Caleb Evans 10-yard TD run vs. Florida State 2019
Phil Kelly
44
ULM ULM 1-1
45
Winner Florida State FS 1-1
ULM ULM
1-1
44
Final
45
Florida State FS
1-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
ULM ULM 0 7 14 17 6 44
FS Florida State 14 10 0 14 7 45

Game Recap: Football |

ULM Rally Falls Short in OT at Florida State, 45-44

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Timely takeaways led to a big turnaround for ULM on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Although ULM ended up on the wrong end of a 45-44 overtime score at Florida State, the Warhawks wiped away a three-touchdown deficit, led the Seminoles in the second half and took their stunned host to the extra period before finally succumbing. 

"What a great effort by our players," ULM coach Matt Viator said. "To be down 21 to nothing in this environment and come all the way back and take a four-point lead and take this thing into overtime, I can't say enough about our kids."

Florida State (1-1) took the ball first in overtime and went up 45-38 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Cam Akers, who led the rushing attack with 193 yards on 36 carries and two scores.

ULM quarterback Caleb Evans matched the touchdown with a 5-yard touchdown run but the PAT attempt by Jacob Meeks was wide right, ending the game in heartbreaking fashion.

"It's not his fault," Evans said. "We shouldn't have been down 21 to nothing and put him in that position. This is a collective, group loss. I reminded guys we had bad points in the game, but we also finished strong."  
 
ULM (1-1) scored 21 points off turnovers in the game and running back Josh Johnson ran for 126 yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts.

"That's a tough way to lose a game," said ULM cornerback Corey Straughter, whose third-quarter pick six sparked the comeback. "We dug ourselves a deep hole early. We couldn't get off the field on third down, and the offense struggled to find its rhythm. But we found out a lot about ourselves in the second half. We showed a lot of character and fight, and I'm really excited about the rest of the season. We proved tonight we can play with a Power 5 team."

"We fought hard," Viator said. "I thought both sides of the ball really pulled together. It's unfortunate how the game had to end."

The second half rally on a hot afternoon left the crowd of 52,969 stunned until the end.

"It is like I said last week, it is hard to get a win," FSU quarterback James Blackman said. "It's not like Louisiana Monroe is just picking guys from anywhere. They have players too and guys that want to win. It was a great feeling, honestly, to finally get that win. Now that we got it started up, we need to keep this streak going. We got one and now it is time to keep it up."

ULM changed the complexion of the game with an inspired effort in the third quarter. 

ULM trailed by three touchdowns and trailed 24-7 at the half, but that changed in a hurry thanks to a ball-hawking defense. Back-to-back Florida State turnovers in the third quarter put ULM within striking distance.

Corey Straughter's 57-yard interception return cut the deficit to 24-14 with 8:55 remaining in the third quarter. The pick-six was the second of Straughter's career as he returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette in 2018.

"I thought Corey Straughter's interception return for a touchdown really turned the game," Viator said. "It kind of gave us some life. We came up with three turnovers on defense, if I remember right in the second half, which was big."

Said Straughter: "The coaches had us well prepared, and we studied a lot of film. I knew that play us coming, so I cut under the route, made the catch and took it to the end zone. That play helped give us a spark."

Up next came ULM cornerback Jordan Oliver, who recovered a fumble and returned it 14 yards to the FSU 46-yard line. Seven plays later, Evans delivered a 10-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24-21 with 2:59 showing in the period.

"I'm so proud of our defense," Evans said. "Corey (Straughter) stepped up big, Chase (Day) stepped up big, the D-line stepped up big. I'm super proud of the defense for the way they played. Our offense finally came through."

Florida State's offense finally got back on track after ULM shut out the Seminoles in the third quarter. A 7-yard touchdown pass from Blackman to D.J. Matthews put Florida State on top 31-21 with 13:22 to go in the game.

