TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -It’s one of those firsts that embattled Florida State coach Bobby Bowden just as soon do without: Futility at home.
Nearly invincible for more than a decade on their homefield, the Seminoles have lost their last four home games against major college opponents. If not for a last-minute victory over lower-division Jacksonville State last month, it would be a five-game home losing streak.
Florida State (2-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost only five times on home turf between 1985 and 2000, losing three times to Miami and once to Florida and Clemson. The Seminoles were unbeaten at home for almost 10 years, between losses to Miami in November 1991 and October 2001.
Now they’ve lost home games for nine straight seasons and are just 1-2 this year at Doak Campbell Stadium with No. 22 Georgia Tech visiting Saturday.
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HOLD THAT BALL: After committing four turnovers in its first two games, No. 22 Georgia Tech has only one giveaway in its last three games heading into Saturday’s game at Florida State.
interception since the second game against Clemson. He has passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns in the last three games.
Nesbitt was 11 for 14 passing for 266 yards in last week’s 42-31 win at Mississippi State.
“I think Josh has played well two weeks in a row,” said coach Paul Johnson. “I think he’s very capable of playing that way. He wasn’t perfect by any means but he’s really more comfortable, I think, now. He’s got a better understanding of what we’re trying to do and he can just kind of relax and play with it. I’m happy for him.”
The Yellow Jackets will face Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder, who has a streak of 161 passes without throwing a pick.
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AIR GROBE? Jim Grobe has experienced plenty of firsts during his nine seasons at Wake Forest, but the veteran coach with the ground-based offensive philosophy believes he notched another one last week.
Riley Skinner threw a career-high 45 passes in a 30-24 victory over a North Carolina State team that has questions in the secondary.
“Forty-five per season is more likely,” Grobe said with a laugh. “We didn’t have a lot of success running the football, and we just felt like in order to beat a good team like N.C. State, we kind of had to hang it on Riley a little bit. I would have liked to have seen us be a little bit more balanced, but the game didn’t dictate that.”
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G DEX: Virginia will retire the jersey of former safety Anthony Poindexter before Saturday’s game against Indiana, making him the 11th player so honored by the school.
Poindexter played from 1995-98 and was involved in perhaps the most famous play in Cavaliers history, combining with linebacker Adrian Burnim to stop Florida State’s Warrick Dunn just shy of the end zone on the final play of Virginia’s 33-28 victory against the second-ranked Seminoles in 1995. It was the Seminoles first loss in ACC play in 30 games.
Now an assistant coach for the Cavaliers, Poindexter had 342 career tackles, the most ever by a defensive back at Virginia, and was the 1998 ACC defensive player of the year.
He’s also one of two Cavaliers to be selected as an All-American twice.
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NO FLASH JOSH: Virginia Tech tailback Josh Oglesby could have become the forgotten man in the Hokies backfield, even after incumbent starter Darren Evans was lost for the season.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Williams and freshman David Wilson, after all, were viewed by recruiting services as elite backs, and Oglesby was praised mostly for being the option most capable of protecting the quarterback, blocking and doing the non-running things well.
But patience paid off for Oglesby at Duke, when he had about 15 family members in the pro-Hokies crowd, carried six times for 59 yards and his first two college touchdowns.
y could score on those plays,” he said about his 12- and 19-yard scores.
Each time he scored, Oglesby simply flipped the ball to the official.
“It was kind of tough, you know. It was Duke,” he said, trying be careful. “Just watching those guys, I mean, showboating against Duke isn’t anything you want to be proud of.”
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SENSATIONAL SMITH: Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith has upgraded his personal goals for the season because he’s off to such an exceptional start.
Smith wanted to score five touchdowns and amass 600 yards receiving. After five games, the 6-foot-1 sophomore has already reached the mark in TDs (three receiving, one rushing and an 81-yard kickoff return) and has 449 yards through the air.
“It seems like every time I throw the ball to Torrey he makes an unbelievable play,” Terps quarterback Chris Turner said. “We’re very fortunate to have a guy like him.”
Smith never expected to be such a big part of the Maryland offense, which explains why he projected such modest numbers for himself in 2009.
“We have nine different guys who can play at receiver,” he said. “You don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to get to actually make a play.”
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