The Florida State Seminoles (1-2, 1-1) scored with under a minute to go on a long touchdown pass from James Blackman to Auden Tate to knock off Wake Forest (4-1, 1-1) 26-19 on Saturday afternoon in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Seminoles and Demon Deacons were back and forth all game. The first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie after both teams exchanged field goals - including a career long 51-yard strike from Florida State's Ricky Aguayo. After adding another field goal in the second, Wake Forest orchestrated a long touchdown drive to push their lead over the Seminoles to 12-3, thanks in part to a missed Wake PAT. Florida State answered to end the first half with a Jacques Patrick touchdown run and another Ricky Aguayo field goal gave the Seminoles a 13-12 lead.
Florida State added to their lead in the third quarter with a third Ricky Aguyao field goal to make it 16-12, but Wake Forest would not go without a fight. Matt Colburn scored for the Demon Deacons to give Wake Forest the lead back at 19-16, but Ricky Aguayo tied the game with his fourth field goal of the evening with 6:20 to go. Going into the final minute, the Seminoles got the ball back in a tie game with some wondering if they would be content to go for overtime. However, Florida State surprised all when James Blackman launched a long 40-yard pass to Auden Tate the first time he got the ball to lift the Seminoles to a 26-19 lead that would prove to be enough to clinch the win.
Blackman, playing in just hist second game since taking over for the injured Deondre Francois, overcame a game in which he struggled, going 11-for-21 with just 128 yards passing (40 of those on the game winning play). Jacques Patrick had a strong game on the ground for the Seminoles, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown, while Auden Tate had 47 yards in the air to lead Seminoles receivers. For Wake Forest, John Wolford went 24-for-34 with 271 yards passing, no touchdowns and one interception, and rushed for 63 yards and a score. His favorite target was Greg Dortch, who he hit for 110 yards through the air.
The challenge gets tougher for Florida State, as thirteenth-ranked Miami heads to Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff between the Seminoles and the Hurricanes is set for 3:30 PM at Doak Campbell Stadium.