Already without its usual starting quarterback, Florida State was left playing with a quarterback with one healthy ankle in a 38-24 loss to Houston in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Thursday at the Georgia Dome.
The Seminoles were without Everett Golson, who started eight games this season but didn’t travel with the team to Atlanta because of a personal reason, according to coach Jimbo Fisher.
The Seminoles turned to Sean Maguire, who was making his fifth start this season but who suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter that forced him to temporarily leave the game. He completed 22-of-44 passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns. But his three interceptions across the second and third quarters made it hard for Florida State to have any momentum. He threw one more interception on the Seminoles’ final drive. The four interceptions tied a Peach Bowl record set by Iowa’s Chuck Hartlieb in 1988.
“It didn’t really affect too much,” Maguire said about the injury. “It limited some stuff. But it was fun.”
Maguire started strong, completing 5 of his first 8 passes for 133 yards. Facing second and goal at the 8-yard line in the first quarter, Maguire rolled right and after throwing an incompletion was hit by inside linebacker Matthew Adams. Maguire landed hard and couldn’t put any weight on his left ankle. He was taken to the locker room for X-rays, which were negative. Maguire returned with 9:29 left in the second quarter, his left ankle heavily taped.
“Very proud of the way he played and he led us,” Fisher said. “I think our kids responded to him coming back in the game. He showed a lot of heart and guts.”
After missing on his first pass, he was sacked on the next play and threw another incompletion on third down. He added an interception on a underthrown pass later in the quarter with the Seminoles trailing 21-3.
The Seminoles failed to post a first down and lost 15 yards of total offense in the second quarter.
Things improved for Florida State in the third quarter. After two incompletions, Maguire completed his next four passes, the last setting up a 1-yard touchdown run for Dalvin Cook that cut Houston’s lead to 21-10 with 10:18 left in the third quarter.
Maguire threw interceptions to end each of Florida State’s next two drives before rebounding with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Travis Rudoph that cut Houston’s lead to 24-17 with 11:12 left. He added a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jesus Wilson to pull the Seminoles back to within a touchdown, 31-24, with 4:55 left.
But each time Florida State scored Houston would answer, forcing Maguire to try to make another play.
“When you get in those kind of games it gets crazy, you’re trying to make plays,” Fisher said. “When we got back in, like he said ‘I just want to make a play.’
“I said, ‘No, no, just keep playing. We’ve got plenty of time. I thought he did a really good job.”
About the Author
