Sept. 7, 2008

Recap |  Final Stats |   

Western Carolina (1-1) at Florida State (1-0) Post-Game Notes:

Western Carolina Team Captains vs. FSU:
Senior QB #7 Andy Horn; junior safety #10 Chris Collins; junior linebacker #50 Quintin Phillips; red-shirt sophomore receiver #80 Marquel Pittman

* Florida State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half; Western Carolina received the opening kickoff defending the north end zone.

* Lightning delays associated with thunderstorms in Leon County pushed the start of the game - originally scheduled for 6:06 pm - back to 7:30 pm; another weather delay following FSU's punt return for a touchdown at 7:33 pm - or 13:11 remaining in the first quarter - pushed the game back to 8:30 pm ... the teams returned to the field at approximately 8:15 pm and were granted a 10-minute warm-up prior to resuming play - FSU kicked off at 8:26 pm to resume play.

* The shut out loss was the first-time the Catamounts had been held scoreless since falling 62-0 to Florida in the Swamp to end the 2006 season.

First Quarter Notes:
* The punt return for a touchdown by FSU's Tony Carter was the first punt return for a TD given up by WCU since Raja Andrews of Georgia Southern took one back 49 yards in Statesboro last season (Sept. 29, 2007);

* Western Carolina had two offensive drives in the opening 15 minutes move into Florida State territory - however, both ended in punts ... Defensively, WCU forced consecutive punts on Florida State's first two offensive possessions in the opening session;

Second Quarter Notes:
* A punt that skirted off the side of punter Blake Cain's foot gave Florida State its best starting field possession of the game at the WCU 27 yard line - however, the Catamount defense limited the Seminoles to a 43-yard field goal attempt that missed, keeping the game at 7-0;

* Florida State score three, second-quarter touchdowns inside the final 6:54 to pull out to a four-TD lead, 28-0, at halftime;

* Starting center Victor Aquilina was helped from the field inside the final two minutes of the first half ... he did walk under his own power with limited assistance from the WCU Athletic Training staff.

Third Quarter Notes:
* Florida State opened the second half with a 54-yard TD pass to pull ahead by three touchdowns, 35-0;

* Instant Replay... WCU had its first bout with the instant replay, which is utilized in the Atlantic Coast Conference - QB Andy Horn was sacked inside his own 10 yard line early in the third quarter with the ball knocked loose before his arm went forward ... the play was reviewed and upheld - it led t a four-yard TD run for FSU and a 48-0 lead;

* Despite its early success in sustaining drives into Florida State territory, Western Carolina did not cross the 100-yard total offense plateau until a 28-yard pass from Adam Hearns to Marquel Pittman midway through the third quarter;

* Early in the fourth quarter, red-shirt sophomore receiver Marquel Pittman went down with an injury after getting tangled with a Seminole defender on a ball thrown to the end zone; but was able to lightly jog off the field under his own power;