College Football Old School Game of the Week: By Inches, Virginia Hands Florida State First Ever ACC Loss

Virginia fans swarmed the field at Scott Stadium after their Cavaliers upset the Florida State Seminoles.

When the Florida State Seminoles joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992, they grabbed a stranglehold on the conference over their first three seasons as they went 24-0 and won the ACC outright all three seasons.
The 1995 season seemed to be another forgone conclusion that FSU would win the ACC, especially after starting the season 7-0 and defeating their opponents by a combined score of 393-123 as the offense under the direction of senior quarterback Danny Kanell and junior running back Warrick Dunn was averaging nearly 55 points per game as the Seminoles were ranked #2 in the country.
The Seminoles, who had finished with at least 10 wins in the top 5 every season since 1987, seemed poised to be on their way to an appearance in the national championship game which would take place in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1995 season.
That is until they hit a roadblock in Charlottesville, Virginia on the first Thursday night in November.
Virginia.
The Cavaliers entered the FSU game with a 6-3 record that could have easily been 9-0 as their three losses were by a combined seven points.
Two of their losses had come on the last play of the game with the first one coming in their season opener against Michigan as the Cavaliers blew a 17-0 lead to lose 18-17 and had just 12 days prior to their game with the Seminoles, lost 17-16 to Texas when Longhorns kicker Phil  Dawson hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired.
Despite their three losses, Virginia was ranked #24 in the country and featured senior quarterback Mike Groh, son of future Virginia head coach Al Groh, as well as the Barber twins, junior running back Tiki and junior defensive back Ronde.
In front of a sellout crowd at Scott Stadium and a national television audience on ESPN, the Cavaliers hoped to do what no ACC team had done to Florida State in their previous 29 ACC games: beat the Seminoles.
Both teams would trade punts to start until a Virginia fumble that was recovered by FSU defensive lineman Reinard Wilson gave the Seminoles the football at the 50-yard-line.
Five plays later, the Seminoles were in the end zone as Kanell connected with Phillip Riley for a 35-yard touchdown to give FSU a 7-0 lead with 8:05 to go in the first quarter.
On their ensuing possession, the Cavaliers would strike back with a 64-yard touchdown run by Barber to tie the game 7-7 with 6:09 to go in the opening quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Cavaliers would get the ball back at their 49-yard-line and seemed to poise to take the lead as they drove to the Seminoles' 14-yard-line until Groh had a pass tipped by FSU defensive lineman Andre Wadsworth which would be intercepted by defensive back James Colzie at the Seminoles' six-yard-line.
From there, the Seminoles would drive 94 yards in seven plays in a drive which took only two minutes and three seconds as Kanell completed four of five passes for 85 yards on the drive, with the last completion being a 14-yard touchdown to Dunn to put FSU back on top 14-7 with just 1:14 left in the first quarter.

Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell completed 32 of 67 passes for 454 yards and threw three touchdowns passes but also three interceptions.

Virginia would respond with an eight-play, 68-yard drive which culminated with an one-yard touchdown run by Barber early in the second quarter to tie the game at 14.
The Seminoles would get the ball back at their 35-yard-line but were stopped on 3rd & 1, forcing them to call on the punting unit.
But Virginia linebacker James Farrior would block the punt which was picked up by Bryan Owen at the FSU 33-yard-line and returned it 12 yards to give the Cavaliers the ball at the Seminoles' 21-yard-line.
However, the Seminole defense would not permit a 1st down forcing the Cavaliers to settle for a 35-yard field goal which gave Virginia a 17-14 lead with 11:16 to go in the first half.
Following the field goal, the Seminoles would get the ball back at their 33-yard-line but quickly drove to the Virginia five-yard-line as Kanell hit E.G. Green for two big completions, the first for 34 yards and the other for 23 yards.
But on 2nd & 3 from the five-yard-line, Kanell would be intercepted by Virginia defensive back Percy Ellsworth at the two-yard-line, killing the Seminoles' drive and preserving the Cavaliers' 17-14 lead.
The Cavaliers would punt the ball back to the Seminoles, who took over at their 38-yard-line and drove to the Virginia 17-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 2, presumably setting up a field goal attempt.
But head coach Bobby Bowden gambled and decided to go for the 1st down, only to have the 4th down play fail as Dunn attempted to throw a halfback pass only to be sacked Adrian Burnim, giving Virginia the ball back at their 20-yard-line.
After pickup a 1st down thanks to two runs by Barber for 10 yards, Groh was sacked on 1st down for a seven-yard loss, which was followed by a five-yard pass to tight end Bobby Neely, setting up 3rd & 12 from the Virginia 28-yard-line.
That is when Groh fired a deep pass for Demetrius Allen, who made the catch around the FSU 40-yard-line and then the rest of the way untouched for a 72-yard touchdown to increase the Virginia lead to 24-14 with 3:05 left before halftime.
The Seminoles would go no-huddle on their ensuing possession as they drove 80 yards in six plays in just 52 seconds as Kanell found Green for a 36-yard touchdown to trim the Virginia lead to 24-21 with 2:13 left in the first half.
That was still enough time for Virginia to get in field goal range as Groh hit Barber on a 38-yard screen pass to set up a 48-yard field goal by Garcia to push the Virginia lead to 27-21 with 59 seconds left in the first half.
The Seminoles would back to the no-huddle in hopes of getting at least a field goal before the half ended but on the 2nd & 10 from the FSU 25-yard-line Kanell was picked off by Farrior, giving the Cavaliers the ball at the FSU 30-yard-line with 50 seconds left in the first half.
But on the very next play, Groh would be intercepted as his pass for Germaine Crowell was picked off by Byron Capers at the one-yard-line.
The Seminoles would run out the clock and go into the locker room trailing 27-21.
Virginia would get the ball to start the second half and would put together their most time-consuming drive of the game as they ran 13 plays for 58 yards in a drive that took up nearly 4 1/2 minutes as Barber's six carries for 26 yards and Groh's three completions for 35 yards set up a 41-yard field goal by Garcia to increase the Cavaliers' lead to 30-21.
The rest of the third quarter would be a defensive stalemate as both teams traded punts for the rest of the quarter as Virginia took a 30-21 lead into the final 15 minutes with a chance to hand FSU its first ever ACC loss.

