Florida State 41, Miami (FL) 39

1234T
FSU (4-1)71710741
MIA (2-3)03191739

Final

3:30 PM ET, October 4, 2008
Land Shark Stadium
MIAMI, FL

FSU dumps Miami behind Smith's career-best four TDs

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2715
Total Yards440256
Passing159205
Rushing28151
Penalties12-9810-85
3rd Down Conversions11-172-15
4th Down Conversions0-33-4
Turnovers43
Possession39:2319:44
Air/Ground Leaders
Florida State Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Ponder14/3115912
Miami (FL) Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Marve17/4012202
Cooper1/15110
Florida State Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Ponder19144045
Smith2792420
Miami (FL) Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Cooper631013
Benjamin118118
Florida State Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Reed343019
Easterling341027
Miami (FL) Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Benjamin371151
Johnson555027
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERFSUMIA
TD06:54Antone Smith 2 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick) 70
SECOND QUARTERFSUMIA
TD10:08Antone Smith 19 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick) 140
TD03:24Greg Carr 15 Yd Pass From Christian Ponder (Graham Gano Kick) 210
FG01:03Graham Gano 53 Yd 240
FG00:00Matt Bosher 28 Yd 243
THIRD QUARTERFSUMIA
TD13:45Travis Benjamin 18 Yd Run (Matt Bosher Kick) 2410
TD10:50Antone Smith 5 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick) 3110
FG07:42Matt Bosher 29 Yd 3113
SF05:50Ball Through End Zone 3115
TD05:29Travis Benjamin 51 Yd Pass From Graig Cooper (Matt Bosher Kick) 3122
FG00:00Graham Gano 35 Yd 3422
FOURTH QUARTERFSUMIA
TD11:23Sean Spence 3 Yd Interception Return (Matt Bosher Kick) 3429
FG08:30Matt Bosher 24 Yd 3432
TD03:57Antone Smith 20 Yd Run (Graham Gano Kick) 4132
TD00:14Jason Fox 5 Yd Run (Matt Bosher Kick) 4139
Associated Press

MIAMI -- Antone Smith rushed for a career-best four touchdowns, including a game-clinching 20-yarder with 3:57 remaining, and Florida State wasted most of an early 24-point lead before hanging on to beat Miami 41-39 on Saturday.

Fast Facts

• Antone Smith tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns as the Seminoles won a wild game in Miami. Two of his touchdowns were in the first half as FSU jumped out to a 24-0 lead.

• The 80 combined points is the most in the history of the rivalry (53 meetings) and the 41 points for FSU is the most scored by the Seminoles on the road in the rivalry.

• Miami lost for the fifth straight ACC game at home and sixth straight conference game overall.

-- ESPN research

Smith -- who scored three TDs last week -- finished with 92 yards on 27 carries for the Seminoles (4-1, 1-1 ACC), who handed Miami its second straight home loss on a stormy afternoon. Christian Ponder ran for 144 yards, becoming the first Florida State quarterback since Charlie Ward in 1992 to run for triple-figures, and Tony Carter made two interceptions for the Seminoles.

Travis Benjamin had an 18-yard touchdown run on an end-around, caught a 51-yard TD pass from running back Graig Cooper, and finished with 274 all-purpose yards for Miami (2-3, 0-2), which has lost 12 of its last 15 conference games.

The Hurricanes trailed 24-3 at the half and 31-10 in the third quarter, then closed to within 34-32 with 8 minutes remaining. Two botched snaps on Florida State punts led to Miami points, Sean Spence ran an interception in for a touchdown and the Hurricanes seemed poised for what would have been an enormous rally.

But Smith sealed the win with a third-down run up the middle, giving coach Bobby Bowden just his 14th win in 34 games all-time against Miami.

Smith's other scoring runs were for 2, 19 and 5 yards, part of Florida State's 281-yard rushing day as a team.

Ponder completed 14 of 31 passes for 159 yards for Florida State, including a 15-yard score to Greg Carr, and looked at ease in his first taste of the Seminoles-Hurricanes rivalry.

Miami quarterback Robert Marve, meanwhile, was 17-of-40 for 122 yards and two interceptions.

And still, the Hurricanes nearly pulled it off.

Left tackle Jason Fox rushed for a 5-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining, but the onside kick was controlled by the Seminoles, as a downpour made it difficult from one sideline to see the other. Ponder knelt for the final play, and the Seminoles began leaping in celebration -- knowing they just dealt their biggest league rival a huge blow.

Florida State scored the game's first 24 points and wound up holding a 440-256 edge in total yards, largely because of Ponder's running ability. He had nine carries for 107 yards by intermission; in the previous 13 meetings between the teams, Florida State quarterbacks ran for a combined 111 yards on 99 attempts.

It looked like a mismatch.

The first of Carter's interceptions set up Smith's opening score, and the Seminoles just kept rolling. When Graham Gano connected on a 53-yard field goal, the Seminoles had a 24-0 lead with 1:07 left in the half.

An odd decision followed, giving Miami some life.

Florida State tried a short kickoff after the long field goal, giving Miami possession at its own 48. The Hurricanes only got a field goal out of it on the final play of the half, but to coach Randy Shannon, that 28-yard kick by Matt Bosher was huge.

"That's a real confidence booster," he said, trotting off the field.

Seemed like it.

Of course, Florida State's penchant for self-destruction didn't hurt, either.

Smith fumbled early in the third quarter deep in Florida State territory, and Benjamin scored on the next play to give Miami some life. A high snap on a punt gave Miami a safety, Benjamin gave the Hurricanes great field position on the ensuing kickoff, and Cooper hit him with a perfect pass for a trick-play TD that drew the Hurricanes within 31-22.

Miami hadn't had an interception return for a touchdown since 2003, but with 11:23 left, Spence -- playing in place of injured linebacker Colin McCarthy -- caught a deflected pass and rumbled seven yards to make the score 34-29, and Bosher got Miami within two points with a field goal three minutes later.

But the Seminoles went back to what worked -- Ponder and Smith running right at Miami, to put the game away.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, October 4th
Western Kentucky 13 Final
20 Virginia Tech 27
24 Connecticut 12 Final
North Carolina 38
Duke 0 Final
Georgia Tech 27
Boston College 38 Final
North Carolina State 31
Florida State 41 Final
Miami (FL) 39
Maryland 0 Final
Virginia 31