Fsu Cooks Gators Well-Dunn Senior Running Back Lifts Seminoles Past Florida 24-21, Into Sugar Bowl

The goal posts were gone, and so was a good portion of the Doak Campbell Stadium turf.

Just an hour earlier, thousands of fans poured out of the stands and celebrated No. 2 Florida State’s 24-21 win over No. 1 Florida.

And out of the south end zone came Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who surveyed the scene as he walked across the field.

It seemed as if he was making his own personal victory march.

“It’s just nearly too good to be true that you can end up with a 1-2 and win that darned thing in front of our home fans,” Bowden said after his Seminoles (11-0) completed a perfect season and set themselves up to win the national title in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans on Jan. 2.

It was Warrick Dunn who was too good for the Gators (10-1). Dunn ran for a career-best 185 yards and Pooh Bear Williams scored on two short TD runs in the 31st meeting between teams ranked 1-2.

“Warrick was sensational,” Florida coach Steve Spurrier, now 2-5-1 against the Seminoles, said. “He won the game for them, probably. We knew we had to slow him down and didn’t do a very good job of it.”

The Seminoles, meanwhile, slowed down the high-powered Gators, who came into the game leading the nation at 49.3 points per game. Danny Wuerffel, who needed a good game to enhance his Heisman Trophy hopes, was 23 of 48 for 362 yards, three TDs and three interceptions. He was sacked six times.

“It seemed like we confused them,” FSU’s defensive end Reinard Wilson said. “The inside guys came to play football and I think they didn’t expect that.”

In completing their second perfect regular season, the Seminoles should move into the No. 1 ranking next week, which ensures a spot in the Sugar Bowl. A win in New Orleans would give them their second national title in the past four years.

“It will be a fairy tale end to my career to play in the Sugar Bowl,” said Dunn, from Baton Rouge, La., “That was one of my goals when I decided to stay for my senior year.”

If No. 4 Nebraska beats Texas in the Big 12 title game on Saturday, the Seminoles would play the Cornhuskers in New Orleans.

The Gators, who were shooting for a rematch against the Huskers after last year’s 62-24 loss in the Fiesta Bowl, play No. 15 Alabama in the SEC title game on Saturday, needing a win to get into the Orange Bowl as one of the bowl alliance teams.

But even though Wuerffel threw three first-half interceptions, he didn’t quit. He led the Gators back from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit.

“He nearly single-handedly beat us,” Bowden said. “We had everybody else taken care on their football team. Our rush was just too much.”

Led by nose guard Andre Wadsworth and safety Shevin Smith, the Seminoles were all over Wuerffel, forcing him to throw on the run and sending him to the ground after passes at least a dozen more times.

After a scoreless third quarter, and with FSU nursing a 17-14 lead, Williams capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard TD surge with 7:15 left to give the Seminoles breathing room. Dunn had an 18-yard run to the Gators 1 on the game-winning drive.

“It was really a key that we were able to run the ball,” said Dunn as 183 of the Seminoles’ 317 total yards came on the ground. “The coaches said that if we could do that, it would open some things up.”

Turns out they needed the cushion. Wuerffel’s 2-yard TD pass to Reidel Anthony (11 catches for 193 yards) with 1:19 left cut the margin to three points, but the ensuing onside kick by Matt Teague went out of bounds.

Dunn then ripped off a 14-yard run for a first down and that allowed FSU to run out the clock.

“I feel like this was the national championship,” FSU defensive end Greg Spiers said.