ATLANTA -- EJ Manuel threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to stop a South Carolina rally and lead Florida State to a 26-17 victory over the turnover-plagued Gamecocks in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Friday night.
Chris Thompson ran for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals for the No. 23 Seminoles (10-4), who reached 10 wins for the first time since 2003. Hopkins tied his own school record for a bowl, and the four field goals also matched the Chick-fil-A Bowl record.
Manuel took over for senior quarterback Christian Ponder, who left early in the second quarter with a concussion. No. 19 South Carolina lost running back Marcus Lattimore when he was hit hard on the Gamecocks' first drive.
South Carolina (9-5), which was seeking its first 10-win season since 1984, committed five turnovers. Stephen Garcia threw three first-half interceptions, and Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery lost fumbles to leave the Gamecocks trailing 16-3 in the third quarter.
Garcia recovered to lead two long touchdown drives that trimmed Florida State's lead to 19-17 before Manuel answered with the 7-yard scoring pass to Taiwan Easterling.
Florida State cornerback Greg Reid, whose hits caused the fumbles by Lattimore and Jeffery, deflected a fourth-down pass by Garcia with 3:23 remaining. Reid was named defensive MVP of the game.
Garcia completed 19 of 34 passes for 243 yards and also scored on a nifty play in the third quarter. On a third-down play from the Florida State 3, Garcia threw a screen pass to Ace Sanders, who threw back across the field to Garcia alone in the right side of the end zone.
The Seminoles answered with Hopkins' fourth field goal, from 45 yards, to push the lead to nine. Hopkins also kicked four field goals in the Seminoles' Gator Bowl win over West Virginia to end the 2009 season.
Garcia responded by leading a 79-yard drive, capped by Brian Maddox's 7-yard TD run that made it 19-17. Garcia helped set up the score with a 29-yard pass to Jeffery, who caught nine passes for 130 yards.
Reid's hit on Lattimore knocked the freshman out of the game with an injury announced as a cut to his mouth. But South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said after the game that Lattimore also had "a little bit of a concussion" and was taken to a hospital.
Linebacker Kendall Smith picked up the fumble after Reid's hit and returned it 46 yards as Lattimore remained on his back. Trainers hurried off the sideline to surround Lattimore before the play ended. He was helped off the field and had an ice pack on his chin for the Gamecocks' next possession.
The lost fumble was the first of Lattimore's career.
Ponder started in his return from a right elbow injury but appeared to be less than full strength. He badly underthrew a fourth-down pass from the South Carolina 2-yard line early in the second quarter, and Manuel took over on the Seminoles' next possession.
Ponder may have suffered the concussion when he was hit on the play before his fourth-down incompletion. He missed the ACC championship game with the elbow injury.
