Florida State's bowl eligibility was certainly looking to be in question with two minutes to go as they trailed 26-22, but then they turned to tow freshmen. EJ Manuel with two crucial runs to get the ball inside the 5 yard line, and then Lonnie Pryor scored the second of his two TD's to give the Florida State Seminoles the 29-26 lead. Their defense would hold on to that lead and send Mickey Andrews off on their arms in victory.
FSU senior linebacker Dekoda Watson says, " It was very emotional for myself.It was nice to have a win and to carry hime. The fans who stayed after the game to congratulate him and show their appreciation towards him. That was very significant. Like I said, I couldn't look him in the eye because I knew I would start crying again."
FSU senior defensive back Jamie Robinson says, "We did want to send him out on a good note here at home and so we went out there and played hard, made the stops that we needed to make."
Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden says, "It would have been awful to send him out with a loss. It would have been awful, so I'm glad that he was able to go out with a win. We gave the game ball to him after the game.
Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews says, "I'm not very good at showing my feelings. I think a lot of my players would disagree with that, but it was a lot more than I deserved, I'll say that."
Not only did Florida State send off their seniors and Mickey Andrews on a winning note, that win made them bowl eligible. Next week, they'll face the #1 Gators in the Swamp.