TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Greg Carr made two finger-tip catches on long pass plays to set up touchdowns in the third quarter Saturday and 24th-ranked Florida State rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat Virginia Tech 30-20.
The win leaves Florida State (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) tied with Maryland for first place in the ACC’s Atlantic Division and in control of its own destiny for a shot at the league’s Dec. 6 championship game.
Carr, who had three catches for 100 yards, beat Hokies star cornerback Victor Harris for a 48-yard pass from Christian Ponder to set up the go-ahead score. Moments later his 39-yard catch along the sideline set up another touchdown that gave Florida State a 24-13 lead.
Taiwan Easterling’s leaping catch just in front of the goal post on a high throw from Ponder gave Florida State its first lead, 17-13, and Marcus Sims scored from the 1 to hike the advantage to 24-13 after Carr’s grab put the ball on the Virginia Tech doorstep.
Graham Gano added three more field goals and has now made a Florida State record 13 straight, including another from 50 yards or further for the fourth straight game.
Virginia Tech (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor on the first play of the game and backup Sean Glennon was knocked out in the third quarter. Both players had left ankle injuries.
Cory Holt finished for the Hokies and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andre Smith in the fourth quarter.
Losing Taylor was about the only thing that went wrong for the Hokies early as they built a 10-0 lead.
Dustin Keys’ 15th field goal of the season started the scoring and Glennon pushed in from the 1 for a 10-0 lead while Virginia Tech’s defense held Florida State to a minus 18 yards in the first quarter.
But the Seminoles caught up quick with 10 points in a span of just over three minutes early in the second quarter.
On a third-and-1, Antone Smith broke free around his own left side and zipped 39 yards down the sideline untouched for a touchdown. Gano kicked a 50-yard field goal moments later after Derek Nicholson forced a fumble by Tech’s Josh Oglesby.
Keys’ 20-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half that put the Hokies ahead 13-10.
Virginia Tech dominated the first half, rolling up 205 yards and 11 first downs while limited Florida State to only 70 yards and three first games, but the second half was a different story as Florida State’s defense, which collected six sacks in the game, limited the Hokies to 38 yards.
It was coach Bobby Bowden’s 379th career win, moving him temporarily within a game of all-time major college leader Joe Paterno, whose Penn State team played Saturday night at Ohio State.
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