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FSU assistant coach misses Notre Dame game

 
DOWN HE GOES: Notre Dame QB Everett Golson, top is sacked by Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman in the first half.
DOWN HE GOES: Notre Dame QB Everett Golson, top is sacked by Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman in the first half.
Published Oct. 19, 2014

TALLAHASSEE — No. 2 Florida State entered Saturday night without one of its top assistants.

Assistant head coach Rick Trickett wasn't at the game because of a health reason, the school announced before kickoff against No. 5 Notre Dame.

Trickett, 66, has been at FSU since 2007 and is recognized as one of the top offensive line coaches in the game. All five starters on last year's team earned All-ACC honors, and he has coached 30 NFL players. One of his pupils, RG Tre' Jackson, has been named the ACC's offensive lineman of the week twice this season.

Trickett's son, Clint, threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns to spark West Virginia's 41-27 upset win over No. 4 Baylor on Saturday.

Graduate assistant and former FSU OG David Spurlock took over Trickett's duties.

FOR STARTERS: LB Matthew Thomas made his season debut after missing the first six games for violating school rules. The five-star recruit had a sack as a freshman last season. He was reinstated during the week.

PUGH PICK: Freshman LB Jacob Pugh, aided by Tyler Hunter's blitz, had a red-zone interception of Notre Dame QB Everett Golson in the second quarter. It was the first interception of Pugh's career.

Pugh is the nephew of Darren and Troy Hambrick, who starred at Pasco High before playing in the NFL.

FLASHBACK: FSU and Notre Dame aren't regular opponents, but a handful of Seminoles had faced the Fighting Irish previously.

Three of Saturday's starting offensive linemen — Jackson, LG Josue Matias and RT Bobby Hart — also started for FSU in an 18-14 win over the Irish in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. All were true freshmen in that game.

Twenty Seminoles on that team are now either on an active roster or practice squad in the NFL.

FUNDRAISER KICKOFF: FSU used the weekend to launch a $1 billion fundraising campaign, focusing on science and math, undergraduate scholarships, faculty support and research. The "Raise the Torch" campaign began with an invitation-only gala, and officials used a commemorative coin before the game to boost public awareness. FSU plans for the fundraising initiative to end June 30, 2018.

GAMEDAY: Twenty-one years after ESPN's College GameDay made its first road trip — FSU at Notre Dame — the traveling pregame show was on hand for another Irish-Seminoles matchup. It was the show's second trip to Tallahassee this year and the eighth time FSU had been featured since 2011.

THIS AND THAT: Bucs legend Derrick Brooks and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers Fred Biletnikoff and Walter Jones were among the former Seminoles at the game. … Golson nearly had his 10th turnover in 13 quarters when he fumbled a snap on a fourth-down sneak in the first quarter. He recovered the ball, but the Irish didn't pick up the first down. … RB Karlos Williams (ankle) didn't play in the first quarter.