The receiver was open in the end zone, as much as anyone could hope to be in such a dire circumstance.
The pass was there, a tad low but entirely catchable.
The game -- a must-have, home-field victory over a fierce rival in Monday night's season opener for both teams in Tallahassee, Fla. -- was in his hands.
And he dropped it.
So, fair or not, Florida State's Jarmon Fortson must live with that moment, that disappointment, that haunting memory.
Not that the Seminoles' 38-34 loss to Miami can be pinned solely on the sophomore receiver. There was no shortage of blame to go around. Their running game was mostly ineffective. Their pass defense was terrible. Their clock management in that fateful final minute, when they inexplicably allowed more than 20 precious seconds to tick away, was embarrassing.
Yes, Miami, which scored 21 fourth-quarter points, had plenty to do with the Seminoles' struggles. Armed with gifted young quarterback Jacory Harris, a corps of speedy receivers and a big-play ability reminiscent of their championship reign, the Hurricanes appear to be better than anyone outside of South Florida expected.
But, with the five seconds remaining and the ball on the Miami 2, Florida State had a chance to win.
After the combatants had combined for 72 points, 43 first downs and 880 total yards in an entertaining extravaganza that took us back to the 1980s and '90s -- to the glory days when Florida State and Miami was the best show in college football -- the outcome would be decided by one final play, one last pass, one dropped ball that changed everything.
Suddenly, a 10-win season looks possible for Miami.
Suddenly, a 10-win season looks doubtful for Florida State.
The 20th-ranked Hurricanes now have 10 days to prepare for 15th-ranked Georgia Tech, then another nine days to get ready to play at 14th-ranked Virginia Tech, which wasn't overly impressive in a 34-24 loss to Alabama in Atlanta. Then, a week later, Miami plays at home against 13th-ranked Oklahoma, which might still be without its Heisman-winning quarterback, Sam Bradford, who sprained his right shoulder in the Sooners' season-opening loss to BYU.
And, given what we saw Monday night, given the surge in confidence they'll get from that hard-fought victory, it's not beyond the realm of reason to believe the Hurricanes will win at least two of those games.
Such a prospect seemed unlikely before Miami beat Florida State. Much of the preseason, you might remember, was filled with speculation about Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon's job security if his team started 0-4. Now there's talk of winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
That's how much that dropped ball meant to the Hurricanes.
And to the Seminoles? Let's face it: While teams can recover from early losses, it won't be easy for Florida State to regroup after such an agonizing, emotionally draining defeat.
The Seminoles, determined to rejoin college football's upper echelon, had hoped to use their annual showdown against Miami to make a "We're back" statement. Now, they'll need to claw their way through a challenging schedule to get to the ACC title bout, where they could get a rematch.
Florida State's remaining schedule includes trips to No. 9 BYU, unranked Boston College, No. 19 North Carolina and No. 1 Florida, as well as home games against South Florida and Georgia Tech. But unless the Seminoles find a running game and a secondary -- and soon -- they could be looking at another ho-hum, 8-4 showing.
And if Fortson hadn't dropped that pass? Florida State would be 1-0 and riding high. Miami would be 0-1 and regrouping.
That one last play changed everything.
(Ray McNulty is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida. This column reflects his opinion. He can be reached at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com.)
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