- It's October 24, 2015.
We're at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Florida State and Georgia Tech are tied at 16,
but the ninth ranked Seminoles
are looking to end it with a 56 yard field goal.
The Yellow Jackets are two and five.
Florida State hasn't lost a regular season game since 2012.
And yet this is a huge moment.
It captures what makes college football so incredible.
One team with national title hopes.
Another hoping to prove
they're more than just a losing record.
To appreciate what comes next,
let's remember how we got here.
Let's rewind.
This episode of Rewinder is presented by
Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans, push button get mortgage.
On paper it's a little surprising
that Florida State hasn't already put this game away.
FSU is a top 10 team.
They've won 28 straight games against ACC opponents.
And they haven't lost a regular season game
since November 2012.
Plus, they've got Jimbo.
After winning a ring
as Saban's offensive coordinator at LSU,
Fisher joined Bobby Bowden's in 2007.
Bowden had led the Seminoles since 1976,
but the success they had at the start of the BCS era
felt like a eternity ago
as their offense slipped well behind the ACC.
That changed under Fisher,
so much so that when Bowden hung it up
after his 37th season, Jimbo filled his shoes.
He brought with him the lessons learned under Saban,
bolstering the defensive staff
in hopes of catching up with the offense.
By 2012, it was paying off.
FSU lost to NC State and number six Florida,
but had their first double digit win season since 2003.
A season later they completely took over.
With freshmen Jameis Winston at quarterback,
offensive weapons like Kelvin Benjamin and Devonta Freeman,
a defense that surrendered just 12 points per game
thanks to guys like
Telvin Smith, Lamarcus Joyner, and Timmy Jernigan,
Florida State tore up the rest of 2013.
Their offense never missed a beat.
Putting up 63 in a shutout of 25th ranked Maryland.
Then followed that up by destroying
number three Clemson with similar ease.
The closest anyone got was in the National Championship
when the Seminoles faced off against Auburn.
But, even aided by stolen play calls,
the Tigers couldn't best Jimbo's squad.
Their undefeated 2013 was followed up by undefeated 2014
before a New Year's day blowout by Oregon
derailed their quest for back to back championships.
And although Winston, Freeman, Benjamin, Smith,
Joyner, Jernigan, plus a whole mess of others
had left for the NFL,
the Seminoles entered the 2015 season pretty well stocked.
Everett Golson took over at quarterback
after transferring from Notre Dame.
But, the star of the show,
and arguably the reason they were undefeated
through the first half of the season,
was sophomore running back Dalvin Cook.
As a freshman in 2014,
he split carries with senior Karlos Williams,
but did much more with his share.
He followed up a one thousand yard season
by nearly matching that total
through just six games in 2015.
He was running for nearly nine yards per attempt
and heading into the matchup with Georgia Tech,
his 10 rushing scores on average covered 41 yards a piece.
Tonight while it hurt that average,
Cook scored the game's first touchdown
then crossed the thousand yard mark for the season
in just his seventh game.
He is well on the way to shattering
Warrick Dunn's school record
and, more importantly, has helped get the Seminoles
in position to win it here.
While that might not seem super impressive
given just 16 points against a two and five team,
this is actually a much tougher test
than Tech’s record makes it seem.
Each of the previous two times these schools have faced off,
it's been for the ACC championship.
Although FSU won both, they were close contests
that saw Tech battling back in the fourth
to make them one score games.
The most recent of those was just last season
when the Yellow Jackets did their best
to threaten Jimbo's playoff spot.
While they came up short,
Tech finished the year as an 11 win team.
Comfortably beating Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.
Because of that, for the first time since 2010,
they were ranked heading into the season.
Head coach Paul Johnson continued to prove his offense
was capable of making them a pain to deal with.
And once they got going, it was hard to stop.
They more than justified the preseason rank
in their first two games,
but a trip to top 10 Notre Dame began their derailment.
Cracks that been their during the preseason only got bigger.
Most of their top skill positions had either graduated
or got injured and their quarterback,
who was coming off a stellar year came down to earth.
Basically if things started to go wrong
then they could go really wrong.
The comebacks and close wins that defined them in 2014
weren't there on their five game losing streak
that began in South Bend.
Aside from a blowout by Clemson,
they did stay competitive in each game,
just didn't have the result bounce their way.
That included a last second loss one week
before this matchup with Florida State
when Pitt hit a 56 yard field goal
in the closing seconds for the win.
And now, because fate is cruel,
FSU is lining up for a 56 yarder
that would again spoil everything Tech has done.
Although they only have 16 points
to show for their efforts,
Tech has actually done a lot more
than what that number shows.
In part, because they've also done a lot of bad.
So that Cook touchdown from earlier
that was essentially a gift from the Yellow Jackets.
Confusion in the backfield led to Justin Thomas
throwing one that was easily picked by Lamarcus Brutus.
- [Announcer] That play imploded from the beginning.
Brutus with the pick.
High stepping it down the sideline.
