Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State Celebrates Too Hard For The Stage After Win

Florida State Vs. Notre Dame, 2011 Champs Sports Bowl: Seminoles Roll Off 18 Unanswered Points For Comeback Win

After falling behind 14-0 mid way through the third quarter, the Florida State Seminoles reeled off 18 unanswered points to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and win the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. It had been a sluggish and slow moving game until the Noles managed to capitalize on Notre Dame turnovers to explode for two quick touchdowns at the start of the final quarter.

FSU cut it to 14-9 when E.J. Manuel hit Bert Reed for an 18 yard touchdown. A two point conversion failed but the Noles would get it right back when Nigel Bradham picked off a pass by Irish quarterback Andrew Hendrix. Just two plays later, Manuel would find Rashad Greene in the seam for the go-ahead score. Manuel placed it perfectly over the head of ND linebacker Dan Fox as the faster Greene beat him to the end zone and pulled it down.

On their third possession of the quarter, Manuel would lead a nine play, 71 yard drive that resulted in a Dustin Hopkins field goal to give FSU a four point lead. After a Notre Dame punt pinned FSU inside their one yard line, the Noles were forced to punt from the back of their end zone and gave the Irish one last chance with great field position at the FSU 28 after a facemask. But the Irish would turn it over once again, as Tommy Rees heaved it into double coverage in the end zone. Terrence Brooks easily picked it off and FSU would run the clock down to less than thirty seconds.

It was an amazing comeback in a bowl game that had a BCS atmosphere. The 18 unanswered points were a great way for Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles to end the season.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog. For more on every Bowl Game, check out SB Nation's College Football hub.

Florida State Vs. Notre Dame, Champs Sports Bowl 2011 Score Update: Fighting Irish Lead 14-3 After Three Quarters

After three quarters at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lead the Florida State Seminoles 14-3 in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Irish added their second touchdown of the night on a high fade pass from quarterback Tommy Rees to Michael Floyd. The Notre Dame wide receiver went up and beat the undersized Greg Reid to the ball - but not before Reid got his hands on it. Floyd was able to corral the bobbled ball and hang on for the 14-0 lead. Reid took a nasty fall on the play and appeared to injure his neck. He was alert and walking on the sidelines.

On the ensuing kickoff, FSU kick returner Lamarcus Joyner took it back 77 yards to the Notre Dame 21 yard line. The offense, which has been woeful all night, immediately stalled right there and the Noles would have to settle for a 42 yard field goal. They head to the fourth quarter down 14-3 but driving for a touchdown which would cut it to four.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog. For more on every Bowl Game, check out SB Nation's College Football hub.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Notre Dame, Florida State Play Scoreless Second Quarter

Defense dominated the first half of the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on Thursday night as an early first quarter touchdown by Notre Dame's Zeke Motta off a fumble by Florida State's Devonta Freeman proved to be the only scoring. The Fighting Irish lead the Seminoles 7-0 at halftime.

The second quarter was an little more than a frequent exchange of punts and Notre Dame's front seven frequently getting clean shots on Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel, standing behind an inexperienced offensive line.

Manuel finished the half 9-15 for 95 yards, but he accounted for just about all of the Seminoles offense. The Florida State run game was stifled and held to just nine total rushing yards in the half. Freeman is the leading rusher with 13 yards on two carries.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, fared just as poorly on offense. Quarterback Tommy Rees was just 5-10 for 41 yards and an interception in the half. Leading rusher Cierre Wood has just 16 yards on two attempts.

For the half, Florida State outgained Notre Dame 104-91, putting this game on pace to be a real defensive slugfest in the second half.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Notre Dame Continues To Lead Florida State

After Zeke Motta's fumble return for a touchdown gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter of the Champs Sports Bowl on Thursday night, the two teams settled in for the rest of the quarter, exchanging punts while the Fighting Irish continued to maintain their 7-point advantage.

Notre Dame's David Ruffer missed a 48-yard field goal toward the end of the quarter.

Quarterback Tommy Rees leads Notre Dame in passing early with 26 yards and an interception on 3-5 passing. Cierre Wood is pacing the ground attack with 16 yards on eight carries while tight end Tyler Eifert has 26 yards on a pair of receptions.

Quarterback E.J. Manuel leads the Seminoles passing game with seven yards on 1-4 passing. Devonta Freeman leads the running game with11 yards on one attempt.

