Seminole Stories: "I See Ya PK Sam!"

It's November 29th, 2003 as Bobby Bowden leads his 9th-ranked Seminoles into Gainesville for his 28th matchup vs the Florida Gators. The 'Noles have taken four of the last five over the Gators but today they face an 11th-ranked Florida team led by Chris Leak and a feisty defense.

Chris Rix and the Florida State offense have escaped a few controversial fumble calls and weathered an all-around controversial game and find themselves down three with just over a minute left. After mustering a desperation drive including the previous play where Rix converted a 4th and 14, they face a first and ten from their own 48-yard line.

With running back (and current Tennessee Titan) Leon Washington to his left, Rix takes the snap from center David Castillo. He drops back a few steps while surveying the field before evading the pass rush and slipping out of the pocket to his right. With two large gather steps, Rix moves forward a few yards teeing up a Hail Mary sling to P.K. Sam who is trying to find room in the end zone. About 65 yards later, P.K. Sam cradles the ball into his lap while he falls back in the face of a spinning Gus Scott.

TOUCHDOWN FLORIDA STATE.

After gathering himself, Sam jumps to his feet and trots in front of the crushed Gator fans who have gone silent in disbelief. Rix falls to his knees with arms wide open and looks to the sky before his teammates come to congratulate him. The fourth of the stadium that is Florida State fans lose their minds and after a Beitia extra point, the Marching Chiefs erupt with the FSU Fight Song that echoes through The Swamp.

The Gators received the ball back with :55 seconds but time runs out before they can answer. The 'Noles win and storm the field, helmets raised. After some celebrating at midfield, a brawl breaks out but does not last. The 'Noles exit the stadium to boos, raising the alligator head high in the sky, as victors in dramatic fashion.

Chris Rix was a four year starter who, despite being very criticized throughout his FSU career, delivered
 one of the greatest plays in Florida State history.

The 'Noles finished the season with an ACC Championship and a 10-win season. The Gators did not win the SEC and ended up losing in the Outback Bowl to Iowa.

I was watching this game with my mother's family. There were about 20 of us cramped into a tiny room and everyone had taken all of the good seats in the room so I was stuck on the floor. When we saw the play, we all erupted. My clumsy self hit my head on my grandma's stupid wooden table, apparently I had my head under it the entire game. Though it did hurt like hell I didn't care. I shook it off and we all rejoiced together like we had won the lottery because there are not many things we hate more than the Florida Gators.

Relive it:

_________________________________________________

Did you like this story? Check out some other Seminole Story features on Nole Pride:
Rashad Greene Erupts Doak
Noles Upset #2 BC

If you really liked it and think someone else will, the share buttons are just below.

Also, feel free to comment or share where you were when PK Sam silenced The Swamp.

Player Focus: DeMarcus Walker

The 2015 Florida State Seminole football team will feature a lot of talent but also a great deal of inexperience. To ease the transition of new faces all across the depth chart, veterans will need to step up. On the defensive line, DeMarcus Walker will be one of the one's tasked with leading a unit that lost 3 starters from a year ago in Desmond Hollin, Mario Edwards, Jr. and Eddie Goldman.

Coming out of high school, Walker was rated a consensus 4-star prospect, U.S. Army All-American, and the 40th ranked overall player in the ESPN 150. The 6'3", 277-pound Jacksonville, Florida native has started 14 of the 26 games he has played in for the Seminoles including the last 7 of the 2014 season. He finished with 38 tackles, six for loss, one sack and one forced fumble in his sophomore season.

(via WLPearce.com) Demarcus Walker had the 2nd-most tackles of any Seminole defensive lineman in 2014.

Comparison: Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers. Heyward is obviously doing extremely well in the NFL and is a little bit bigger but I believe that Walker has the un-tapped potential to be this elite. Both are larger, not flashy defensive ends, but ones that can dominate and disrupt the line of scrimmage consistently. Walker has a lot to prove to deserve this comparison but I think he has the potential.

Career Day: In the last 2014 home game against the team from Gainesville, Walker recorded six tackles, one for loss. He was consistently disruptive to Treon Harris and the Gator offense for most of the game.

