| 06 October 2011
With a 23-5-1 all-time record for Wake Forest – the Florida State Seminoles have enjoyed much success versus the Demon Deacons. Today we re-visit some of the greatest individual performances by a Seminole versus Saturday’s opponent, Wake Forest.
The 1995 game versus the Demon Deacons was the most points scored by FSU in the series with a final score of 72-13. As a team – the 1995 game holds three games highs versus Wake Forest with 748 yards of total offense, 410 rushing yards, and 54 rushing attempts. I am sure the Seminoles fans would not mind a revisit of 1995. The – then – Junior running back Warrick Dunn produced, what was at the time, the third best rushing game ever versus Wake Forest by gaining 112 yards on 11 carries. (Today it is the 5th best) The starting Quarterback in this game, Danny Kanell was 28-of-36 for 342 yards which currently sits as the 5th best performance versus Wake Forest all-time.
Even with the massacre that was 1995 – the top rushing performance ever versus Wake Forest came two years prior in 1993 by freshman running back Warrick Dunn – some say he was pretty good. Dunn rushed the ball just 8 times in the game, for an amazing 162 yards in the 52-0 win. Also in this game, running back Sean Jackson rushed 16 times for 116 yards which was the 2nd best, at the time, and still stands as 4th best overall. This was the 8th game of the year for the Seminoles – and the 4th shutout. The oddest aspect of all out of this game? The attendance was 66,666.
As you can tell, the Seminoles have enjoyed much success on the ground versus Wake Forest – some of which they hope, somehow, has been bottled up for this coming Saturday. What about through the air?
The most passing yards in a game versus Wake Forest came in 1997 when Thad Busby, Dan Kendra, and Chris Weinke combined for 506 passing yards. Thad Busby’s game – who was the starter – still sits at the top of greatest passing performances versus the Demon Deacons. Busby was 27-of-35 for 390 yards and 4 touchdowns. E.G. Green, who is the Uncle of current FSU wide receiver Christian Green, alongside Melvin Pearsall still ranks as two of top 5 receiving performances all-time versus the Demon Deacons. E.G. Green had 7 receptions for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Melvin Pearsall caught 4 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Of note in this game, Sophomore wide receiver Peter Warrick had 7 receptions for 93 yards, fellow Sophomore wide receiver Laveranues Coles had 4 receptions for 40 yards, and the aforementioned Dan Kendra lead the team in rushing with 5 rushes for 13 yards.
Of more recent note, in 2009 the then redshirt Freshman Quarterback E.J. Manuel made his first career start versus Wake Forest in the 41-28 win. Manuel was a solid 15-of-20 for 220 yards on the road – but was aided by running back Jermaine Thomas who produced the 2nd best rushing performance all-time versus Wake with 25 rushes for 149 yards and a touchdown. Some of the guys who will play Saturday also played in this game in 2009, including Ty Jones (4 rushes – 21 yards), Lonnie Pryor (1 rush – 3 yards), Bert Reed (5 receptions – 81 yards), Beau Reliford (1 reception – 12 yards), Rodney Smith (1 reception – 7 yards), Greg Reid (68 yard punt return – TD), Dustin Hopkins (47 and 42 yard FGs), Nigel Bradham (9 tackles), Brandon Jenkins (4 tackles), Nick Moody (3 tackles), and Everette Dawkins (1 tackle).
TOP 5 PERFORMANCES:
Rushing:
- Warrick Dunn: 8-162 (1993)
- Jermaine Thomas: 25-149 (2009)
- Nick Maddox: 19-122 (2002)
- Sean Jackson: 16-116 (1993)
- Warrick Dunn: 11-112 (1995)
Receiving:
- Greg Carr: 3-129 (2005)
- E.G. Green: 6-126 (1996)
- Snoop Minnis: 6-122 (2000)
- E.G. Green: 7-120 (1997)
- Melvin Pearsall: 4-114 (1997)
Passing:
- Thad Busby: 27-35 390 yards 4 TDs (1997)
- Chris Weinke: 19-36 354 yards 2 TDs (1999)
- Drew Weatherford: 20-31 351 yards 3 TDs (2005)
- Chris Rix: 16-21 345 yards 3 TDs (2001)
- Danny Kanell: 28-36 342 yards 5 TDs (1996)
Team Bests:
- Total Offense: 748 (1995)
- Rushing Yards: 410 (1995)
- Rushing Attempts: 54 (1995)
- Passing Yards: 506 (1997)
- Passing Attempts: 53 (1997)
- Pass Completions: 36 (1997)
Most Points Scored:
- 1995: 72
- 1997: 58
- 1994: 56
- 1993: 54
- 2001: 48
Most Points Scores – Half:
- 1994: 42
- 2001: 42
- 1995: 41
- 1997: 38
- 1993: 34
Fewest Points Allowed:
- 1963,1965,1966, 1993, 2010: 0
- 2000: 6
Most Points Scored – Away:
- 1994: 56-14 W
OF NOTE:
- FSU Punter Shawn Powell’s best punting average came versus Wake Forest in 2009 – 54.5 yards per punt
- FSU kicker Dustin Hopkins – who has successfully kicked 102 consecutive PAT’s – is just 6 shy of tying the school-record of 108 by Derek Schmidt. The ACC record is 160, set by Georgia Tech’s Luke Manget.
- Dustin Hopkins has also recorded a touchback in 24 consecutive games going into Saturday.
- The last time FSU recorded 10 or more sacks came back in 1997 – and it came against Wake Forest.
- Freshman Wide Receiver Rashad Green has caught a touchdown pass in each of the first four game for the Seminoles
- Since Jimbo Fisher’s arrival as FSU, the Seminoles averaged 12 points per game versus Wake in the first two meetings – and have averaged 35.5 points per game since.
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