From the NY Times
By TIM ROHAN
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — What E. J. Manuel would call the biggest victory of his career had been secured when he galloped free down the sideline, with a clear path to the end zone. All night, he had listened to the former Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward’s advice — take what the defense gives you — and with this run, Manuel joined Ward as the only Seminole to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in a game.
With seconds left in a 49-37 win over No. 10 Clemson on Saturday, much had been decided: Florida State looked like a national championship contender, as it had in its heyday more than a decade before; running back Chris Thompson’s play indicated he could be the first F.S.U. back since Warrick Dunn, in 1996, to rush for more than 1,000 yards; and Manuel — whose inconsistent, unstable play last season had been scrutinized — silenced his critics, if not the program’s doubters.
“I mean, all the people that used to say he was all inconsistent, and he busted under pressure, I think he shut a lot of people up,” running back James Wilder Jr. said.
Manuel’s father, Erik, said that every week they had heard about how far Florida State had fallen since Bobby Bowden’s dynasty of the 1990s.
“That’s why I’m glad this victory came today,” Erik Manuel said.
Wilder said sheepishly that he had “heard stories” about Florida State’s glory days. He was 7 when the Seminoles won the 1999 national championship. He was a freshman last season, E. J. Manuel’s first full year as a starter, when they lost four games. Since then, the Seminoles’ shared strife has given way to self-assurance and expectancy.
It was most evident Saturday in Manuel, a senior, who has repeatedly said that Florida State should expect to win big games. He regularly speaks to Ward and Chris Weinke, another former Seminoles quarterback, who texts Manuel before every game. Ward and Weinke each won a Heisman Trophy and a national championship. The recent play of Manuel, a former No. 2-rated quarterback prospect out of high school, has made him worthy of their company.
Against Clemson, Manuel set single-game career highs in passing and rushing yards. Pundits heaped more expectations on him, mentioning him as a Heisman candidate.
“If you do everything else, that’s what comes,” his father said.
Relieving the pressure on Manuel was Thompson, who almost one year ago broke two vertebrae in his back when he lowered his head on a run. Forget running, cutting and sprinting — just sitting upright in class bothered him. He wore a brace and preferred lying down whenever he could. In March, he began working out but still felt pain. In his senior year, an inescapable sense of finality is driving Thompson.
“Just laying it all out,” he said, after he had athletic runs of 41 and 27 yards and provided a shifty release option in the passing game. His speed and core strength seemed reminiscent of the style of Dunn, Florida State’s pre-eminent running back.
If not for Coach Jimbo Fisher’s remade offensive line, though, Thompson and Manuel may not have had room to show their brilliance. Last season, Manuel was sacked 40 times. Center Bryan Stork blamed injuries and a general lack of communication and knowledge of the plays.
As Florida State generated 667 yards Saturday, starting next to Stork were Cameron Erving, who played defensive tackle last season; Josue Matias and Tre’ Jackson, who started one game each last season when they were freshmen; and Menelik Watson, a junior college transfer.
“The holes are there,” Wilder said. “There aren’t a lot of sacks. There aren’t a lot of carries that we’re stopped at the line. We’re usually 5 yards past the line of scrimmage before we get touched.”
The starting linemen’s average weight is 319 pounds, reflecting Fisher’s fresh emphasis on size: 18 Seminoles are listed at 300 pounds or heavier. On defense, size inside has allowed defensive ends Bjoern Werner and Cornellius Carradine to wreak havoc. Carradine had two sacks Saturday, but his five and a half sacks still trail Werner’s six and a half, which lead the country.
The Seminoles’ lines — ferocious on defense, effective on offense — resemble those that played with Dunn, Ward and Weinke.
“Size and girth makes a difference with athleticism; I mean, mass matters,” Fisher said last week, adding: “It lets you be forceful, and that physical pounding wears on people.”
By the time Manuel sprinted down the sideline toward the end zone, Florida State’s will had been imposed as it had so regularly before. At halftime, with his team down by 21-14, Manuel made a speech to inspire urgency, reminding his teammates what was expected. The Seminoles then outscored the Tigers, 35-16.
With Manuel’s — and Florida State’s — message made, he slid well short of the goal line, as if he too had been there before.
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