Best Moment: In last year's shootout in Raleigh against NC State, Walker sacked Jacoby Brissett early in the second quarter on 3rd and 10 to force a punt that swung momentum in the Seminoles' favor. Florida State was trailing at the time 24-14 and were struggling to slow down the Wolfpack offense. After the offense got the ball back with excellent field position, Jameis Winston and the offense cashed in with a touchdown pass to Christian Green that cut the deficit to three. Walker finished the game with four tackles along with the sack.

Quick Fact: Was named co-defensive MVP with Freshman defensive end Rick Leonard for the 2015 Spring Practice.

Despite losing a great deal of starting talent to the NFL, the Seminoles return a lot of depth to the defensive line. The 'Noles will need to take a great leap forward from last season's embarrassing 17 total sacks, only three of which were recorded by returning players. Walker will, himself, need to take a great leap forward and live up to the hype he received coming out of high school or he could be passed up by the abundance of younger talent behind him.

Another Fail for the Gators

Look at this instagram post by @gatorzonefb:

Would ya just look at it?! Just look at it!!

If you can see past the horrid orange and blue, you will notice a skewed attendance number that the UF athletic department has come up with. Now I'm sure you didn't attend a game in The Swamp last year because you don't like wasting time, but, if you had gone, or even seen one of the few home games in which the Gator's were televised, you would have noticed many instances where the stadium was not only not sold out, but embarrassingly empty.

Take a look for yourself. For perspective the max capacity of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is 88,548 and their record attendance is 90,907.

Exhibit A:

Kentucky just before kickoff. Muschamp is walking back to the sideline. Notice that upper deck. All the white you see is empty seats.

Attendance according to UF: 88,334

Exhibit B:

Eastern Michigan at kickoff. Take a look just past number three's arm, people are supposed to be sitting there. This is opening day. First chance to redeem themselves of the previous 4-8 mark in 2013.

Game attendance according to UF: 81,049

Exhibit C:

South Carolina at the coin toss. (Lost 23-20) Notice the second and upper deck.

Attendance according to UF: 85,088

Exhibit D:

Missouri. (Lost 42-13) Notice the top right corner.

Attendance according to UF athletic department: 89,117

There's a difference between tickets sold and attendance.

Now let's not be too hard on them, we all know that the Gator's aren't the only team that blatantly misrepresents their crowd attendance to make people think it's not as bad as reality tells them. But to brag about it and claim the state of Florida as "Gator Country" because of the misleading numbers is pretty bold, even for you UF. One could argue that with the recent comeback of the once endangered Florida Alligator that Florida is "alligator country" in reference to the animal that is regarded as the most feared predator of the state, but from a football perspective, there's really not a case to claim it as Gator Country. Here's a few facts - not fictional numbers - as to why:

Florida State has won the state championship the last two years defeating both Miami and UF in 2013 and 2014 by a combined score of 132-66.

UF is a combined 13-16-1 vs Florida State since 1989 (25 years).

UF is a combined 4-11 vs Miami since 1979 (35 years).

Jimbo Fisher's record vs UF: 4-1

Al Golden's record vs UF: 1-0

Overall records since 2013:

FSU: 27-1

Miami: 15-11

UF: 11-13

UCF: 21-5

Looking at those statistics it sure would seem that Florida is Seminole Country. #ItsNotSoGreatUF

Player Focus: Jesus Wilson

In the upcoming season, the Seminoles will have a completely different passing attack. With Jameis Winston, Rashad Greene, Nick O'Leary, and five offensive lineman gone to the NFL, Coach Fisher has his work cut out for him on offense. One player that will need to step up in 2015 for the Seminoles to be successful will be junior Jesus "Bobo" Wilson.

Wilson is a 5'9", 181-pound junior receiver and return specialist from Miami. Coming out of high school, he was rated as a 4-star athlete according to ESPN.com. In his first season as a regular contributor, Wilson caught 42 passes for 527 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games (7 starts). 

(via 247Sports.com) Wilson will be the veteran of the Seminole receivers in 2015.

Comparison: Wilson reminds me of a poor man's Kenny Shaw. Both have been under-the-radar and undersized players for Florida State that make tough, crucial catches. Though he doesn't always make flashy catches, Wilson is a very solid and reliable receiver.

