Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
Michael Chang / Getty Images
STEVEN CANNON / AP
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida State football team had a chance to improve to .500, a chance to cushion their daunting road to bowl eligibility, and an opportunity to show its pride after absorbing a 43-point beatdown by Louisville last season.
Instead, the Seminoles mercifully squandered all of those opportunities on Saturday against the Cardinals.
Louisville’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback scored a first-quarter touchdown, and led the Cardinals on three more scoring drives in the second half, culminating with a game-winning 34-yard field goal by Blanton Creque to hand FSU a 31-28 loss in front of an announced crowd of 72,764 people in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Florida State was minutes away from taking the lead itself, after true freshman quarterback James Blackman led two touchdown scoring drives in the fourth quarter to help FSU tied the game at 28 after a 14-point deficit.
FSU receiver Nyqwan Murray recovered a fumble in the end zone by running back Jacques Patrick at the start of the fourth quarter, then Murray caught a 20-yard touchdown from Blackman with five minutes remaining to tie the game.
After FSU’s defense forced Jackson and the Louisville offense on a three-and-out, Blackman fumbled a handoff intended for Patrick at the 20-yard line, allowing the Cardinals to take over after his third turnover of the game.
The Seminoles fall to 2-4, needing wins in four of its final five games to increase its nation-leading 35-year bowl eligibility streak, while losing their third straight game at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time since 1975.
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