Jimbo Fisher had seen it before.
In the first half Saturday night, he saw a Notre Dame receiver illegally pick off an FSU defender. Fisher told the officials to be aware of the improper block in case it came up again.
And, boy, did it ever.
The situation: The Seminoles were trying to protect a 31-27 lead with 17 seconds left. The Irish were on the FSU 2-yard line on fourth down.
Receiver Corey Robinson found himself wide open at the goal line, caught the short pass from Everett Golson and stepped into the end zone.
Notre Dame and the small pocket of Irish fans at Doak Campbell Stadium exulted. For one second, the Irish thought they had pulled off a dramatic upset and that the Seminoles’ dream of repeating as national champions had died.
Then … the flag.
Notre Dame receiver C.J. Prosise was penalized for offensive pass interference against FSU cornerback Ronald Darby, and it was like a switch was flipped. The Seminoles’ bench erupted, as did the majority of the crowd of 82,431.
The penalty moved the ball back to the FSU 18 and Notre Dame had one more desperate chance. Golson was flushed from the pocket and lofted the ball to the back of the end zone. FSU freshman linebacker Jacob Pugh easily intercepted, his second of the game.
Game over: Florida State 31, Notre Dame 27.
Fisher wanted critics of the Seminoles — now 7-0 but seemingly not as powerful as last season — to take note.
“Say whatever you want, that this team (isn’t as) dominant, it’s not as spectacular,” Fisher said. “This team knows how to win.”
The Seminoles’ winning streak now is 23 and they remain one of three undefeated teams from the Power 5 conferences, joining Mississippi State and Mississippi.
FSU dropped to No. 2 in the polls last week after holding the top spot all season. No. 1 Mississippi State did not play Saturday. Note Dame (6-1) entered the evening ranked fifth.
The Seminoles were motivated by that drop in the polls.
“It was a form of disrespect,” defensive lineman Mario Edwards said.
The Seminoles had to rally from a 17-10 deficit Saturday night. Quarterback Jameis Winston — once again at the center of controversy, this week because the university is investigating whether he was paid for autographing memorabilia being sold online — was a little flat in the first half but sharp after intermission. He led the Seminoles to touchdowns on three of FSU’s first four second-half possessions.
Overall, Winston was 23-of-31 for 273 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. But in the second half he completed all but one of his 16 passes for 181 yards.
“We found the matchups we wanted,” Fisher said.
“We just wanted to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands,” receiver Rashad Greene said.
And Greene is that primary playmaker. He closed with eight catches for 108 yards and a 10-yard touchdown reception on the first drive of the second half that flipped the momentum.
But he had help, mostly from true freshman Travis Rudolph, the former Cardinal Newman High standout who had six catches for a career-high 80 yards and FSU’s first touchdown, which tied the score at 7.
Winston once again was able to overcome his off-the-field issues. He also faces a university inquiry into whether he violated the student code of conduct.
He was asked if his game week had been any different than when he dealt with previous transgressions.
“No, not really,” he said. “I probably was more locked in mentally. This is a big game.”
Florida State never led until midway through the fourth quarter, when running back Karlos Williams’ second touchdown of the game made it 31-27.
But then the game was in the hands of a defense that had surrendered 470 yards and allowed Notre Dame to score on four of six series from midway through the first quarter to early in the third.
The defense forced Notre Dame to punt from the FSU 39 with 5:12 remaining. Coach Brian Kelly’s decision to relinquish the ball worked when the punt was downed at the 7 and the Seminoles managed just 3 yards before punting it back.
Notre Dame took over at the Seminoles’ 49. The Irish appeared to be finished when they were faced with a fourth-and-18 from their 43. But Golson escaped one tackle and launched a pass to Robinson, who caught it 20 yards downfield for a first down.
The 6-foot-4 Robinson, the son of basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson, caught two scoring passes in the first half.
“That gave them so much momentum and it took some from us,” Edwards said. “You have them basically where you want them, your foot on their throat, and they complete a pass. … We rallied and said if we want to win this game we have to stop them.”
But Notre Dame had life with 1:19 to play. Six plays later the Irish had second-and-goal from the 8. Golson hit Prosise on along the sideline for 6 yards. Seventeen seconds remained.
Golson then dropped back and Robinson became wide open as Prosise was stepping in front of Darby.
Cornerback P.J Williams was asked if at any time he thought FSU had lost for the first time in nearly two years.
“For a second I did,” he said. “But I knew something wasn’t right. (Robinson being so wide open) didn’t add up to our play call. I looked and saw the penalty flag.”
Kelly disputed the call.
“We execute that play every day,” he said “And we do it legally and that’s the way we coach it. We don’t coach illegal plays.”
The victory was another close call for the Seminoles. They also survived a scare at home Sept. 20, when they beat Clemson 23-17 in overtime.
“One thing that people need to realize about this Seminoles team,” Winston said, “is that when we have our backs against the wall, we always rise and we start playing harder.”
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