FSU Edges Michigan in Wild Orange Bowl, 33-32

It was high drama on Friday night as No. 11 Florida State rallied for a 33-32 victory over sixth-ranked Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium after giving up a 2-score lead earlier in the fourth quarter.

The final five minutes were wildly entertaining and mostly unpredictable. Up 27-15 more than halfway through the fourth quarter, it looked like it would be FSU’s night, but a touchdown pass from Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight to Khalid Hill with 5:22 remaining made it a 1-score game.

The Seminoles (10-3) were stifled on the ensuing possession, giving Michigan the ball with a little over four minutes left. The Wolverines (10-3) were confident and methodical, driving down the field with a couple of big runs not previous seen from the Michigan offense. The Wolverines took their first lead of the game on a 30-yard touchdown rush from Chris Evans, followed by a 2-point conversion with 1:57 left in the game.

The ensuing kickoff looked like a disaster for FSU at first: Keith Gavin fielded the ball right inside the end zone, and stuttered at the beginning. It delayed the entire play, but Gavin broke free down the middle of the field for a 66-yard return to the Michigan 34-yard-line.

A screen pass to Dalvin Cook moved the ball inside the 15, but the Seminoles faced a third down with less than a minute remaining. Quarterback Deondre Francois, who had struggled almost the entire night, threw a back-shoulder pass to Nyqwan Murray in the end zone with pinpoint precision. Murray grabbed the ball, brought both feet down, and put the Seminoles up 33-30 with 36 seconds remaining.

Then came the “Second Block at the Rock” as Michigan broke through the FSU line and blocked the Ricky Aguayo extra point. Josh Metellus returning the blocked PAT 98 yards to give Michigan two points to make it 33-32. The block also ended FSU’s NCAA record streak for consecutive extra points made.

From its own 25, Michigan tried to muster one last scoring drive, but was unable to get past an invigorated Seminoles defense. Speight’s fourth down pass was deflected and intercepted by Carlos Becker, giving the Seminoles a second Orange Bowl victory under head coach Jimbo Fisher.

FSU finishes with at least 10 wins for a fifth straight season and will likely finish the year in the top 10. The Seminoles also avoided losing a third straight bowl game for the first time in school-history.

The FSU offense got rolling very quickly, driving right down the field on its first possession for a touchdown. Running back Dalvin Cook busted one for 40 yards and eventually punched it in at the goal line to put the Noles up 7-0 early in the first quarter.

The Seminoles’ defense made a great stop on the next possession and forced Michigan to punt, but it was nearly for nothing, as Murray muffed the punt inside his own 5 in what was the second consecutive game that he fumbled a return. Michigan took over at the FSU 1-yard line and looked to score, but was stood up on third down and settled for the first of three Kenny Allen field goals.

Francois started the next series with a perfect 55-yard pass to a streaking Cook. With the Seminoles threatening once more in Michigan territory, Francois dropped back, but Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown sent one of his patented blitzes. Taco Charlton drilled Francois and forced the redshirt freshman onto the sidelines. Cook helped out a bit more with a 6-yard run, and Aguayo nailed a 42-yard goal to extend the Seminoles lead to 10-3.

Later in the quarter, Murray redeemed himself by beating one of the best corners in the country in Jourdan Lewis. Francois found Murray deep for a 92-yard touchdown – the longest in Orange Bowl history — and FSU was up, 17-3.

The teams traded field goals to close the first half – a half dominated by the Seminoles.

The key was the FSU run defense. Michigan could get absolutely nothing going on the ground, with 15 attempts in the first half going for a total 23 yards. This helped the FSU secondary focus on denying Speight his favorite targets as the redshirt sophomore passed for a mere 60 yards on 10 attempts.

The halftime numbers were surprising: Florida State outgained Michigan 255-83 in total yards, and had a crushing 7.5 to 2.4 advantage in yards per play.

The second half started better for the Wolverines as Allen added another field goal midway through the third quarter to make it 20-9 after Michigan took nearly seven and a half minutes off the clock. From there, the Michigan defense stiffened.

The FSU struggles reached a climax late in the third quarter. Francois was flushed outside the pocket and forced a throw right into Michigan linebacker Mike McCrary’s hands for a pick-six. Michigan missed the 2-point conversion, but momentum had shifted. That was, until Cook decided to bring down the house.

On a 3rd-and-22, in the shadow of its own end zone, FSU attempted a run to gain breathing room for a punt. Cook did that and more. He erupted down the sidelines for a 71-yard run, putting FSU in the Michigan red zone.

Cook finished the night with 207 total yards, including 145 on the ground to beat his own FSU single-season rushing record. The Michigan ground attack on the other hand, was held to a season-low 89 yards.

A few runs later, and Francois found the end zone to put the Seminoles up 27-15. That would be the final score for the Seminoles until the game-winner more than 11 minutes later.

Francois finished the night just 9-for-27 passing with 222 yards and the three total touchdowns with the one interception that was returned for a score. Speight passed for 163 yards in the loss. The FSU defense finished the evening with a season-high 15 tackles for loss and four sacks.

On the defensive side of the ball for Michigan, the Wolverines were dealt a blow early with Jabrill Peppers being unable to go with a hamstring injury. Michigan lost tight end Jake Butt to a leg injury late in the first half. The Seminoles also arrived very banged up and matters got worse late as Trey Marshall was ejected in the fourth quarter for targeting, leaving FSU short four safeties.

After closing the season on a neutral field, both Florida State and Michigan will open 2017 on one. The Seminoles will take on Alabama in Atlanta. The Wolverines will face Florida in Arlington.