Florida St. has the win knocked out of it

The play designed to give Florida State a last-minute comeback win worked just as Coach Bobby Bowden expected -- until Marcus Sims lost the ball.

Sims fumbled into the end zone to finish No. 16 Florida State’s comeback hopes in the final minute, and Georgia Tech beat the Seminoles, 31-28, on Saturday.

“It could have been one of the greatest comebacks, but we fumbled it,” Bowden said.

Florida State trailed 24-10 in the first half and 31-20 before scoring with 6:04 left.

Georgia Tech safety Cooper Taylor’s helmet-to-football hit popped the ball loose on Sims’ second-down run from the three. Rashaad Reid recovered it with 45 seconds left, beating Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder and others in the fight for the ball.

“It was the last play of the game. We either had to stop them right there [or lose],” Taylor said. “I’m in shock right now.”

The Seminoles were shocked they lost after coming so close to a win.

“We were definitely excited,” Ponder said. “We were pretty confident we would go in and score.”

Sims was not available for postgame interviews. “I told him it could happen to any of us, to keep his head up,” Ponder said. “He was pretty upset.”

Georgia Tech fans poured onto the field after the game to celebrate the Yellow Jackets’ first victory over Florida State since 1975. The win revived the ACC title game hopes for Georgia Tech (7-2 overall, 4-2 ACC).

Florida State (6-2 overall, 3-2 ACC) saw its winning streak end at four games.