TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ The Florida State football team had a chance to improve to .500, take a big step forward on their daunting road to bowl eligibility and show pride after absorbing a 43-point beatdown by Louisville last season.
Instead, the Seminoles squandered all of those opportunities on Saturday against the Cardinals.
Louisville Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Lamar Jackson scored a first-quarter touchdown and led the Cardinals on three more scoring drives in the second half, culminating with a game-winning 34-yard field goal by Blanton Creque to hand FSU a 31-28 loss in front of an announced crowd of 72,764 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Florida State was minutes away from taking the lead itself, after true freshman quarterback James Blackman led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to help FSU tie the game at 28 after falling behind by 14 points.
FSU receiver Nyqwan Murray recovered a fumble in the end zone by running back Jacques Patrick at the start of the fourth quarter, then Murray caught a 20-yard touchdown from Blackman with five minutes remaining to tie the game.
After FSU's defense forced Jackson and the Louisville offense to turn the ball over on downs, Blackman led the offense into the red zone before he fumbled a handoff intended for Patrick at the 20-yard line, allowing the Cardinals to take over.
The turnover, Blackman's third of the game, was a sour note and ended his fourth rally in the fourth quarter of games this season. Blackman has endured a bumpy run after replacing injured starting quarterback Deondre Francois earlier this season.
The Seminoles fall to 2-4, needing wins in four of their final five games to extend their nation-leading 35-year bowl eligibility streak. They also lost their third consecutive game at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time since 1975.
Jackson completed 13 of 21 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, while adding 23 carries for 178 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown, one of three for the Cardinals (5-3, 2-3 ACC).
Blackman completed 16 of 28 passes for 248 yards with touchdown passes to Murray and tight end Ryan Izzo, to go along with two interceptions.
Florida State hopes to rebound at Boston College on Friday.