ULM pushed back with a nine-play, 60-yard drive, capping the march with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Xavier Brown. Brown set up his score with a 20-yard reception to the FSU 2. ULM  trailed 31-28 with 9:47 remaining.

"We finally made some big plays in the passing game," Viator said. "Josh Pederson had some big catches. Xavier Brown had a big one down there. Jonathon Hodoh had a really big one in the corner."

Chase Day's interception, FSU's third turnover of the second half, set up the go-ahead score for the underdog Warhawks. Day picked off Blackman at the Seminoles 33-yard line.
 
The Warhawks would capitalize as Johnson went over the top for a 1-yard touchdown plunge that gave ULM a 34-31 lead with 7:41 to go in the game.

The Seminoles responded on their next series as Akers scored on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Blackman, giving Florida State a 38-35 lead with 6:09 remaining and bringing the crowd back to life.

The Warhawks drove 68 yards in 13 plays to tie the score at 38-all on a clutch 24-yard field goal by Meeks with 1:30 left in regulation.

ULM's offense sputtered early but eventually found solid footing with running back Johnson. Coming off his breakout 173-yard rushing outburst against Grambling State, Johnson was making his first start at running back.

"I'm happy for Josh," Evans said. "He's a guy who stepped in for us after (Derrick) Gore had left. It makes it easier for me when a guy is rushing for 100 yards each week. A defense has to respect that." 

A sluggish start put ULM in an early hole.
 
Florida State led 14-0 after the first quarter on a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Akers and a 19-yard receiving score by Tre'Shaun Harrison.

Evans was 0-for-7 passing in the opening quarter but was hurt by three drops by his receivers. He finished 23 of 38 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Pederson caught a career-high six passes for 85 yards and the score.

"I thought early in the game we were out of rhythm," Viator said. "We had a few drops in there; stuff that would have extended some drives. It was frustrating because they were in a rhythm on offense. We needed to sustain some drives and get them off the field like what Boise State did last week – kept them off the field – that's what we needed to do. We were dropping some balls, and we weren't getting enough first downs. They were just in that rhythm."

The Seminoles continued to build their advantage early in the second quarter by scoring on their third-straight possession. Blackman scrambled in for a 6-yard touchdown and Florida State led 21-0.

Later in the quarter, ULM ran four plays inside the FSU 5 but missed a scoring opportunity with a turnover on downs as Evans overthrew Pederson on fourth-and-goal.

After the ULM defense held and forced a punt, the Evans-Pederson combo wouldn't be denied on the next series. ULM broke the ice with 3:43 left in the half on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Pederson. The Warhawks needed five plays to cover 44 yards and narrow the margin to 21-7.

Florida State kicker Ricky Aguayo booted a 36-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and the Seminoles led 24-7 at halftime. Viator sounded agitated as he left the field at halftime.

"We didn't play worth a darn on offense, I promise you," Viator said. "We didn't execute at all. It's the worst I've seen us execute. We didn't make the plays we had; we dropped balls.

"But we finally got something together at the end and scored. Our defense is kind of hanging in, but we've got to do better on third down."

ULM looked like a different team in the second half.

"I like the way we competed," Viator said. "It's what I wanted. It seemed like we were a little awestruck at the start. We weren't making many plays. We couldn't stop them on defense. We just hung in there and we certainly had a chance to win it." 

Up next: ULM has an open date on Sept. 14. The next game is Sept. 21 at Iowa State.

Enemy lines: Florida State improved to 3-0 in the all-time series against ULM. All three games were played in Doak Campbell Stadium.

Quarterback James Blackman completed 30-of-40 passes for 282 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and helped lead the Seminoles to their most points in a game under coach Willie Taggart.

Tail feathers: Ty Shelby made his first career start at defensive end. … Right tackle Eastwood Thomas extended his team-leading consecutive games started streak to 32. … Game captains for ULM were WR Xavier Brown, LB Chase Day, C Bobby Reynolds and CB Rhoy Williams.
 
Donald Louis sack vs. Florida State 2019

 
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