No. 10 Hurricanes Take Orange Bowl Over Rival Florida State
Jan 1, 2004
| 2004 Orange Bowl Miami 16, Florida State 14 |
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By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) – This was typical Florida State-Miami. A close game and a missedkick.
No wonder the Seminoles didn’t want the rematch.
Jarrett Payton ran for 131 yards, Jon Peattie kicked three field goals andMiami shut out Florida State in the second half to give the Hurricanes a 16-14win in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night.
It was No. 10 Miami’s fifth consecutive victory in the heated series – itslongest winning streak since 1957. No. 9 Florida State lost consecutive bowlgames for the first time since the 1979 and `80 seasons.
Like several other memorable games in this storied rivalry, the outcome wasdecided by a kicker.
Not only did Peattie hit a career-long 51-yarder to give the Hurricanes thelead in the third quarter, but Florida State’s Xavier Beitia missed a 39-yarderwith 5:30 to play.
And yes, it was wide right.
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Miami head coach Larry Coker holds an orange after Miami beat Florida State, 16-14, in the Orange Bowl. |
“I missed it,” Beitia said. “There’s nothing else to say. I didn’t makethe kick. What is there to say? I didn’t make the kick. Nothing else to say.”
It was the fifth time a Florida State kicker missed a decisive kick in thisrivalry. Beitia also missed a 43-yarder wide left against Miami as time expiredin 2002, and the Hurricanes won 28-27.
“We’ve got something on their kicker,” Miami linebacker Jonathan Vilmasaid. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m glad we got it.”
Added linebacker D.J. Williams: “It feels great to beat anyone, but it’sespecially sweet to beat your biggest rival. Maybe it’s a mystique, some kindof a curse. I know it’s always in the back of their kicker’s mind.”
Miami (11-2) sealed the latest victory with a defensive stand with less thantwo minutes to play. Chris Rix’s final pass fell incomplete. Rix was 2-of-12for 18 yards in the second half – another poor performance against Miami.
He threw two interceptions in the first meeting.
“What you had was two great defenses there, and it really came down to whomade the fewest mistakes is going to win,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowdensaid. “If we’d kicked that ball through the goal post, we’d have been allright.”
This game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Hurricanesoutgained Florida State 375 yards to 206 yards and scored the final 13 points.They also finished with 218 yards rushing.
Payton provided many of the big plays on offense, and Sean Taylor, Vince Wilfork and others did the damage on defense.
But Peattie was equally effective.
His 51-yarder came a play after Miami punted. Florida State (10-3) waspenalized 5 yards for illegal substitution, moving the Hurricanes intofield-goal range.
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“It feels great to beat anyone, but it’s especially sweet to beat your biggest rival. Maybe it’s a mystique, some kind of a curse.” Linebacker D.J. Williams |
Peattie also connected from 32 and 44 yards. He had one blocked from 45yards with 2:18 remaining, but it didn’t matter. Miami set up the attempt whenD.J. Williams ran 31 yards on a fake punt on fourth-and-1 from Miami’s 32.
“That was really a great call,” Bowden said. “It was a gutty call.”
It was the second of three meetings in less than 11 months between theinstate rivals. Miami beat Florida State 22-14 in October, and they arescheduled to open the 2004 season in Miami – the Hurricanes’ first game as amember of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
No one wanted this rematch in the Orange Bowl. And when the BowlChampionship Series announced the pairings early last month, coaches, playersand fans were disappointed.
But once the initial shock wore off, everyone realized what they weregetting – an intense rivalry game between two of college football’s topprograms.
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Kicker Jon Peattie (13) and holder Matt Carter (11) celebrate Peattie’s 51-yard field goal in the third quarter. |
The game certainly proved that.
Trailing 14-10, the Hurricanes were in position to take the lead beforehalftime with the ball at the 13. But the Seminoles sacked Brock Berlin onconsecutive plays – the first sacks against Miami in the last five meetings.
Miami settled for Peattie’s second field goal and a 14-13 deficit at thebreak.
Peattie opened the scoring with a 32-yarder on the first possession.
Florida State scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the secondquarter to take a 14-3 lead. Lorenzo Booker took a direct snap and ran aroundthe right end for a 10-yard score on the first play of the second quarter.
Four plays after an 8-yard punt by Brian Monroe, Greg Jones ran up themiddle for 24 yards and set up Rix’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Matt Henshaw.Jones broke through the line, eluded two linebackers and then ran overAll-America safety Sean Taylor at the 15.
The Hurricanes scored on the ensuing possession – behind more strong runs byPayton – to make it 14-10. Payton turned the corner on the left side and gained46 yards, then had runs of 6 and 2 yards to set up Tyrone Moss’ 3-yardtouchdown.
Payton ran for 97 yards in the first meeting, which was played on a sloppyfield in Tallahassee. He did most of damage then between the tackles. He wasmore effective Thursday night outside, showing a rare burst of speed.
“It’s not like they beat the heck out of us or we beat the heck out ofthem,” Bowden said. “One play. They made one more than we did. That doesn’thave to necessarily be a kick. … Those two teams tonight are about as evenlymatched as two teams can be.”