For the game, Notre Dame has outgained Florida State, 69-18.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Notre Dame Takes Early 7-0 Lead

The Champs Sports Bowl between Notre Dame and Florida is off to a frantic start at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

The Fighting Irish forced a stop on the Seminoles' first drive of the game off of the opening kickoff, then got a 41-yard punt return from Michael Floyd into Florida State territory. An interception by Notre Dame's Tommy Rees, however, ended a promising Irish drive that had advanced to the Seminoles' 4-yardline.

When Florida State got the ball back, however, Devonta Freeman fumbled and Notre Dame's Zeke Motta picked it up and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. The score put the Irish up by a score of 7-0 with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Florida State Vs. Notre Dame, 2011 Champs Sports Bowl: Time, Location, History And More

The Champs Sports Bowl is finally here, and the Florida State Seminoles will try to defend their home state against the visiting Irish of Notre Dame on Wednesday night in Orlando. The Seminoles should have a pretty large homefield advantage, as they are located about 250 miles away from the game location while Notre Dame fans will have to travel just shy of 1,000 miles to see their team in person.

Here is more information on where and when you can find the game.

Game Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. ET

Location: Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida

TV: ESPN / ESPN 3D / ESPN3

History: Florida State is 2-0 in three appearances. This is Notre Dame's first trip to the Champs Sports Bowl.

Radio: ESPN Radio

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog. For more on every Bowl Game, check out SB Nation's College Football hub.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Fun Facts About Brian Kelly, Florida State's Bowl Streak

The Florida State Seminoles and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off in the Champs Sports Bowl on Thursday night in Orlando. But before that game, we have some fun factoids from ESPN. First, a note on the Irish and head coach's Brian Kelly impressive accomplishment.

Brian Kelly is trying to become the first Notre Dame coach to win bowl games in each of his first two seasons as the Irish's coach. (Notre Dame did not play in bowls from 1926-68 because of a self-imposed ban but have played in 30 bowl games all time.)

Then about Florida State, who has the longest active Bowl Streak in the Nation by far, sort of.

Florida State is appearing in a bowl game for the 30th straight season, the longest active FBS streak. (The NCAA does not, however, recognize the Seminoles' 2006 Emerald Bowl appearance, which was vacated because of sanctions.) Florida (21), Virginia Tech (19), Georgia (15) and Georgia Tech (15) have the next longest streaks.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Irish Preparing For Tough Seminoles Defense

Notre Dame will face a tough test going up the Florida State defense in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 29 and the Fighting Irish coaching staff knows it as Justin Kenny of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinal reports.

"They don't stay blocked," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said about Florida State's defensive line. "You may catch them for a second, but they keep their feet moving. It's a very athletic group."

...

"They are well-coached up front," Kelly said. "They have a very good scheme in the sense that they don't ask them to do too much, they ask them to get after the football."

The Seminoles are ranked No. 4 nationally in points allowed per game at 15.2. They also gave up the fewest total yards, passing yards and rushing yards in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2011 while picking off 13 passes. Making matters even worse for Notre Dame, Florida State was tops in its conference in punting average at 47.0 yards per punt this season, meaning opponents frequently started in a big field position hole before even trying to navigate the Seminoles' defense.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: FSU's Jermaine Thomas Academically Ineligible

When the Florida State Seminoles take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, they'll do so without senior running back Jermaine Thomas, whose career in garnet and gold has ended in disappointment due to academic ineligibility. "He didn't pass a class, so he will not be in the bowl game," coach Jimbo Fisher said Wednesday, according to Coley Harvey of the Orlando Sentinel. "A shame for a senior."

Thomas gained 279 yards on 61 carries for the Seminoles in 2011, scoring just one touchdown. The 2011 campaign marked a sharp decline in productivity for the Jacksonville native, who ran for 15 touchdowns in his previous two seasons combined. As Harvey notes, Thomas gave way to freshman Devonta Freeman and senior Ty Jones in 2011. Freeman led Florida State with 531 rushing yards and eight scores.

Kickoff for the Champs Sports Bowl is set for 5:30 Eastern on Dec. 29.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's FSU blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Orange Bowl 2012: Prep Time Gives Coaches A Chance To Tweak Playbook

The Orange Bowl is starting to appear on the horizon, but there is still plenty of time left for the coaches of West Virginia and Clemson time to make some adjustments to their playbooks, according to Dave Hickman of the Charleston Gazette.

"You've got 12 games worth of film, so you can figure out kind of what you're up against,'' Holgorsen said. "Sometimes coaches make the mistake of having too much time on their hands and coming up with stuff they think will work. But both these coaching staffs are pretty professional and both are pretty good at what they do, so I think we're going to know what to expect from each other."

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will use the time the same way, but he mostly just wants to identify what things they did throughout the season that worked and using them, instead of trying to install some new packages.

