TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. -- The ULM defense held the nation's fifth-ranked team for as long as it
could, but field position and time of possession proved to be too much as the
Seminoles handed the Warhawks a 34-0 loss in the season opener for both clubs
Saturday at Doak-Campbell Stadium.
Florida State
(1-0) had just 45 yards of offense and six rushing yards in the opening quarter
of play and went into the halftime break with just 52 yards on the ground. Florida
State started three of its first five drives in ULM territory and another on
its own 47-yard line, while ULM started inside its own 20-yard line on five of
its first eight drives. For the game, Florida State's average starting field
position was its own 43-yard line while ULM's averaging starting field position
was its own 16-yard line.
The Seminoles
finished the game with 372 yards against a Warhawk defense that was on the
field for over 30 minutes. ULM, who has led the Sun Belt in rushing each of the
past two seasons, held Florida State to just 92 yards on the ground.
The Seminoles opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a 9-yard pass
from EJ Manuel to Bert Reed on a third-and-goal. Kentarius Caldwell forced the third-and-long
with his first career sack one play earlier and the Warhawks chased Manuel out
of the pocket on the touchdown throw.
Manuel
finished the game 22-of-34 for 252 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception;
he also rushed for 22 yards on eight carries. Rodney Smith had six receptions
for 78 yards while Jarred Haggins had five catches for 28 yards.
Florida
State's much heralded defense held ULM to just 191 yards in the game with 99
coming on the ground. Kolton Browning finished the game 11-for-19 for 85 yards
through the air and led the Warhawks in rushing with 28 yards on 11 carries (he
gained 61 yards from scrimmage, but had 33 negative yards of rushing).
In his first
game on the defensive side of the ball, converted wide receiver Tim Taylor had
a game-high nine tackles and a tackle for loss. Darius Prelow finished with
four tackles, a sack and an interception while Caldwell had four tackles, a
sack and two tackles for loss.
FSU ate up a chunk
of the second-quarter clock with a 17-play, eight minute drive that resulted in
a 24-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins to increase the Seminole lead to 10-0. Florida
State all but abandoned the run game during the drive until it reached the
Warhawk 5-yard line as Manuel attempted a pass on 10 of the first 12 plays on
the drive.
Following
ULM's fourth three-and-out of the first half, Greg Reid gave the Seminoles the
ball on the ULM 17-yard line with a 30-yard punt return. However, Prelow
intercepted Manuel in the end zone on the first play of the drive.
Three plays
quickly moved the ball 28 yards, but Browning's first-down pass was intercepted
by Lamarcus Joyner at the Seminoles' 16-yard line. FSU took advantage of the
turnover as Manuel found a streaking Greg Dent for a 50-yard touchdown pass on
3rd-and-9 with just over a minute to play in the half to give the
Seminoles a 17-0 lead at the break.
Devonta
Freeman pushed the FSU lead out to 24-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run late in the
third quarter. The Seminoles converted three third downs on the drive and on
all three they needed at least five yards to keep the drive going.
The Warhawks
followed with their best offensive drive of the game as they marched down to
the Florida State 28-yard line. Browning converted a pair of third downs to
keep the drive alive; the first with his legs on a 10-yard run and the second
with a 17-yard pass to Je'Ron Hamm when the Warhawks needed 15 yards. However,
the Seminoles dropped Browning for a 4-yard loss on fourth and inches to end
the drive.
Hopkins hit
his second field goal of the game, this one from 23-yards out, and Rashad
Greene threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Clint Trickett to cap the scoring.
The Warhawks
open the home portion of their schedule next Saturday when they host Grambling
State at Malone Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be
broadcast live on ESPN3.
Scoring Summary
FSU - Manuel 9-yard pass to Reed (Hopkins kick), 4:16, 1st 7-0
FSU - Hopkins 24-yard FG, 6:53, 2nd 10-0
FSU - Manuel 50-yard pass to Dent (Hopkins kick), 1:09, 2nd 17-0
FSU - Freeman 1-yard run (Hopkins kick), 3:48, 3rd 24-0
FSU - Hopkins 23-yard FG, 8:35, 4th 27-0
FSU - Greene 28-yard pass to Trickett (Hopkins pass), 6:57, 4th 34-0
