Florida State 30, UNC 27

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina had hoped to make an impact in its first Thursday night showcase on ESPN but not like this.

A second-half meltdown, squandering an 18-point lead, cost the Tar Heels a chance to make a big splash on national television and their third straight ACC game. Florida State rallied to beat the Heels 30-27 at Kenan Stadium and end a three-game losing streak.

UNC insisted all week the "old" Florida State would show up on Thursday, and the vintage Seminoles finally did, but not until the closing minutes of the third quarter. Down 24-6, the Noles scored a pair of touchdowns in a 91-second span, including a 98-yard TD reception by receiver Rod Owens.

A 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Christian Ponder, who threw for 395 yards and three scores, to tight end Beau Reliford gave FSU (3-4, 1-3 ACC) its first lead of the game, 30-27, at 6:20 in the fourth quarter.

"We have a lot of fight in us and we're never going to give up," said Ponder, who completed 33 of 40 passes and did not throw an interception.

UNC (4-3, 0-3) got one last shot, with 47 seconds left, but UNC quarterback T.J. Yates was sacked at midfield on the final play of the game. Against the ACC's worst-rated pass defense, and 102nd nationally, Yates threw for 64 yards and was sacked three times.

The way the game started, it looked like the night would be a home run for UNC and coach Butch Davis, who urged campus officials to schedule a Thursday night home game. The Heels, in matching navy jerseys and pants, looked like a different team and played like one, too, in the first half.

They used their bye week to dig into the playbook, confusing the error-prone Seminoles with a halfback pass by Bobby Rome and an unconventional formation to spring tight end Ed Barham for a touchdown.

Receiver Greg Little ran for 48 yards and a touchdown in a new wrinkle to what had been the ACC's worst-rated offense. Rejuvenated by the return from injury of left guard Jonathan Cooper and tight Zack Pianalto, however briefly, UNC's offense played with renewed efficiency. They scored on the first possession of each half.

Their 80-yard drive on the game's first possession was a marked difference from the three-and-out performances against to start ACC losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Rome's 31-yard pass to Little set up Little's 5-yard touchdown run on an end-around. A key block by Pianalto who had been out since Sept. 12 with a dislocated right foot, sprung Little into the end zone.

Pianalto got knocked out of the game with a head injury after UNC's second series, but the Heels still found room in their offense for the tight end. Barham, lined up as the left tackle, ran free down the middle of FSU's defense for a 13-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead for UNC at the end of the first quarter.

On Barham's touchdown, left tackle Kyle Jolly lined up split wide in a "trips" set with two receivers.

"We got off to a great start," Davis said."I don't think that our football team got complacent. We had just way too many penalties in the second half."

The Heels were called for seven penalties, none more costly than a holding call on tight end Christian Wilson wiped out an 81-yard touchdown catch by Jheranie Boyd. Instead of a 24-3 lead, UNC took a 17-6 advantage to the half.

FSU, which started 0-3 in the ACC for the first time since joining the league in 1992, was flagged nine times for 70 yards in an error-filled first half and 16 times for 122 yards in the game.

The Noles had a 60-yard catch by receiver Jarmon Fortson nullified by a pass interference call. That was just the most conspicuous of FSU's penalties but an offsides call moved up a 39-yard field goal attempt by Casey Barth, who has missed from 32 and 38 this season, by five yards.

On the final possession of the first half, FSU had first-and-goal from the 3-yard line but ended up at the 14-yard line after a delay of game penalty and a busted running play by Ponder.

The momentum swung to FSU's favor when safety Jamie Robinson intercepted UNC quarterback T.J. Yates at FSU's 2-yard line at 4:53 in the third quarter. After a delay of game penalty, Ponder hit Fortson on a streak down the right sideline. UNC corner Charlie Brown fell down on the route and then missed the tackle near midfield.

A 40-yard field goal by FSU kicker Dustin Hopkins sliced UNC's lead to 24-23.

Barth added a 26-yard field goal at 7:27 in the fourth, to give UNC a 27-23 lead, after Shaun Draughn gained 50 of his 126 yards on the drive, but the Heels couldn't manufacture one more scoring drive.

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