Jameis Winston, Florida State rally to beat Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With a never-ending stream of controversy surrounding it and in a 21-0 hole on a Thursday night, it looked like the Florida State Seminoles had finally run out of magic and miracles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Nope.

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, on one good ankle, led the Seminoles all the way back in a 42-31 victory over the upset-minded Cardinals on Thursday night.

"We had our game plan and we adjusted on the run," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. "And we made plays. It was a great win."

The reigning Heisman winner threw for 401 yards and three second-half touchdowns, the final one on a third-down play-action pass to fullback Freddie Stevenson for 35 yards and FSU extended its winning streak to 24 consecutive games.

Against the No. 1 defense in the country, which came in allowing less than 270 yards per game, the Seminoles racked up 574 yards (including 374 in the second half) and 42 points to stun a Louisville crowd that thought it was watching history end.

Instead, FSU's historic run continued.

And Winston, seemingly as always, deserved plenty of credit.

"He's an amazing player," Fisher said.

"He's a special player. But there are a lot of them in that locker room. There's a lot of special players."

They were all needed since nothing seemed to go right for Jimbo Fisher's team early.

The Seminoles gave up a 71-yard pass on the first play. They allowed three touchdowns in the second quarter alone, two of which came after Winston interceptions.

Florida State even had some bad luck on Thursday night. It didn't matter -- probably much to the chagrin of some nationally.

"We know everybody wants us to lose," cornerback P.J. Williams said. "We know we're the team that everybody hates. We like the fact everyone wants us to lose."

Trailing 21-0 with two minutes left in the first half, Winston led the Seminoles on a 78-yard drive in six plays. Senior running back Karlos Williams fumbled on third down, but the ball scooted into the end zone and was recovered by tight end Nick O'Leary to cut the Cardinals' lead to 14 points.

Then, on the first play of the second half, Winston was intercepted by Louisville's Gerod Holliman (his second of the game and 10th of the season) at midfield but the reigning Heisman winner sped up field and forced a fumble that was recovered by FSU receiver Travis Rudolph.

The good luck was for naught though as Williams was stopped on third-and-one and fourth-and-one at midfield. Louisville converted the fourth-down stop into a 33-yard field goal and a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter.

Winston, as he has done so many times in his career, answered back with a touchdown to get the Seminoles right back into the game – finding Rudolph on a 68-yard touchdown pass with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

After the Florida State defense forced a Louisville punt, Dalvin Cook went to work to cut into the lead even more. The true freshman running back caught three straight passes for 34 yards and then burst around left end for a 40-yard touchdown run with 6:17 left in the third quarter.

What had been a 17-point Louisville lead was down to three in less than four minutes of game time.

After another hold by the FSU defense, the Seminoles had a chance to take the lead or tie the game on a drive late in the third quarter. They did neither.

A Winston TD throw to O'Leary in the corner of the end zone was nullified on a holding call, Rashad Greene couldn't come down with a pass at the Louisville 2 and then Roberto Aguayo missed a 41-yard field goal to the right.

It was just the second miss of his career. And it was a big one.

But the Seminoles weren't done anyway.

After another stop from the FSU defense, which played exponentially better in the second half, Winston found freshman Ermon Lane for a 47-yard TD – a play in which the All-American QB somehow threaded the ball in between three Louisville defenders and the freshman receiver sprinted past another defensive back and dove into the end zone.

It was the third straight touchdown by a Seminole true freshman in the second half.

But the lead was short-lived.

Louisville answered back with a 77-yard drive, highlighted by a 51-yard pass to star receiver DaVante Parker (eight catches, 214 yards) in which cornerback Ronald Darby looked to be shoved in the back, and the Cardinals retook the lead 31-28.

They didn't score again. But Winston and the Seminoles certainly did.

First, Cook sped around left end for a go-ahead, 38-yard touchdown run and then after another hold from the FSU defense Winston found Stevenson in the flat to ice the win.

It wasn't easy. Not much has been for this team in 2014. But the Seminoles are now 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC.

And oh yeah, the streak is still going. Somehow. Someway.

Corey Clark writes for the Tallahassee Democrat, a Gannett affiliate.