NCAA football preview: Christian Ponder and the Florida State Seminoles try to rebound
The No. 24 Florida State Seminoles (6-2, 4-1 ACC) hope to recover from last week’s devastating loss to North Carolina State when they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels (5-3, 2-2 ACC) this Saturday,
6 November.
The Seminoles fell 28-24 to the Wolfpack last Thursday night after Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder lost a fumble as the team was attempting to mount a critical come-from-behind drive late in the
fourth quarter. The loss, Florida State’s first defeat at the hands of an in-conference foe this season, also means that the ‘Noles no longer have control of their own destiny in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Instead, Florida State must hold out hope that
both the Wolfpack (who now hold the tiebreaker) and the Maryland Terrapins lose in order for them to make it to this year’s conference championship game.
Although they brought a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime last week, the Seminoles were soundly outplayed in the second half, scoring just three points while giving up 21.
“We had it in hand,” Ponder said to reporters, which snapped the ‘Noles five-game winning streak. “We had been rolling and playing really well, and it was the first time in a while that we had control
of our own destiny in the ACC.”
Florida State actually had a real shot at winning the contest after driving the length of the field to their opponents’ 4-yard line with just under a minute to go. However, the Seminoles QB botched a play
in which there was some obvious miscommunication, fumbling the ball after a collision with his running back. Still, head coach Jimbo Fisher, in his first year at the helm, feels as though it is what it is.
“It got deflected out and that’s just what happens,” Fisher told the media earlier this week. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t execute the play.” And although that lack of execution resulted in a critical loss
for his team, Fisher isn’t approaching things any differently.
“Hopefully, if they’re the competitors I think they are and have the character which I think they do, that we’ll refocus and bounce back,” he said.
Aside from the costly fumble, Ponder has been a bright spot for the ‘Noles offense this season, as his production has undoubtedly been one of the most prominent reasons behind the team’s winning record. The
senior play-caller has recorded 13 passing touchdowns, just one off of his single-season career best, while amassing a completion percentage of 60.5, which ranks third-best in the ACC. As such, Butch Davis is aware of just how important the athletic Ponder’s
play can be.
“The thing that probably makes him the most dangerous is his ability to keep plays alive, his ability to move around the pocket and turn what might’ve potentially been an incompletion or a sack into a 3-,
4-, 5- and sometimes a 10- or 15-yard run,” the Tar Heels coach said earlier this week, according to STATS LLC.
For an embattled North Carolina team that has never won at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium, Ponder and the Seminoles might just be too much for the Tar Heels to handle.
Prediction:
Florida State 31-21 North Carolina
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