By BRENT KALLESTAD
Associated Press Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Chris Rix shook off two interceptions to run for one touchdown and pass for another in the final 7:09 as No. 10 Florida State beat Georgia Tech 14-13 on Saturday night.
Rix’s 5-yard touchdown pass to P.K. Sam, and Xavier Beitia’s extra points kick put Florida State ahead with 2:57 left.
The Seminoles (3-0, 3-0 ACC) averted their first home shutout in coach Bobby Bowden’s 28 seasons when Rix scored on a 3-yard run with 7:09 left to pull to within 13-7.
Georgia Tech’s P.J. Daniels ran 47 yards for touchdown and Dan Burnett kicked two field goals as the Yellow Jackets built a 13-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter in hopes of pulling off their second big upset in as many weeks.
Daniels finished with 113 yards on 19 carries for Georgia Tech (1-2, 0-1 ACC), which defeated Auburn 17-3 last week.
Georgia Tech freshman quarterback Reggie Ball, who was sacked six times, threw a pass that was intercepted by Pat Watkins at the Seminoles 20 with 29 seconds left to seal the victory.
The Yellow Jackets had Florida State bamboozled most of the first half, running 42 plays to only 15 for the Seminoles. Tech had the ball for 23:06, compared to Florida State’s 6:54.
But Georgia Tech lost a great scoring opportunity in the first quarter when it failed to score on four running plays from the Florida State two.
Florida State’s lone first down in the half came on a penalty.
Florida State fumbled on the first play of the game, a 16-yard reverse run by Craphanso Thorpe that accounted for all but 10 of its yards by halftime.
Reuben Houston’s leaping interception of Rix’s pass intended for Thorpe in the end zone snuffed out the Seminoles first scoring threat of the game early in the fourth quarter and set up Daniels scoring run – the first touchdown allowed this seasons by Florida State.
Dawan Landry’s interception of a Rix pass ended Florida State’s first offensive threat of the game early in the third quarter.
Burnett’s field goals – covering 35 and 45 yards – gave Georgia Tech a 6-0 halftime lead as Florida State fans booed the Seminoles off the field at the break.
The victory leaves Florida State coach Bobby Bowden as the most winning coach in ACC play with 86 career conference victories, one more than former Virginia coach George Welsh. Florida State is 12-0 against Georgia Tech since joining the league in 1992.
Bowden, second on the Division I-A victory list, has 335 – just two less than Penn State’s Joe Paterno.