Career Day: The 'Noles trip to Raleigh to take on NC State last season. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 24-7 lead and with NC State's Jacoby Brissett having the game of his life, the Seminoles needed a spark on offense to keep up in the shootout. Wilson stepped up for the FSU offense and caught 6 passes for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns, one of which went for 39 yards.

Best Moment: At the beginning of the second quarter vs Miami last year, FSU is driving to set the tone for the rest of the game. They've dug themselves into a hole of 3rd and 10 approaching the 50-yard line. After Jameis drops back, Jesus finds an open space in the secondary just past the first down over the midfield logo. The Heisman-winning quarterback zips it to Wilson. Bobo hauls it in, stumbles and catches himself while turning around before evading a would-be tackler and diving forward for more yards into four Miami defenders. The play goes for 21 yards and a first down and two plays later Dalvin Cook ran it 44 yards for six points and ended the 'Noles scoring drought.

Quick Background Fact: Wilson is one of 9 players on the spring game roster from the Miami area where FSU has not lost in to the Hurricanes in 11 years.

Wilson will be relied on heavily as one of the leaders on offense in 2015. He and Kermit Whitfield are the only two scholarship receivers under 6 feet tall on the spring practice roster. Wilson leads all returning receivers with 45 career catches and was 3rd last year in receptions. He will be a huge key to the 'Noles' new starting quarterback's success.

Seminole Stories: Noles Upset Second-Ranked Eagles

The "lost decade" is in full swing on November 11th, 2007. The 5-3 Florida State Seminoles, led by junior quarterback Drew Weatherford, travel north to take on Matt Ryan's second-ranked, undefeated Boston College Eagles.

Weatherford is having one of the best games in his career. He's completed six passes to De'Cody Fagg for 111 yards and 9 to Preston Parker for 93 yards. He would finish with 354 yards and 2 TD. The defense is also playing an outstanding game, taking away multiple scoring opportunities for the Eagles.

It is a rainy night in Chestnut Hill and mistakes are the name of the game for Ryan and the Eagles. Despite two interceptions (Patrick Robinson and Tony Carter) by their Heisman-candidate quarterback, a fumble and a missed field goal, they find themselves down just three points with over a minute left. Just last week, Ryan had commandeered a two touchdown comeback with less than two minutes left in the game to beat Virginia Tech and throw his name into the Heisman discussion. This week he is facing a similar task at home.

On second and seven with 1:20 left in the game, Ryan takes the snap from his own 33 yard line. He drops back before stepping by a pass rusher into a short pass to his running back heading towards the left sideline. #10 Geno Hayes sees Ryan's eyes look to his check-down and breaks to the Eagle player in front of him. By the time Ryan sees the linebacker breaking, he's already thrown the ball. The Junior linebacker who has six career interceptions in the NFL, steps in front of the pass and heads for the end-zone. After out-sprinting a couple of BC lineman, Hayes trots in easily for six and stares down the poncho-covered crowd of Alumni Stadium.

Said crowd goes quiet. The ESPN announcers are in disbelief. Matt Ryan was on the fast track to a Heisman Trophy but the FSU defense had crushed the Eagles' plans. BC got the ball on the following kickoff but it only led to a turnover on downs and a Seminole victory. They needed two scores anyways. 'Noles win by 10.

via MarkWallheiser.com

I was at home watching with my parents. My mom had this bread that she was cooking for the first time during the game and the scent filled the house. She had finished baking it at the start of the fourth quarter, served it up with some butter and boom! Geno runs it back and we win the game. The "lost decade" was hard on our family but this bread, this magical grain which we later called "Victory Bread", was a glimpse of hope. The following weekend brought Virginia Tech, Christian Ponder's debut thanks to a Weatherford injury. We baked the bread and it seemed that was the reason Ponder brought us back... until Ponder fumbled it and the comeback came up short. We didn't care, we loved the bread and kept baking it the rest of the season.

Bread stories aside, this game was so much fun as a fan. It was strange territory as an FSU fan being an underdog, even in the lost decade. The Eagles were touchdown favorites at home, at night. Coach Bowden and the boys played their best game of the year and added Boston College to the list of second ranked teams to lose that season, the 4th in the previous 5 weeks. (Cal, USC, and, yes, USF before them).