into halftime.
In the second half, it continued to be the story of defenses. Florida State held Miami to four yards in the third quarter, a prognostication considered absurd because the Hurricanes spent the summer putting in a new offense and hired four new coaches on offense. However, the Hurricanes were hurting without the services of four starters, who were suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Midway through the third quarter, FSU was able to put together an eight play, 67 yard drive, capped by 1 yard run by fullback Joe Serratt, who scored his first career touchdown to tie the score at 10. That one yard rush would match FSU's rushing total for the entire game on 25 carries. The Canes were a whole lot better rushing for a grand total of two yards. The story of the fourth quarter was once again FSU's defense. Miami's revamped offense could only muster ten yards, and the Seminoles did a good job of playing the field position game. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, FSU took advantage of the best field position they had all game and capitalized with an 11 play, 43 yard drive capped by a Gary Cismesia FG that put the Noles up 13-10. The Noles would seal the victory when FSU reserve defensive back Michael Ray Garvin intercepted Kyle Wright's pass with 29 seconds and that gave FSU it's first win at the Orange Bowl since 1998. The offenses in this game only totaled 310 yards, 176 by FSU and 132 by Miami.
The Seminoles struck first blood in the first quarter with a Gary Cismesia 37 yard field goal. The kicking game would turn out to be a pleasant surprise for Florida State, who had experienced a world of heartbreak in the kicking category at the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles had missed three potential game winning field goals at the Orange Bowl in the past 15 seasons. In 1992, FSU kicker Dan Mowrey missed wide right, an event that Miami fans infamously refer to as "Wide Right II," just a year after "Wide Right I," in which the Hurricanes won the game in Tallahassee. In 2000, "Wide Right III" came off the left foot of Matt Munyon and two years later, Xavier Beitia was the unlucky kicker in "Wide Left I." Cismesia himself missed two potential game winning field goals and an extra point in the Seminoles triple overtime loss at the Orange Bowl to Penn State at the end of last season. In the second quarter the Hurricanes would respond with their longest drive of the game. In a seven play, 51 yard drive, Miami running back Charlie Jones put the Canes up 7-3 with a four yard touchdown run. Miami would add a field goal four minutes before halftime to go up 10-3 going into halftime.
In the second half, it continued to be the story of defenses. Florida State held Miami to four yards in the third quarter, a prognostication considered absurd because the Hurricanes spent the summer putting in a new offense and hired four new coaches on offense. However, the Hurricanes were hurting without the services of four starters, who were suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Midway through the third quarter, FSU was able to put together an eight play, 67 yard drive, capped by 1 yard run by fullback Joe Serratt, who scored his first career touchdown to tie the score at 10. That one yard rush would match FSU's rushing total for the entire game on 25 carries. The Canes were a whole lot better rushing for a grand total of two yards. The story of the fourth quarter was once again FSU's defense. Miami's revamped offense could only muster ten yards, and the Seminoles did a good job of playing the field position game. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, FSU took advantage of the best field position they had all game and capitalized with an 11 play, 43 yard drive capped by a Gary Cismesia FG that put the Noles up 13-10. The Noles would seal the victory when FSU reserve defensive back Michael Ray Garvin intercepted Kyle Wright's pass with 29 seconds and that gave FSU it's first win at the Orange Bowl since 1998. The offenses in this game only totaled 310 yards, 176 by FSU and 132 by Miami.
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