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Dazed and deluged

Louisville 26, FSU 20 (OT): Sloppy conditions - and a Seminoles performance to match - leave the country's No. 4 team all wet.

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 27, 2002

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The goal post in the south end of Cardinal Stadium came down first and soaked, giddy Louisville fans carried it toward midfield.

[Times photo: Scott Keeler] Louisville QB Dave Regone grimaces when FSU defender Jerome Carter hits his midsection. The Cardinals shocked the Seminoles in overtime: 26-20.

As the smoke from fireworks cleared, the one in the north came down.

Those efforts followed the biggest dismantling of them all, by their Cardinals, who moments earlier upset the No. 4-ranked Seminoles 26-20 in overtime before 38,109 Thursday night.

"This is huge for the program," Louisville coach John L. Smith said. "It's unbelievable ... but we knew we could do it."

The Cardinals (3-2) have a new beginning to what was shaping up as a disappointing season. They began No. 17, but lost to Kentucky and Colorado State and fell from the polls with a thud.

FSU (4-1) must right itself against ACC rival Clemson Thursday in Tallahassee, its third game in 13 days.

"Before the season started, I was very much concerned about this game," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "I knew it was going to be a tough game."

Bowden fretted about a veteran defense with 10 starters back from last season and an offense led by senior quarterback Dave Ragone, a projected first-round draft pick.

Ragone, harassed for much of the game as he had been all season behind an inexperienced offensive line, overcame a sluggish start for a pair of second-half touchdowns and forced the Seminoles to play their first-ever overtime. On the first play, senior safety Anthony Floyd picked off quarterback Chris Rix. It was Rix's first in three games, culminating a poor performance. He finished 14-for-33 for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

"He just threw it bad," Bowden said. "It wasn't anywhere near where it was supposed to be. When he threw the thing, it was just a dead duck."

The Cardinals then had their turn from the 25-yard line. Looking to keep the ball in the middle of the field and inch closer for a field goal, Ragone handed off to senior tailback Henry Miller. A spin move and he was through the line for a touchdown that touched off the wild celebration.

"I don't know what to say," said FSU senior defensive end Alonzo Jackson, who tied a school record with five sacks in the game. "I couldn't take (Ragone) down enough. ... We just couldn't contain him."

"They were better tonight than we were," Bowden said.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore didn't help. The steady downpour neutralized the Seminoles' speed advantage.

"If you're an underdog, you like this kind of weather," Bowden said.

The oddsmakers had FSU as a 15-point favorite. But the rain and aggressive defenses seemingly would keep the over-under to 15.

Fueled by a 64-yard return by freshman Broderick Clark on the opening kickoff, Louisville took a 3-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal by Nate Smith just 1:42 into the game.

The three were the first points the Seminoles allowed in the first quarter and the first time they trailed this season.

After sophomore Xavier Beitia, the former Jesuit standout, tied it moments later with a 40-yard field goal, the Cards threatened to go up again when junior linebacker James Green blocked a Chance Gwaltney punt and sophomore linebacker Robert McCune recovered at the 2.

But the FSU defense came up big. Actually, senior middle linebacker Jerel Hudson, nursing an ankle sprain, came up big on three straight plays. He stopped Ragone at the 1 on second down, then Miller for no gain, andthen he earned the second interception of his career.

Rix, who missed his first six passes badly, gave the Seminoles a 10-3 lead when he found senior receiver Talman Gardner (eight catches, 130 yards) for a 23-yard touchdown.

Louisville, which hadn't mustered a first down in the opening quarter, answered with an impressive drive to the FSU 2. Again, the defense stiffened and forced the Cards to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Smith to cut the FSU lead to 10-6.

Aided by a personal foul and a pass-interference call, the Seminoles added a 20-yard Beitia field goal on the final play of the half.

FSU's offense continued to struggle in the third quarter, giving the Cards a short field to try to score. They took advantage of it. After a Ragone keeper on a fourth and 1 gave the Cards a first down, Ragone squeezed the ball by junior cornerback Stanford Samuels to hit sophomore receiver Joshua Tinch for a 30-yard touchdown to tie it with 4:05 left in the third quarter.

Rix responded with his best drive, going 5-for-5 for 61 yards and a 21-yard touchdown to Gardner for a 20-13 lead with 21 seconds left in the quarter.

But Ragone (15-for-27, 182 yards, two TDs) answered with a 1-yard TD to senior receiver Damien Dorsey early in the fourth to knot it. "Their quarterback made more plays than ours did," Bowden said. "We simply could not stop them or that quarterback."

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