TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The largest crowd to ever see a Duke football game crowded into Doak Campbell Stadium for parents weekend and watched the Blue Devils, who played arguably their best football of the season for the first 20 minutes of the game, fall to Florida State in a 48-17 loss.
Things started out as planned for the Blue Devils as Duke weathered a feverish opening drive by Florida State to force a 24-yard field goal attempt, which was surprisingly missed by star Seminole kicker Xavier Beitia.
The Blue Devils immediately took advantage of the missed kick with Adam Smith connecting on a nine-yard pass to wideout Senterrio Landrum on the first play from scrimmage.
On the next play, running back Alex Wade bulleted his way to one of the most surprising runs in the history of Duke football. Plowing through the talented Florida State defensive line, the 250 pound fullback galloped 41 yards before the Seminole secondary caught him.
Duke went to Wade on its next three plays, but he was slowed to only two yards, forcing a 45-yard field goal attempt by Brent Garber.
However, the Blue Devils were thwarted in their attempt to put the first points on the scoreboard when B.J. Ward blocked Garber's kick.
Duke held its composure and did not let the potential game-turning play affect its performance.
On the ensuing drive, Florida State casually took the ball down field to the Duke 10. However, on third down with three yards to go, the Blue Devils sacked quarterback Chris Rix for a loss of seven, forcing another field-goal attempt. This time Beitia connected, breaking the tie to a 3-0 Seminole lead.
Wade and Smith led the Blue Devils on their next drive. This time around, Wade ran for 34 yards and Smith threw for 43, setting up a game-tying field goal from Garber.
"Even though Florida State is one of the top teams in the nation, we felt like we had a chance," said Landrum, who caught his first career touchdown pass. "We played hard; we didn't give up."
Fate continued to be on the Blue Devils' side on the next possession as Rix was sacked by Shawn Johnson and Giuseppe Aguanno for another seven-yard loss.
Immediately after the sack, the Seminole quarterback threw pass to Anquan Boulin, which looked masterfully broken up by Alex Green. But the referees controversially called pass-interference on the play, causing head coach Carl Franks to throw a fit��barely restraining himself from going on the field to complain further.
Franks indirectly criticized the officials after the game.
"They are the most penalized team in the league, and I think they had one penalty through three quarters," he said. "But I can't worry about that stuff."
For the rest of the game, the Blue Devils were unable to overcome the momentum gained from this play, with Florida State scoring four plays later on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rix to Robert Morgan.
Although the first two offensive series for Duke led to field-goal attempts, after the pass-interference call it was nothing but three-and-outs. Florida State took advantage with another 14-yard touchdown pass from Rix--this time to Talman Garner--and a three-yard touchdown run by freshman fullback Torrance Washington.
Nevertheless, Duke had some impressive statistics at the half, with Alex Wade running for 95 yards and Adam Smith passing 7-for-13 for 84 yards. It was the first half all season that Smith was the sole quarterback for the Blue Devils.
On the other hand, Florida State used three quarterbacks in the first half in utilizing their Kentucky Derby offense.
"I was proud of the way our guys fought and kept coming back," Franks said. "Adam Smith moved the team. Alex Wade ran very, very hard. I don't think the score was quite indicative of the way we played but it was indicative of the big play they were able to hit."
The second half was a disaster for Duke. The game was put out of reach on a fluke play when an FSU punt bounced off Blue Devil John-Paul Kimbrough, who was blocking a Seminole player, into the end zone where Leon Washington jumped on the ball for a touchdown.
Back-up quarterback Chris Dapolito relieved Smith in the second half to add production to the Blue Devils' offense. Dapolito threw for 114 yards with two touchdowns, including a 26-yard reception to Lance Johnson--the first touchdown of both players' careersï--and ran for another 18 yards.
Last year's star running back Chris Douglas did not play in order to rest an injured ankle. Wade had 25 running attempts in his absence, running for 114 yards. It was the third time in four games that he ran for over 100 yards.
"A win is a win," said Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden. "It happened like so many games we have had with them in the past. We play even for a long time and then it breaks open."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.