- [Narrator] It was the second pick for Thomas,
although the first was a little less egregious
and more so just an incredible effort by Josh Sweat.
Those two plays gave FSU their first 10 points of the game.
Tech got on board thanks to
a long Harrison Butker field goal,
but their offense hadn't shown much reason to believe
they could claw out of the hole.
The fun thing about Tech's offense though
is shit can kinda happen at any time.
You feel like you're watching the same short gain
again and again and then all of a sudden.
- [Announcer] On the loose.
Justin Thomas!
Just in time touchdown!
- [Narrator] FSU notched another field goal
to make it a six point game at half,
but Thomas' touchdown run seemed to swing momentum
just enough for Tech.
In the third quarter, they hung onto the ball
for over 12 minutes.
And although they only got three points out of it,
it was enough to cut the deficit in half.
Then with eight to play,
it was their defense who stepped up
to keep their hopes alive.
FSU had marched down the field,
got 10 yards from the end zone, and then.
[Announcer] The end zone.
Popped up.
Intercepted.
- [Narrator] Not only had they forced
Golson's first interception as a Seminole,
it was the first turnover committed by
Florida State's Offense all season.
Although it didn't lead to points,
the team swapped punts and Tech had one more chance
to keep the game going.
They got the ball at their own 37 with 4:25 to play,
but were quickly faced with fourth down.
Needing five yards for Georgia Tech.
That's a slightly scary proposition.
Justin Thomas was never really asked to throw the ball much.
He averaged just 15 pass attempts per game entering tonight.
And on his career, he's never been the most accurate passer.
As evidenced in the first half,
that hadn't kept him from being a weapon with his legs,
but tonight he hardly used his arm.
Before this fourth down, he had thrown the ball
just nine times against Florida State
completing three to his team,
two to his opponent.
So, right here no one expected this.
- [Announcer] Look at the throw.
Thomas has a man open!
First down!
- It was arguably the biggest play of the night
when they needed it most.
From there, Tech was more than comfortable
killing clock and gaining five yards
to put Butker in position to tie it up.
Georgia Tech had done just enough to stay in the game.
A statement that's also true
for most of their five game losing streak,
but if they have any hope to break that streak, well.
Wait, sorry.
Can you go back a bit?
Something caught my eye.
Yeah, okay, watch this guy.
He's on the line then he backs up about five yards
and just chills there.
So okay, his name is Lance Austin.
He's a sophomore DB and actually has a twin brother,
Laurence, also on the team.
He didn't get a ton of action his first year,
appearing in just five games and finishing with 10 tackles.
So far this year it's been more of the same.
With this being his fifth game
and he's only been credited with three stops.
That said, despite the lack of playing time,
he and his brother have done enough to receive
one hell of a comparison from Tech coaches,
but through his sophomore year,
as Lance has primarily worked in a special teams capacity,
the only shoutout he's gotten for his play
has been the sort you don't want.
Okay, so, maybe I got excited for nothing.
But still, it all comes down to this.
A 56 yard field goal, which is a huge ask for anyone,
but if any school should feel confidant at this range
it's FSU and their golden-legged Roberto Aguayo.
Now, I know what you're thinking,
“Will, he's a college kicker,
that's a position only relied on for Twitter goofs.”
But Aguayo's different.
During FSU's national championship season, he was automatic.
He was perfect on all 94 of his extra point attempts,
which is just absurd and he only missed a single field goal.
Only Keenan Reynolds and Kapri Bibbs
scored more points in the NCAA that year than Aguayo,
both needing 30 rushing touchdown seasons to do so.
He easily claimed the Lou Groza award as a freshman
and in his sophomore year was a consensus All American.
Now, on top of all that,
he had proved to be especially clutch.
In his career, he hadn't missed a kick
during the fourth quarter
thanks to the offense putting games away early though,
only one of those has had to serve as the game winner
and it came from just 26 yards out against Boston College.
So, even with all the accolades already decoration Aguayo,
hitting this would just check one more box
and help solidify his place as college's best kicker.
It would give Florida State 29
straight wins against ACC opponents,
a mark that would tie their own record set in the 90s.
It would keep their quest
for a third straight unbeaten regular season alive
and it would be one more cruel twist of the knife
lodged in Georgia Tech this year.
The Yellow Jackets are left praying for a miracle
and not a second straight week losing
by a last second 56 yard field goal.
While they've fallen far
from their 11 win season a year ago,
they haven't backed down tonight.
And if they can derail Florida State's playoff chances,
they'd be doing so in front of their home crowd
on homecoming weekend.
It comes down to one last snap.
Welcome to a moment in history.
(crowd cheering)
- [Announcer] Blocked, snuffed, rubbed out, erased!
And Georgia Tech with an opportunity.
Austin still on his feet!
One man, you can't believe what just happened!
What a time to be alive!
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching.
If you haven't checked out our Rewinder
of Michael Crabtree's catch against Texas,
well, here you go.
Or to know more about Georgia Tech,
watch their beef history with Georgia.
Subscribe to SB Nation
and we'll see you soon.
(thrilling music)