Virginia running back Tiki Barber carried the ball 31 times for 193 yards and scored two touchdowns(one rushing, one receiving).

With 13:44 left in the 4th quarter, the Cavaliers had the ball at the FSU 48-yard-line when Groh connected with Owen for two completions totaling 34 yards to give Virginia a 1st & 10 at the FSU 14-yard-line.
But on 3rd & 7 from the 11-yard-line, Groh would throw his third interception of the game, this time with Orpheus Roye coming up with the pick and returning it 20 yards to the FSU 32-yard-line.
However, the Seminoles could do nothing with the turnover as they went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Virginia.
After both teams traded punts on their next possessions, the Cavaliers got the ball at the Seminoles' 34-yard-line where they drove 18 yards to set up Garcia's fourth field goal of the game, a 35-yarder to increase their lead to 33-21 with 6:57 left in the game.
The Seminoles would respond quickly with a four-play, 80-yard drive which saw Dunn take a pitch from Kanell and throw a 33-yard pass to Andre Cooper, which was followed by two straight passes to Green for 40 yards, which was followed by a seven-yard touchdown run by Dunn to make it a five-point game at 33-28 with 6:13 still to play.
After the Cavaliers ran the ball four straight times before punting the ball back to FSU, the Seminoles had the ball at their 15-yard-line with a chance to drive for the go-ahead touchdown.
But on the fourth play of the drive, Kanell was intercepted by Ellsworth, who gave the ball back to Virginia the ball at the FSU 49-yard-line with 2:36 left and a chance to run out the clock.
However, the Seminoles would force the Cavaliers to go three-and-out to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 1:37 to play and one timeout in their pocket.
After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Kanell hit Riley for 15 yards, then found Cooper for 11 yards, putting FSU at their 46-yard-line.
Then after an incomplete pass, Kanell completed a 12-yard pass to Cooper to put the Seminoles in Virginia territory at the Cavaliers' 42-yard-line with 45 seconds left.
Following another incompletion, Kanell would hit Cooper for nine yards, then Dunn for 20 yards, to give the Seminoles a 1st & 10 at the Virginia 13-yard-line with 13 seconds to go.
As Kanell spiked the ball to stop the clock, Virginia was caught with too many men on field, allowing for FSU to move half the distance to the goal line as they now had 2nd down at the six-yard-line with nine seconds to play.
Kanell dropped back to throw, but threw an incomplete pass that went out of the end zone, leaving four seconds on the clock and one play left for Florida State to win their 30th straight ACC game or for Virginia to pull off the biggest win in school history.
Kanell lined up in the shotgun with Dunn on his left side as the snap went to Dunn instead of Kanell.
Dunn met a mob at about the three-yard-line then dove for the end zone as he was met by Burnim and Anthony Pondexter as time expired.
At first look, it looked like the ball had crossed the goal line as Dunn stretched the ball out in attempt to get it in for the score.
But officials ruled that he was short, giving Virginia the 33-28 win and sending the Scott Stadium crowd into a frenzy as Virginia fans come onto the field on tore down the goal posts.
Did Dunn get the ball to break the goal line before his knee touched the ground? You be the judge:

After suffering their loss since joining the ACC, the Seminoles would drop four spots to #6, as they would finish the regular season with a 9-2 record and having to share the ACC title for first time since they joined the conference as the Seminoles finished with a 7-1 conference record, same as Virginia whose upset of FSU allowed the Cavaliers to share the ACC title for the second time in school history.
The Seminoles would defeat Notre Dame 31-26 in the Orange Bowl to finish the season 10-2 and #4 in the final AP poll and #5 in the final coaches poll, the ninth consecutive season in which FSU won at least 10 games and finished in the top 5 of the final polls.
Meanwhile, Virginia would go to the Peach Bowl where they held off Georgia 34-27 to finish the season with a 9-4 record and #16 ranking in the final AP poll and #17 ranking in the final coaches poll.