WATCH: FCS Jacksonville State launches hail mary to beat Florida State
Just days after taking Notre Dame to overtime, Florida State has been knocked off by Jacksonville State. Down three with under 20 seconds remaining, the FCS school ran four vertical to try and pull of the hail mary.
The play worked. Jacksonville State quarterback Zerrick Cooper found Damond Philyaw-Johnson down the right sideline on a 59-yard touchdown pass as Jacksonville State picked up a walk off 20-17 win at Doak Campbell Stadium. Philyaw-Johnson, a Duke transfer, made a quick juke move on a Florida State defender and a teammate made a key block to secure the touchdown.
Philyaw-Johnson’s catch in the final seconds of the fourth quarter was his only grab of the night.
For Florida State, the loss is shocking. The Seminoles nearly knocked off the Fighting Irish off last Sunday. But on Saturday night, former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton struggled, throwing an interception and the Seminoles rushing attack never took off.
Since the FBS/FCS split in 1978, Florida State was 26-0 against teams that were FCS members at the time of the game before Saturday.
In year two under Mike Norvell, Florida State seemed to be turning a corner. Going toe-to-toe with Notre Dame was the sign that the Seminoles were back and ready to contend in the ACC. Saturday night marked Milton’s first start since his days at UCF. He entered last week’s game in the fourth quarter and went 5-for-7 with 48 yards. He came in following Jordan Travis losing his helmet and immediately completed a pass for 22 yards against a gassed Irish secondary.
But on Saturday night, the Seminoles allowed Jacksonville State to hang around. And when the Gamecocks had their opportunity, they took it. Cooper, a Clemson transfer, finished the night 17-of-38 for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacksonville State was shutout in its season opener, a 31-0 loss to UAB. But the Gamecocks didn’t struggle to put points up Saturday, especially in the final seconds of the game.
The win marks a handful of FCS wins in the opening weeks of the college football season. UC Davis defeated Tulsa and Montana knocked off No. 20 Washington in Week One. But Florida State’s loss in walk off fashion to Jacksonville State won’t be forgotten anytime soon.