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John Papuchis breaks down what went right, wrong in FSU football’s special team performance

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John Papuchis breaks down what went right, wrong in FSU football’s special team performance


Florida State’s special teams had a balanced outing in its 39-17 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

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Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald hit his lone field goal attempt and punter Alex Mastramanno continued his hot start to the season.

Following the Seminoles’ first touchdown of the game, they successfully executed a two-point conversion, which has been run repeatedly at practices. It’s the first time this season that FSU has attempted a two-point conversion.

No. 4 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) takes on Syracuse (4-2, 0-2) at noon Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium (Broadcast: ABC).

Capitalizing on the moment

Tight end Brian Courtney took the snap on and faked the handoff to tight end Kyle Morlock, eventually running into the end zone for the successful conversion.

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The scoring drive was a part of the Seminoles’ dominant first quarter, where they outscored Virginia Tech, 22-0.

“It’s something we always have out the gate ready, and typically if we score first and it’s early in the game, it might be something that we show,” special teams coordinator John Papuchis said. Sometimes coach wants to run it, sometimes we shift back to our normal PAT.”

“In this case, just the look that was presented, it’s really the coach’s final decision. He makes the call on the field whether we’re going to run it or not run it.”

Immediacy and situational awareness are two things that FSU emphasized throughout the season at practice. Offensive coordinator Alex Atkins credits the creativity and execution of special teams to Papuchis and head coach Mike Norvell.

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“He [Papuchis] does a wonderful job with special teams and coach Norvell also has his hand in it because he has to decide whether we’re going to do it or not,” Atkins said. “But all of those things, man they seem so unique. But like I said, we run them every day.”

Executing on kick returns

However, after that, FSU began to struggle, eventually seeing the Hokies claw back into the game. On the first play of the second half, Bhayshul Tuten took a 99-yard kickoff to the house, suddenly turning the Seminoles’ 22-point lead into just five.

“I would say this on the kick return, first of all, I would give credit to Virginia Tech for their execution, how they schemed it up,” Papuchis said. “I thought they did a good job and then they executed it well. But from our perspective you know a couple of things went into it that normally at any return like that normally do.”

Papuchis said that the special teams unit has been good on kick coverage, which can be credited to what the Seminoles have done week to week. However, one of the reasons why they gave up the touchdown was because FSU had a handful of players who didn’t make a play while in position.

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“It starts with crediting them for doing a good job, but there are some things that we need to clean up on our end,” Papuchis said. “It starts with me and making sure that we put ourselves in the best positions possible to be successful.”

One of the best in the nation

One of FSU’s most consistent and successful performers on special teams has been punter Alex Mastromanno. He ranks fifth in the country, punting for 914 yards and averaging 48.1 a game on 19 punts. His stat line also leads the ACC.

He is on pace to break the school record, currently held by Shawn Powell of 47 yards in 2011.

“For us to be able to lead the ACC right now in net punting is really, really good for us, and for him to have the national accolades that he has,” Papuchis said. “I think obviously that speaks to how well he’s hitting the ball.”

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“I think it just shows that he’s put a lot of hard work in. He’s grown and matured, and I think he’s just more comfortable with everything we’re asking him to do”

GAME INFORMATION

Who: No. 5 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2)

When/where: Saturday, noon; Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla.

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter

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Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams. 



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VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game

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VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game


With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:

Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.

A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.

Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.

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Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.

Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.

Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.

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Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. Virginia Tech | Takeaways, Analysis

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Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024

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Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024


The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:

Mega Millions

Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Pick 3

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2

Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 4

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

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Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5

Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2

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Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash4Life

Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.

04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

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Cash Pop

Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.

Coffee Break: 04

After Hours: 05

Prime Time: 06

Rush Hour: 09

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Lunch Break: 12

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash 5

Drawing every day at 11 p.m.

12-22-31-38-44

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways

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Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways


Virginia (4-2) got back in the win column with a 74-65 victory over Manhattan (3-3) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Here are our five quick takeaways from the Cavaliers’ win over the Jaspers.

Virginia was in serious need of a win after suffering those two humbling losses to Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. But a convincing and comfortable victory would have been even better and for a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on their way to doing just that. UVA led by as many as 15 points in the first half and opened up a 16-point advantage midway through the second half. But rather than putting the game away, Virginia let Manhattan hang around and the visiting Jaspers were in a situation where they were fouling to stop the clock in the final minutes, narrowing the deficit to as little as six points. A win is a win, but this was far from a confidence-boosting performance.

Virginia went with a new starting lineup on Tuesday night, as Andrew Rohde replaced TJ Power. Rohde has been playing very well recently, particularly with his resurgent outside shot, while Power came into this game shooting 25% from beyond the arc this season.

Power initially responded well to the benching, swishing a corner three shortly after he first entered the game, hitting the deck for a loose ball, and coming up with a steal to stop a Manhattan fastbreak. But he wound up playing only six minutes, fewest among Cavaliers who saw the floor in the game. That does not bode well for the Duke transfer.

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Read Val’s Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.

Rohde, on the other hand, had another solid game and was perhaps the top performer for the Hoos on Tuesday night. Though he missed his only three-pointer, which was a desperation off-balanced heave at the end of the shot clock, Rohde finished with a season-high 14 points, two assists (with one turnover), two rebounds, and four steals. Rohde showed excellent feel for the game, getting exactly where he wanted to go and exhibiting some nice touch on a couple of floaters plus a short jumper off the glass. If Rohde is playing like this and his three-point shot continues to be there, this could be a big season for the former St. Thomas transfer.

The main reason why this game continued to be close deep into the second half is because UVA’s defense frequently broke down and gave up open shots to Manhattan, particularly from the perimeter. The Jaspers shot 11/26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc and and seven different players knocked down a three. A couple of those Manhattan triples were well-contested, but the vast majority of them were wide-open. That’s very concerning and shows that this Virginia defense, with its many new faces, is still very much a work in progress.

Virginia’s offense was pretty well neutralized by Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. Tuesday night against Manhattan was a small step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

Let’s start with the good. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Isaac McKneely, who hit three of his four three-point attempts and went 5/6 from the free throw line. We still think McKneely needs to shoot way more, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Dai Dai Ames scored 10 points and dished out five assists, but fouled out of the game. Blake Buchanan made his first four shots and finished with 11 points and five boards. Cofie made five of his seven shots and finished with 10 points and five boards. The best part of the game was that Virginia had 15 assists on 29 made baskets and turned the ball over only eight times, a vast improvement over the team’s turnover issues in The Bahamas.

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Virginia outscored Manhattan 42-22 in the paint. That looks like a good stat, but it’s also an inevitable stat because of UVA’s size advantage over the Jaspers, whose tallest player in the rotation is 6’8″. Still, Manhattan snared 10 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. In The Bahamas, UVA was dominated on the glass and was simply outmatched from a physicality and athleticism standpoint. Nothing we saw from the Cavaliers on Tuesday night did anything to alleviate those concerns.

Up next, Virginia remains at home for another (supposed) tune-up game against Holy Cross on Friday at 4pm at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia vs. Manhattan Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball

UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas

Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways

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