Florida State Escapes Louisiana Monroe in OT on Missed Extra Point
Florida State escaped Louisiana Monroe 45–44 in overtime on a missed extra point at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.
The Seminoles received the ball first in extra time and scored a touchdown before the Warhawks added one as well. However, kicker Jacob Meeks missed the uprights and failed to tie the game to keep his team alive.
The victory comes as a huge relief for Florida State, which entered the game as a 23-point favorite to win after blowing two 18-point leads in a 36–31 loss to Boise State last week.
The Seminoles opened the game by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21–0 lead with 14:26 remaining before halftime. Florida State saw a few injuries early in the game, including left tackle Juaun Williams injuring his left leg on the Seminoles' second scoring drive. After being examined in the injury tent, he rode the medical cart to the locker room.
Florida State's defense held off the Warhawks for most of the first half, with Louisiana Monroe scoring their first touchdown at only 3:43 before halftime. The Seminoles entered the half ahead 24–7.
Their offense struggled at the start of the second half and later made a key mistake as Louisiana Monroe's Corey Straughter intercepted a pass from Seminoles quarterback James Blackman and returned it for 57 yards for a touchdown at 8:55 in the third quarter. The Seminoles fumbled the ball on their next possession, and the Warhawks recovered it to later score and cut Florida State's lead to 24–21.
In the fourth quarter, the Warhawks took a 35–31 lead. Quarterback Caleb Evans connected with Jonathan Hodoh on a 16-yard pass ruled a touchdown, but the call did not stand. Louisiana Monroe responded on first down on the one-yard line when Josh Johnson ran it in for a touchdown to give the Warhawks hope of upsetting the Seminoles.
Florida State quickly scored again with Blackman's 44-yard touchdown pass to running back Cam Akers to take back a narrow 38–35 lead. They didn't hold it for long when Jacob Meeks kicked a 24-yard field goal to tie the game with 1:30 remaining in the Warhawks' fourth consecutive scoring drive and send it to overtime.
Blackman finished the game going 30 for 40 with 282 yards and three touchdowns. Akers rushed for 193 yards on 36 carries with two touchdowns, while adding 55 receiving yards and another score.
Evans threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns and added another two on the ground.
