(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Final: Houston 38, Florida State 24
Greg Ward Jr. and Houston Cougars pull off a great upset at the Georgia Dome. Ward passed for 238 yards and rushed for 67 more to finish the season with a 13-1 record. Sean Maguire came back in the game after getting injured early on and still threw for 392 yards in the loss and threw a fourth interception to clinch the game as the Seminoles finish 10-3 for the year. Travis Rudolph had 201 yards receiving for Florida State.
4th Quarter- Houston 38, Florida State 24: Ryan Jackson scores from two yards out with 1:59 left and the Cougars lead by two touchdowns again.
4th Quarter- 2:38 left: Florida State takes a timeout with Houston in field goal range. Ward is out of the game right now.
4th Quarter- 4:02 left: Greg Ward Jr. is hurt again and is rolling on the turf in pain.
4th Quarter– Maguire now has 341 yards passing, two touchdowns and three interceptions while Travis Rudolph has seven catches for 201 yards in the receiving game for Florida State. Greg Ward has 238 yards passing and 63 yards rushing.
4th Quarter- Houston 31, Florida State 24: Maguire finds Jesus Wilson from 14 yards out with 4:55 left to play to make it a one-possession game yet again.
4th Quarter- Houston 31, Florida State 17: Greg Ward hits Chase Allen for a 17-yard touchdown with 6:08 left to open up the lead for the Cougars. A massive score this late in the game.
4th Quarter- 6:30 left: The Cougars have third down deep in Seminoles territory looking to make it a two-score game.
4th Quarter- Houston 24, Florida State 17: A 65-yard touchdown pass from Maguire to Travis Rudolph with 11:12 left in the ballgame makes this a one-possession game late.
4th Quarter- Houston 24, Florida State 10: Ty Cummings hit a 39-yard field goal with 12:50 left to play and the lead is two touchdowns.
4th Quarter- 13:54 left: Houston tries the receiver pass again but unsuccessfully.
End of 3rd Quarter: It is an 11-point lead for Houston going into the final 15 minutes of play. Greg Ward has passed for 139 yards and has rushed for 57 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars. Sean Maguire is just 10-for-24 for 191 yards and three interceptions for Florida State. Dalvin Cook has just 33 yards rushing on 18 carries. A spirited fourth quarter is ahead.
3rd Quarter- 2:49 left: Another Maguire pass, another Houston interception. Can Ward return and get the Houston offense moving the way it was in the first half?
3rd Quarter- 4:42 left: Ward appears to be fine but Houston has to punt the ball away.
3rd Quarter- 6:05 left: Greg Ward is hurt and remained down for a while after Houston’s first play after the turnover. A very bad break potentially for Houston.
3rd Quarter- 6:20 left: Maguire gets intercepted again just as it appeared that the Seminoles were about to cut into the lead again. Houston ball on the big turnover.
3rd Quarter- 7:01 left: Houston goes for it on 4th down in Florida State territory and can’t convert. Momentum is shifting here midway through the quarter.
3rd Quarter- Houston 21, Florida State 10: Dalvin Cook scores from one yard out and Florida State is finally into the endzone with 10:18 to play in the quarter to pull within 11.
3rd Quarter- 13:47 left: Houston got the ball to begin the second half and had to punt it away.
Halftime: Houston 21, Florida State 3
The Cougars have controlled this game for the first 30 minutes. The Seminoles have been able to do close to nothing. Dalvin Cook has ten carries for 11 yards which is a huge surprise. For Houston, Greg Ward Jr. has two rushing touchdowns and 53 yards on the ground while passing for 98 yards more. This would be one of the bigger upsets in college football history if Houston can hold on to win this game.
2nd Quarter- 1:59 left: 4th-and-1 for Florida State. Huge play here.
2nd Quarter- 4:12 left: Maguire tries to go deep and gets intercepted. Can Houston score yet again before halftime?
2nd Quarter- Houston 21, Florida State 3: Greg Ward scores again, this time from six yards out and the Cougars are pounding the Seminoles right now with 4:30 to go in the quarter.
2nd Quarter- 5:24 left: Dalvin Cook fumbles and Houston is all over it. Cook has been held to nothing in the first half.
2nd Quarter- Houston 14, Florida State 3: The old wide receiver pass play works to perfection as Demarcus Ayers hits Chance Allen for a 2o-yard touchdown and the Cougars are pulling out all the stops with 6:11 left before halftime.
2nd Quarter- 8:18 left: The Seminoles have to punt and it remains a 7-3 game as Houston takes over again on offense.
2nd Quarter- 9:45 left: Sean Maguire has come out of the locker room with a heavy tape job on his ankle but appears ready to return for Florida State.
2nd Quarter- 11:32 left: The two teams trade punts and it is up to the Florida State offense now to find a way to score some points.
2nd Quarter- 14:02 left: With Ward wanting to go faster and faster, a mistake happens and it results in an interception to give Florida State great field possession.
End of 1st Quarter: The Cougars are proving so far that they belong in this game with their effort over the first 15 minutes. Greg Ward Jr. is 5-for-9 for 30 yards passing and has added a rushing touchdown and 34 yards on the ground. Before he got hurt, Sean Maguire had thrown for 133 yards for Florida State. The injury is a huge blow to the Seminoles who have to go with JJ Cosentino with Everett Golson not making the trip.
1st Quarter- Houston 7, Florida State 3: Aguayo hits a 20-yard field goal to put the Seminoles on the board with 37 seconds left in the quarter as Maguire is carted off the field to the locker room.
1st Quarter- 1:23 left: Sean Maguire gets drilled and is limping for Florida State with an left ankle/leg injury.
1st Quarter- 2:10 left: The Seminoles have drove to the ten-yard line.
1st Quarter- Houston 7, Florida State 0: Gary Ward Jr. shows why he is so dangerous with a seven-yard touchdown run with 5:17 left in the quarter and the Cougars have the early lead.
1st Quarter- 7:50 left: a 52-yard field goal by Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo comes up just short and it remains scoreless.
1st Quarter- 9:42 left: The Cougars can’t capitalize and have to punt.
1st Quarter- 12:48 left: Houston can’t get anything going themselves on offense for their first possession but a personal foul penalty on Florida State allows the Cougars to keep the ball.
1st Quarter- 13:32 left: Florida State gets the ball to start but the Houston defense forces a punt.
Pregame
The New Year’s Six has arrived on this New Year’s Eve and the first game of the day is the Peach Bowl as the 12-1 Houston Cougars face the 10-2 Florida State Seminoles at the Georgia Dome. Sean Maguire will be under center for Florida State with Everett Golson not with the team anymore. Dalvin Cook has been a beast and on a fast track could be hard to stop for the Seminoles. The Cougars has a dual-threat quarterback in Greg Ward Jr. who should give Florida State a lot of issues in both the pass and run game. Kickoff is scheduled for just after noon Eastern time.
