Despite turning the ball over 4 times to Florida State's 2, Kentucky pulled out a 35-28 win on the strength of senior QB Andre Woodson, who completed 32/50 for 358 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT.
It wasn't an overly pretty game for the 'Cats or the 'Noles, but one pattern emerged which annoyed fans of both teams: terrible officiating. FSU was robbed on a phantom Offensive Pass Interference call when Greg Carr caught a Drew Weatherford pass in the endzone, and the Big East crew seemed reluctant to call a hold when Kentucky was on defense... for ANY reason, no matter how obvious.
The game also had some wacky turns of events. Late in the 2nd quarter, Lones Seiber lined up and made a 36-yard field goal, giving the 'Cats a 17-14 lead going into the half. FSU's Kenny Ingram was called for a personal foul, however, and Rich Brooks elected wipe the points off the board and take the first down. Two incomplete passes and a questionable intentional grounding call later, Seiber trotted out for a 39-yard attempt, which he missed. Oops.
Bobby Bowden had some strong words for the refs going into the locker room. For the first time in memory, he used the word 'crap', which for Bowden is the equivalent of cursing a blue streak. Frankly, he was right... the officiating was crap.
With 7:55 remaining in the 4th quarter, Woodson threw a 38-yard touchdown strike to Steve Johnson, giving the 'Cats a commanding 35-21 lead. Instead of the game grinding down and becoming a clock management siesta, things started to get quite interesting.
After a touchback on kickoff, Weatherford got the ball back at the 'Noles' 20-yard line and was promptly intercepted by Kentucky's Corey Peters, who brought the ball back to FSU's original line of scrimmage. Two Raphael Little rushes went nowhere (lucky for him he didn't drop the ball; he'd already had 3 fumbles on the night) and Woodson's 3rd-down pass attempt fell incomplete. Lones Seiber, who might well have changed his first name to "Lonely" by this point, ran onto the field and missed another 39-yard field goal.
A minute and 17 seconds later, FSU found themselves in the end zone, making the score 35-27. FSU went for the onside kick, didn't get it, and Kentucky went to their ground game with 1:35 remaining. After a terrible series of 2 yard rushes -- one of which included a fumble by UK's Tony Dixon, but was recovered by the 'Cats -- Tim Masthay punted for 34 yards and a touchback. Thanks to FSU's timeouts, they'd taken only 32 seconds off the clock.
So now it was Kentucky 35, Florida State 28 with 50 seconds remaining. Yet again, Drew Weatherford wasted no time in throwing yet another interception, this time to Kentucky LB Micah Johnson. All Johnson has to do once he snags the leather is to simply get down, and the game will be over... but is that what he did? Nope! The big fella ran it back 24 yards before fumbling at FSU's 17-yard line.
It was a fresh breath of life for FSU, but it wouldn't last long. Five plays later FSU found themselves at their own 45-yard line with :03 remaining on the clock. Hail Mary time! Weatherford's attempt didn't have much of a chance as the endzone was crammed full of Kentucky DBs, who collectively batted down the desperate prayer of a pass and sealing a victory for the Wildcats.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-01-2008 @ 5:31PM
gershon said...
I hate to say this, but it looked like the 36 players weren't the only ones not to show up in Nashville. Bobby looked lost. His attempt at wearing a headset would have been funny if it wasn't so sad. He really didn't seem to know what to do with it. It's obvious now that he's being propped up on the sideline so that he gets credit for head coaching wins in his competition with JoePa (who may be older, but is clearly sharper mentally and still very much in control of his program). I'm an admirer of Coach Bowden and recognise what he's done for FSU and college football and it's sad to see that empty look in his eyes after all of these years. Is the record really worth the sham?
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