Football: FSU quarterback Ponder rips apart UNC secondary

Twelve seconds.

That’s all Florida State needed to march 98 yards on the ACC’s top-ranked pass defense Thursday night.

Pinned against their own 2-yard line, the Seminoles decided to air it out and test the vaunted UNC defensive unit.

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder lofted a perfect pass to Rod Owens — who streaked past North Carolina’s secondary for the longest passing touchdown ever in Kenan Stadium.

Bright lights and ESPN cameras aside, North Carolina had another opportunity to flex potential muscles — the Tar Heels brought the No. 1 defense in the ACC to bear against Ponder and the No. 1 offense in the conference.

With that intriguing statistical matchup, it was apparent that something had to give.

And Ponder’s 98-yard score was an emphatic statement that he would not be giving anything to the Tar Heels.

“We talked all week long about Christian Ponder and how good of an athlete he was,” coach Butch Davis said. “His ability to throw the football … he completed his last 16 passes in a row at the end of the ball game.”

Ponder racked up 395 passing yards, and three touchdowns for the game.

He completed 33 of his 40 passes — a completion rate of almost 83 percent. Florida State’s passing game picked up even more in the second half, where the Seminoles put up 24 points.

“They knew they couldn’t run the ball on us,” said senior defensive end E.J. Wilson. “So they just started throwing the ball and finding gaps in the secondary.”

Even more important is the zero interceptions Ponder tossed — limiting North Carolina’s ball-hawking defense.

The statistics are especially baffling given the experience of UNC’s defensive backs. Cornerback Kendric Burney and safety Deunta Williams have started 32 games each (a team-high).

Both Burney and Williams have started every game of their collegiate careers.

Defensive backs Charles Brown and Da’Norris Searcy started 16 and eight games, respectively.

Before Thursday night’s game, those players were members of a secondary that gave up just 125.2 yards per game and had the best defensive passing efficiency in the ACC.

But those veterans couldn’t stop Ponder from finding open receivers — often at the worst times in the game.

On Florida State’s game-winning drive, Ponder marched the Seminoles 63 yards and completed all three of his passing attempts — including a 34-yard laser to a wide-open Jarmon Fortson, putting the Seminoles in scoring position deep inside North Carolina territory.

“We didn’t hold our composure like we are supposed to,” Burney said. “I don’t really know what went wrong.”

Whatever went wrong, the Seminoles shook the image of UNC’s impregnable defense, and it’s something that will be in the limelight next Thursday when the Tar Heels travel to Virginia Tech for another high-profile nationally televised game.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.