GAINESVILLE - Florida State junior wide receiver Dominic Robinson fessed up that, for the first time in a long time, he felt a bit queasy before a ballgame.
"I don't know if I was nervous or I ate something bad," he said.
Or could it possibly have been that the Seminoles were looking to Robinson to fill in for Craphonso Thorpe, a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award and a first-team All-ACC selection who broke his right leg on Nov. 15, in Saturday's showdown against Florida.
"I think it was the scrambled eggs," he said. "And it went away quick. ... I didn't feel pressure. I've been working for three years to get to this point. All the work and hard hours I've put in weren't to get out there and just be some average guy. I work to be great every day so when I get an opportunity, I expect myself to take advantage of it. And that's what I did."
Robinson, who had just 11 catches in FSU's first 11 games, had five catches for 102 yards - both career highs - and his first career touchdown, a 35-yard reception in the first quarter. But his biggest catch came in the waning moments on fourth and 14 from the FSU 24 with his team down 34-31.
"I knew it was me or the game was over," he said. "The biggest thing that went through my mind was, "Get deep enough to get the first down.' I would have been devastated to come up short and not get a first down on that play."
He ran a slant and cradled a pass that quarterback Chris Rix said later he thought he threw a bit high. The 24-yard gain kept the winning drive alive.
It was almost Thorpe-like.
Almost.
"We had to have that happen," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said of someone stepping up to provide the big play that Thorpe did with regularity. "I'm so glad he was able to do it. I'm so proud of him."
"Dominic had a great week of practice," added Rix, who wrote "Cro" on his left wrist. "For him to step up tonight and make some big plays, the touchdown, a deep out route, and the fourth and long, he really stepped up and filled that void."
Junior receiver P.K. Sam said Robinson's fourth-down catch was the catalyst for the comeback win.
"D-Rob gave us big momentum," he said. "He gave us that confidence."
On the next play, Sam, known more for his hands than his speed, juked safety Guss Scott, ran by him and caught a 52-yard touchdown for the lead with 55 seconds left.
That too was almost Thorpe-like.
"Of course, you're going to miss a receiver like Cro," Sam said. "But we all (the other receivers) said before the game, we all came here on scholarships too and they saw something in us. Cro, don't get me wrong, is a great receiver and one of my good friends, but we had to go out and show we could still get behind a defense and make plays. None of us are that fast, but we did the best we could."
Which wasn't too bad.
Heck. He and Robinson even looked fast.
"I know I'm not Craphonso Thorpe; I know that I don't run a 4-nothing (40)," Robinson said. (Thorpe won the ACC 100- and 200-meter races last outdoor track season.) "But I also know I can beat guys deep."
