{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 37, Florida State 35
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 1, 2016
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
Temperature: 85°
Head Official: Jeff Heaser
Attendance: 77584

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Six years ago, North Carolina came into Doak Campbell Stadium and stunned Florida State, 37-35, on a game-winning field goal.

Can anyone say deja vu?

North Carolina senior kicker Nick Weiler booted a career-long 54-yard game-winning field goal Saturday night as the clock struck zero to upset No. 12 Florida State 37-35 and end the Seminoles' nation-leading longest home win streak at 22 games.

On Nov. 6, 2010, it was North Carolina kicker Casey Barth who played the role of hero for the Tar Heels (4-1 overall, 2-0 ACC) when Barth drilled a 22-yard field goal with 55 seconds left to beat the Seminoles.

This time, Weiler got to play hero.

"The drive before that, (coach Larry) Fedora asked me what the distance was, range I had and I told him (get me to the) 35-yard line," Weiler said. "We got there, got the hold down, perfect snap -- and at that point, I just had to do my job."

The game-winning kick also signaled redemption for Weiler, who just a few minutes earlier had his extra point blocked on North Carolina's go-ahead touchdown by Florida State backup defensive lineman Walvenski Aime, leaving the door open for the Seminoles.

After rallying from 21 points down, Florida State took a 35-34 lead with 23 seconds to play on a 2-yard touchdown scramble from quarterback Deondre Francois. But the Tar Heels still had two timeouts and red-hot quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who finished the day with 405 yards passing and four total touchdowns.

Trubisky hit receiver Mack Hollins for 23 yards to get the ball to the North Carolina 48-yard line. Then Florida State defensive back Tavarus McFadden was flagged for pass interference with four seconds left, pushing the ball to the Florida State 37.

That put the potential game-winning kick at 54 yards. Weiler's previous career-long was 49.

But Fedora didn't hesitate.

"I knew it was within his distance. That wasn't the issue. (Nick) was due. He had something to prove," Fedora said. "After the extra point was blocked, I talked to him on the sideline and said, 'Look, you've got to get it out of your head because we are going to either be in a two-minute situation and kicking a field goal to win it, or we are going to be in a four-minute situation and you are not going to have anything to do.'

"So he got his mind right and we knew we had to get it somewhere close to the 35 to give him a shot. The guys got it done."

Fedora called North Carolina's final timeout and sent out Weiler, who drilled the kick and then streaked across the field -- doing the trademark Florida State Tomahawk Chop celebration while he ran -- as blue and white jerseys flooded behind him.

With the loss, the Seminoles dropped to 3-2 and remained winless in the conference at 0-2.

The loss stung Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher.

Not only did it likely knock the Seminoles out of running for any sort of conference or national title, but the Tar Heels remain the one ACC program Fisher has never beaten in his seven seasons in Tallahassee.

"It starts with me and ends with me. That's on us, we got to coach them up better," Fisher said. "We had a (pass interference penalty called on the final drive) -- I didn't see it, but I guess we did or they wouldn't have called it if there wasn't. Then they kicked a 54-yard field goal. We had some critical mistakes."

Trubisky, meanwhile, was nearly flawless Saturday.

The junior, who came into the game second in the nation in completion percentage at 74.5 percent, rushed for a touchdown and was also 31-of-38 passing, including the go-ahead passing score with 2:31 left in the game from 34 yards out to receiver Thomas Jackson.

With the victory, North Carolina won for just the third time in 19 meetings with the Seminoles, who still lead the all-time series 15-3-1 -- but have now lost two in a row to North Carolina.

Florida State fell behind early, 21-0, and -- unlike the season opener against Ole Miss when Florida State rallied from 22 points down to win, 45-34 -- couldn't complete the comeback.

North Carolina receiver Ryan Switzer torched the Florida State secondary with 14 catches for 158 yards, and running back T.J. Logan scored two touchdowns in the win -- one rushing and one receiving. Logan led the Tar Heels rushing attack with 77 yards, and the North Carolina defense was led by linebacker Cole Holcomb, who finished with 13 tackles.

Florida State's defense, which has now given up 135 points over its last three games, looked to be one stop away from victory after a nine-play, 75-yard fourth-quarter march that ended with Francois' furious scramble and dive across the goal line.

Francois finished the game 20 of 32 for 372 yards, while the loss erased a huge day from star running back Dalvin Cook, who rushed for 140 yards on 29 carries. Cook also was second on the team in receiving with six catches for 106 more yards.

"Can't control it, man. All we can control is on the offensive side of the ball. Just go down and get a touchdown, and that's what we did," Cook said. "There are just some things you can't control. Like I said, we went out there and did our part on the offensive side. But we are a team. We win as a team and we lose as a team."

North Carolina, which came into the game as 11-point underdogs, took a 21-7 lead to halftime.

The Tar Heels capitalized on some early conservative play-calling by Florida State after the Seminoles' first drive was stopped on the North Carolina 28 with a fourth-and-1 decision. Rather than go for it, Fisher opted for a 45-yard field goal try, and freshman kicker Ricky Aguayo missed wide left.

North Carolina then drove 72 yards in nine plays as Trubisky was a perfect 4-for-4 for 44 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Logan to open the scoring.

It marked the fourth time in five games this year Florida State's defense has allowed its opponent to score on their opening drive.

The troubles, however, didn't end there for Aguayo, who had been 10 of 11 on the year coming into Saturday. But before the end of the first quarter, he would also miss a 52-yarder that was blocked and another 45-yarder, also wide left.

Florida State's first four drives all reached Tar Heels' territory, but they resulted in zero Seminoles' points.

North Carolina went up 14-0 late in the second quarter after capping a second 72-yard drive, this one in seven plays, as Logan's 13-yard rush up the middle gave him his second touchdown of the game. The Tar Heels than made it 21-0 with 6:52 left in the first half when Trubisky turned a third-down scramble into a 4-yard rushing score.

The Seminoles didn't get on the board until Cook found the end zone from 9 yards out late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 21-7.

Florida State now will look regroup next week when it travels to face state rival Miami in South Florida.

North Carolina, meanwhile, has now two won two thrillers in two weeks following last Saturday's 37-36 comeback win against Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels will next host Virginia Tech.

The Seminoles' defense was led by linebacker Matthew Thomas with eight tackles, but the defense faltered when the Seminoles needed them most.

"On the sidelines, I told the DBs to just do their job," Florida State senior defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker said he told his teammates before the Tar Heels' final drive. "We had them for a minute. But you've got to give credit to North Carolina."

NOTES: In a great show of sportsmanship Saturday, both Florida State and North Carolina wore Kidz1stFund decals on their helmets in a show of support of Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher's charity he established in honor of his son, Ethan, who suffers from a rare disease called Fanconi anemia. Kidz1stFund was created with the goal of improving treatment options, raising awareness and helping fund research that will lead to a cure. So far, Kidz1stFund has raised more than $4 million dollars. ... North Carolina was not ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll coming into Saturday's game, but the Tar Heels were ranked No. 23 in the Coaches' Poll. ... Saturday's announced attendance was 77,584.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
North Carolina   Florida State
T.J. Logan Player Dalvin Cook
10 Attempts 29
77 Yards 140
7.7 Avg Yards 4.8
1 Touchdowns 3
0 Long 0
Receiving
North Carolina   Florida State
Ryan Switzer Player Jesus Wilson
14 Receptions 6
158 Yards 120
11.3 Avg Yards 20.0
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
North Carolina 538 133 405 5 1 0 2.0 1
Florida State 595 223 372 5 0 0 3.0 2