FSU seals place in ACC title game with win

FSU seals place in ACC title game with win

Published Nov. 17, 2012 2:15 p.m. ET

Consider the first goal on Florida State's list to be accomplished.

Devonta Freeman ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and EJ Manuel passed for 144 yards and two touchdowns as the Seminoles ripped Maryland 41-14 on Saturday afternoon to win the ACC's Atlantic Division.

Dustin Hopkins also made two field goals and five extra points, giving him 448 career points and placing him atop the Football Bowl Subdivision's all-time kicker scoring list.

Florida State (10-1, 7-1 ACC) has now won the Atlantic Division for the second time in three seasons. The Seminoles, who are 10th in the BCS standings, will play for the ACC title Dec. 1 in Charlotte against the Coastal Division champion.

And the Seminoles also celebrated a 10-win season, something that was commonplace in Tallahassee in the 1990s and early in the 2000s under coach Bobby Bowden. But Florida State had last accomplished the feat in 2003 before coach Jimbo Fisher hit the 10-win mark in 2010, his first season.

"We wanted to have a 10-win regular season," Fisher said. "We hit the Atlantic Division (title), too."

Florida State pulled away early on Saturday, leading 27-0 at the half. Manuel found Nick O'Leary and Rashad Greene on touchdown strikes, and Freeman had a touchdown run.

Manuel limped off the field in the second half with a foot injury, but Fisher said that it's not considered serious.

The Seminoles ran for 237 yards on 41 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per rush against a Maryland team that was ranked 19th in the FBS against the run. Florida State has now run for more than 200 yards in seven of its 11 games.

Maryland struggled on offense as the Seminoles held the Terrapins to just 27 first-half yards. Converted linebacker Shawn Petty, the team's fifth-string quarterback, had 136 passing yards and two touchdowns for Maryland, which was held to 34 rushing yards on 34 carries.

Florida State also had five sacks, including 1.5 apiece by Tank Carradine and Bjoern Werner.

"Coverage, pressure, blitz, all those things — those two guys affect the quarterback," Fisher said. "Even when they don't get a sack, they cause something bad to happen. I'm glad they're on my team."

Florida State tacked on a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second half, a 2-yard run by Freeman in the third quarter and a 22-yard run by James Wilder Jr. in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles now have 32 rushing touchdowns in 2012 as they close in on the team record of 35 set in 1995.

And Hopkins keeps setting the bar higher. Already the leading scorer in Florida State and ACC history, he is now No. 1 among kickers in FBS history.

"It feels good," Hopkins said. "I know a lot of people see it as an individual award. But really it has a lot to do with the guys behind me on the field goal team and Jimbo having faith in me. It's a lot more than just an individual record."

And he will keep adding to those totals now that Florida State has clinched the Atlantic Division, giving the Seminoles an extra game. But first up for Florida State is the regular-season finale against BCS No. 6 Florida (10-1) on Saturday in Tallahassee.

"They have had a great season," Fisher said. "They have great players, great coaching. It's going to be one those classic matchups of Florida-Florida State. Two top-10 teams, the way it should be."

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