Bryan Stork will never forget the last time he played in an ACC championship game.
The Florida State center was walking off the field in Charlotte, N.C., after the Seminoles’ loss to Virginia Tech two years ago when an orange came sailing in his direction.
A helmetless Stork was struck in the side of the head. Luckily, only the orange turned to pulp.
“I’ll never forget that moment,” Stork said. “I promised myself I’m going to find a way to get back there.”
Promise fulfilled.
Florida State assured itself of a spot in the conference title game Saturday — and kept alive its very remote national title game hopes — with a 41-14 victory over Maryland at Byrd Stadium that never was in doubt after the No. 10 Seminoles scored twice within 12 seconds early in the game.
The Seminoles will play either Miami or Georgia Tech in the Dec. 1 ACC title game in Charlotte.
“Before we talk about a national championship, you got to win your conference, you got to win your division,” said FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, whose team improved to 10-1 overall and finished ACC play 7-1.
“To have 10 regular-season wins — and we’re not done with it — that tells you where our program is going, the direction we’re going.”
Florida State will be playing for its 13th ACC title since joining the conference in 1992, and will be looking for its first win in the championship game since the inaugural contest in 2005. FSU had not finished its conference regular-season schedule with one loss since 2003.
“It’s a great accomplishment, but right now we still have more games to win,” quarterback EJ Manuel said.
The win against Maryland (4-7, 2-5) isn’t likely to boost Florida State’s computer rankings, although that could change Saturday if the Seminoles can defeat their biggest rival, 10-1 Florida, which is No. 6 in the BCS standings. FSU is No. 10 in the BCS. The game is in Tallahassee.
“Ten-1, 10-1,” Fisher said. “This is like the old days.”
Florida State righted its running game that was held to minus-15 yards at Virginia Tech on Nov. 8. The Seminoles ran for 237 yards, with Devonta Freeman carrying the load. Freeman had a career-high 148 yards, including a career-long 47-yard run in the third quarter in which he was tripped from behind at the 2-yard line. Freeman finished the drive with his second touchdown of the game.
Manuel was 17-of-23 passing for 144 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Manuel spread the ball around to seven receivers, one of those being tight end Nick O’Leary, who had three catches for 46 yards, including a 10-yard TD reception that gave the Seminoles a 14-0 lead just six minutes into the game.
O’Leary, a former Dwyer High star who entered with 13 receptions, had a key third-down catch on FSU’s initial drive of the game that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Freeman.
“We got him back in the mix,” Fisher said of O’Leary.
FSU got the ball back after Freeman’s score by forcing a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. O’Leary’s touchdown then came on the first play of the next drive.
“That was big,” Fisher said, “because of the way we’ve been starting on the road, the way we’ve played on the road.”
Dustin Hopkins became the all-time leading scorer among kickers in the FBS, posting 11 points on two field goals and five PATs. Hopkins passed former Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman (2007-10) and now has 448 points.
Florida State had little trouble with the banged-up Terrapins, who for the third week started former scout-team linebacker Shawn Petty at quarterback after losing their first four quarterbacks to injury.
Still, FSU took this assignment seriously despite being more than a four-touchdown favorite.
“Some people might think it’s an easy win,” defensive end Bjoern Werner said. “We emphasized all week they have to win two games to be bowl eligible.”
Petty was 8-of-19 for 136 yards. The Terrapins, who did not pass midfield until early in the third quarter, finished with 170 yards, 42 coming on their final play, a touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining.
Fisher likes where FSU sits with three games remaining in the season.
“There’s still a lot of things out there to play for,” Fisher said. “There’s still a lot to accomplish. You don’t know what’s going to happen these last two, three weeks. Somebody loses a game, a couple of people lose here, and you never know.”
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