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OUR LADY, Ind. – In 2003, the Florida State Football Team traveled to Notre-Dame and delivered a humiliating and unbalanced defeat to the Fighting Irish.
Fifteen years later, the Seminoles returned to South Bend and the Fighting Irish returned the favor.
Notre-Dame defensive back Dexter Williams had 202 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Brandon Wimbush added three points in the air while the Fighting Irish won a 42-13 win at an underdog party. freezing at Notre Dame Stadium.
Williams is the first running back for 200 yards against Florida State since 1982. And his efforts overshadowed the encouraging efforts of Cam Akers of FSU, who had his best game of the month with two touchdowns and 63 yards in 12 races. .
"We came and said we wanted to start quickly," said coach Willie Taggart. "And we did not do it."
It was not for lack of effort.
After winning the draw, the Seminoles chose to receive the opening shot, which departs from Taggart's usual philosophy.
But instead of getting the ball, stepping on the field and scoring a touchdown that would have silenced the 76,622 spectators present, FSU returned the ball in his second game since the scrum.
That's what happened when a pass from Deondre Francois bounced on striker Tre's McKitty in the arms of Nick Coleman of Notre Dame. Coleman reduced his interception to 27 yards from Florida's three-yard line and, two games later, Wimbush joined Miles for a touchdown.
"(The interception) was a missed pass and they caught it," Taggart said.
Things then snowballed quickly. The Seminoles scored three goals on their next possession and the Irish then went on to a 14-game, 81-yard touchdown that raised the score to 14-0.
And at the very next Florida State play, Francois and running back Cam Akers mismanaged an exchange, the ball fell to the ground and the Irish retreated to FSU's 14-yard line.
The Seminoles defense led Notre Dame to a goal, but at that point the Irish were 17 points ahead of Florida State's first try.
"We had an early interception and an early turn-off in the game on our side of the pitch," said Taggart. And against a good football team, we can not do that. And for our football team, we absolutely can not do that for the moment. "
The match was Florida State's third consecutive game against a ranked opponent. And whoever would have seen the first two would recognize the third:
A slow start to the offensive leads to a double-digit deficit. The deficit causes too much pressure in all three phases. Pressing leads to errors. Errors lead to a bigger deficit.
The Seminoles must return this script if they want to save their season and reach a bowl game.
FSU no longer has any margin of error in this quest. At 4-6, the Seminoles are expected to beat home No. 17 Boston College and No. 15 Florida home to reach the playoffs.
"It's very difficult," said Marvin Wilson, the second defensive forward, knowing that you're training and putting everything into practice (and) coming, not just short, but a lot.
"I will keep my faith in God and come back ready to work. Like all my teammates, we will solve this problem. "
The victory of Notre Dame is only his third in nine attempts against Florida State. The Seminoles entered the game with a winning percentage of .714 against the Irish, the highest ever for an opponent who will face Notre Dame at least five times.
And the Irish have mostly exploited the defense against the rush of FSU to return to the general ledger.
Led by the big day of Jackson, Notre Dame has accumulated 365 yards rushing, including 224 in the second period.
The Irish did not throw a single pass after the score of 8:04 of the third quarter.
"It's very frustrating," said linebacker Dontavious Jackson, who intercepted Notre Dame's last attempt. "I know we are better than that, what we put on the ground."
The defense of the Seminoles race is a problem.
The rush is another.
After hovering close to the top of the national national pack standings a few weeks ago, the Seminoles played three straight games without knocking down a quarterback.
The official table shows that the Wimbush Notre Dame, who made his first start in more than six games, has been pressed twice.
"The teams are starting to organize really well from the start," said Wilson. "It's something that forces us to come back into our bag, add new movements, improve ourselves."
The Seminoles intend to improve in this regard and in many others.
Taggart knows it's not an easy task, especially with a match coming up against a Boston College team that gave Clemson their toughest game of the month.
But the only way is to move forward.
"Nobody needs to keep their heads down or anything," he said. "We look up, continue to work and try to find a way out of this storm in which we are.
"And that's what we are going to do."
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