By Briana Gorman

bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

CHAPEL HILL -- Heading into Thursday night's game, North Carolina's defense was ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC.

But Florida State's offense was ranked No. 1 in the conference, and Thursday it was the Seminoles' offense that got the best of the Tar Heels' defense.

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder torched UNC's defense for 395 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Seminoles to a 30-27 win at Kenan Stadium.

It was the fifth game this season FSU has trailed at the half, but just the second time it has comeback for the victory. It was the first ACC win for the Seminoles (3-4, 1-3), who snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Tar Heels remain winless in conference play at 0-3 and 4-3 overall.

"I think everybody feels bad about it," UNC coach Butch Davis said. "I was so proud of the way our guys came out and started the game. We got off to a great start and we were playing well in all three phases of the game. I don't think our football team got complacent, I think that one of the things is we had way too many penalties in the second half and took away opportunities and field position."

UNC finished the game with seven penalties for 59 yards but FSU, which leads the ACC in penalties yards per game, was flagged 16 times for 121 yards. But despite the penalties the Seminoles found a way to rally from a 24-6 third quarter deficit.

Florida State's Dustin Hopkins made a 40-yard field goal - his third of the night - to cut the score to 24-23 with 12:12 left in the game.

UNC responded on the ensuing possession with a 26-yard Casey Barth field for a 27-23 lead and some breathing room. But then the Seminoles went 63 yards in four plays, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ponder to a wide-ope\n Beau Reliford for a 30-27 lead with 6:20 to go.

UNC struggled to move the ball on the following possession, but its defense forced FSU to punt the ball and give the Tar Heels one more chance with 47 seconds to play. UNC went just 17 yards before time ran out, and on the final play of the game quarterback T.J. Yates was sacked.

The Tar Heels' offense, which had struggled in recent games, looked sharp in the first half but struggled in the second half. UNC had just 10 points in the second half and recorded just 101 total offensive yards. Florida State, on the other hand, exploded in the second half. The Seminoles had just 100 yards of offense in the first half but put up 338 yards of offense in the second half. Most of that offense came from Ponder, who was 21-of-25 for 281 yards in the second half.

The turning point for the Seminoles came in the third quarter, when they scored two touchdowns in 91 seconds to cut the score to 24-20. FSU scored their first touchdown of the game on a 76-yard drive capped by 6-yard touchdown pass from Ponder to Taiwan Easterling. FSU then intercepted Yates on their own 3, and after a delay of game backed the Seminoles to their own 2, Ponder connected with Rod Owens, who shook off a tackler at midfield for a 98-yard touchdown. It was the longest offensive play from scrimmage ever given up by the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels looked to be in control early on as they scored on their opening possession thanks to an 80-yard drive, highlighted by a 31-yard pass from fullback Bobby Rome to Greg Little. The next play Little ran around the left end for a 5-yard touchdown to give UNC a 7-0 lead.

FSU put their first points on the board with 5:09 left in the first quarter thanks to 48-yard field goal by Hopkins. But UNC added to its lead 2:41 later when it capitalized on the lone FSU turnover of the game. E.J. Wilson sacked Ponder to force the fumble, which Marvin Austin picked up and returned to FSU's 12. Two plays later Yates connected with Ed Barham for a 12-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

Barth gave the Tar Heels a 17-3 lead with a 34-yard field goal with 5:34 left in the first half.

Florida State's points in the first half came from two Hopkins field goals of 48 and 26 yards.

NOTES -- Junior tight end Zack Pianalto made his first appearance and start since getting injured in the second game of the season at Connecticut, but received a head injury in the first quarter and didn't return.