"I think after 13 games you are who you are,'' Swinney said. "You've got a little more time so you probably do a little more self-evaluation and each team will look at their tendencies and try to break some of those things. But at the end of the day you are who you are and it's about execution and making the fewest mistakes. That's usually the team that has a chance to win it.''

Two Seminole Football Players Arrested, Suspended From Team

Linebacker Arrington Jenkins and cornerback Avis Commack have both been suspended from the Florida State Seminoles after being arrested for separate incidents of theft. Both will likely miss the Champ Sports Bowl.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Notre Dame Preparing Without Charley Molnar

As Notre Dame prepares for its Champs Sports Bowl matchup with Florida State on Dec. 29, its doing so without offensive coordinator Charley Molnar, who has accepted the head coaching position at Massachusetts.

The Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton reports people around the program are pitching in to help in his absence.

Charley is going to focus strictly on the job he has at U-Mass," Irish coach Brian Kelly said Monday, speaking for the last time before arrival in Orlando later this week. "It's difficult sometimes – you want to try to do both. I've been in that situation and it's not easy.

"Having said that, we've all picked up the slack. I'm coaching the quarterbacks on a day-to-day  basis and all of our staff has picked up the organization of the offense. (Ed) Warinner has a background in coordinating, so he's been of great assistance, and Tim Hinton and Mike Denbrock and Tony Alford, everybody has pitched in."

Molnar guided Notre Dame's offense to a No. 43 ranking nationally in points per game with 30.5. His offense was also ranked No. 51 in rushing yards per game at 166.0 and No. 33 in passing yards at 258.1. Without him, the Fighting Irish will be going up a stingy Seminoles defense that allowed the fourth-fewest points per game in the country at 15.2.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's Florida State blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Champs Sports Bowl Odds 2011: Florida State Narrowly Favored Against Notre Dame

The Florida State Seminoles (8-4) take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-4) in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, and do so as narrow favorites, according to SB Nation's NCAA football odds page. The two outlets to have already set their lines have the 'Noles as narrow favorites against the Irish, with another outlet setting the over-under at 45 points.

Second-year coach Jimbo Fisher will aim to make it two-for-two in bowl victories at Florida State, as his squad prevailed over the South Carolina Gamecocks, 26-17, in the 2010 Chick-Fil-A Bowl. The Irish are also coming off a bowl victory, having sent the Miami Hurricanes to a 33-17 defeat in the 2010 Sun Bowl. Notre Dame raced out to a 27-0 lead before easing off in that game.

The 2011 Champs Sports Bowl will be the seventh meeting between Florida State and Notre Dame, and the first since 2003. The Seminoles lead the all-time series, 4-2. In addition, the 2011 game will be the second bowl matchup between the two schools; Florida State defeated Notre Dame, 31-26, in the 1996 Orange Bowl.

Kickoff for the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl is set for 5:30 Eastern on Thursday, Dec. 29 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. ESPN will have the call.

For more on the Seminoles, please visit Tomahawk Nation, SB Nation's Florida State blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Indiana and One Foot Down, SB Nation's Notre Dame blog.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: 'Are You Kidding Me?' Edition

The Florida State Seminoles missed out on the Chik-fil-A Bowl? I'm going to rant. Excuse me.

Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Florida State Will Face Notre Dame, According To Reports

According to reports, the Florida State Seminoles will face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.

Bowl Projections 2011: Florida State Seminoles Likely For Champs Sports Bowl

It was always a long shot, but it looks like the fates have aligned to give Florida fans a dream bowl scenario. Three local bowls, three local teams. The FIU Golden Panthers have already accepted an invitation to the Beef O’Brady Bowl in St. Petersburg, and since the Clemson Tigers finished off Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship last night, it looks like the Florida State Seminoles should have a clear path to the Champ Sports Bowl in Orlando.

Going into yesterday, there was a possibility that the Seminoles could get snapped up by the Chik-fil-A Bowl in order to prevent them from having the same Clemson/Auburn matchup in their bowl game and New Years Kickoff Classic. But now it seems likely that Virginia Tech will get the nod for the Chik-fil-A Bowl, leaving FSU to fall down the ranks and get picked up by the local Champ Sports Bowl.

The group running the Champ Sports Bowl has made it clear that they would love to pick the Seminoles as one of their teams. Their other affiliation is with the Big East, but due to the lack of attractive options from the Big East this year, they are expected to pick the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the other half of the matchup.

The official announcement will be at 9pm Sunday night. For breaking updates on this story tonight, follow SB Nation Tampa Bay on Twitter.