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Georgia Southern Eagles |
Florida State Seminoles © |
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Played October 8, 1988 at Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida |
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Teams' Belt Records
|
Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Georgia Southern | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Florida State © | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Georgia Southern |
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
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Florida State |
7 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
28 |
The 6th ranked, 4-1 Florida State Seminoles of coach Bobby Bowden hosted the 3-1 Georgia Southern Eagles of coach Erk Russell who were ranked 7th nationally in the 1-AA poll. Georgia Southern was the second Division 1-AA team in the 1988 season to have a shot at The Belt as Furman had lost to Belt-holder Clemson earlier. Both Division 1-AA teams used these games to harden their teams for playoff battles. The Seminoles needed 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to subdue the upstart Eagles in a 28-10 victory. The Seminoles scored the only points of the 1st half when QB Chip Ferguson connected with WR Lawrence Dawsey for a 9-yard touchdown pass in the 1st quarter but the Eagles hung tough using a ball-control offense to keep the explosive Florida State offense on the sidelines. Georgia Southern eventually held the ball for 34:06 of the game that had all the trappings of a major upset. The Eagles managed a 28-yard field goal by PK Mike Dowis keeping the upset hopes alive with the score 7-3 heading into the 4th quarter. Early in the 4th quarter, Georgia Southern's RB Gary Miller broke loose for a 22-yard touchdown run giving the Eagles a 10-7 lead. The Seminoles re-took the lead when Ferguson found WR Ron Lewis open for a 16-yard scoring strike with 8:47 left in the game. Florida State then took advantage of 2 short punts by the Eagles to get good field position for 2 touchdowns. Seminoles' RB Dayne Williams gave Florida State a 21-10 lead when he scored on a 23-yard run that finished a 4-play, 47-yard scoring drive & RB Chris Parker completed a 37-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to secure the win. Ferguson finished with 247 yards passing with his 2 touchdowns but also threw 2 interceptions while Lewis added 7 catches for 140 yards with his touchdown. Georgia Southern's QB Raymond Gross threw for just 97 yards with an interception but also rushed for 59 yards. Florida State finished the season 11-1; ranked 3rd nationally while the Eagles finished 12-3 & lost to Furman in the Division 1-AA Championship game. Georgia Southern has not played for The Belt again.
