TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- You really can't blame Florida's Lito Sheppard -- he was just the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time, the latest defender to feel utterly helpless lined up against Florida State wide receiver Marvin Minnis.

So when Minnis came charging at him full speed, stopped for a split second and turned to Sheppard's right, the flustered defender did the only thing he could to stop a touchdown -- pull Minnis to the ground by his jersey.

Sure the play drew a flag, but in the eyes of Sheppard, being whistled for pass interference was better than giving up a score. After all, Sheppard watched firsthand as Minnis smoked teammate Bennie Alexander on a 34-yard strike earlier in the game. And Sheppard wanted no part of joining Alexander on the front page of Sunday's sports section. Minnis knew it.

	Marvin Minnis, left, and Chris Weinke helped Florida State extend its unbeaten streak at home to 52 games.

"Holding me and pulling me to the ground like that, that's the only way they were going to stop me," Minnis said minutes after his two-touchdown, 187-yard receiving night. "That was their only chance."

And largely because of Minnis and his connection with quarterback Chris Weinke, the third-ranked Seminoles dominated No. 4 Florida 30-7, all but assuring themselves a spot in the Orange Bowl, the site of the BCS Championship game, Jan. 4.

This all sounds eerily familiar -- stud Florida State receiver endlessly hooks up with "old" quarterback to give opposing defenses nightmares and carry the garnet and gold to the national championship?

A man named Peter Warrick comes to mind. Some FSU fans were wondering if there was anyone who could replace the speedy All-American in the receiving corps this year. Really, could Minnis be the guy?

Saturday, on the prime-time national stage for the first time this season, the kid nicknamed "Snoop" answered a resounding, "Yes." It was of strange coincidence that prior to Saturday's game, it was announced that Minnis was selected as one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff award, given to the nation's top receiver.

Consider Saturday night Minnis' closing argument.

"I can't believe how good he has become," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. "He's playing incredible right now."

As is Weinke. Despite vomiting twice Thursday night and three more times Friday, spending eight hours Friday in the hospital and sleeping at the team doctor's house so he could take intravenous fluids Friday night, the Heisman contender threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns.

"When I was laying in the hospital Friday night, I was hoping it was just the 24-hour flu," Weinke said, "Because if we had to play then, it would have been tough for me to go."

Together, Weinke and Minnis, close friends off the field, made the Florida defense look like Duke. On their first touchdown connection, Minnis just ran a straight fly pattern, coasting right past a staggering Alexander for a 34-yard touchdown. The score was a critical one, as it immediately gave the Seminoles the lead after Florida tied the game, 7-7.

The second Weinke-to-Minnis bomb, a 51-yard score, came in the third quarter and put the game away for the Seminoles, 27-7.

No Warrick? No problem.

"They are both tremendous receivers," said Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt. "Marvin probably has a little bit of an advantage because he didn't have the bulls-eye on him this year and we spread the ball around a little more, but if you look, they're numbers are scarily similar."

That they are. In nine games last year, Warrick caught 71 passes for 934 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns. Entering Saturday's game against Florida, with 11 games under his belt this year, Minnis has caught 55 passes for 1,153 yards (21.0 ypc) and nine touchdowns.

"Snoop is a guy who finds a way to make the play," Weinke said. "He's more of a leaper than Warrick was, with great hands. Peter was someone who was more likely to make you miss."

What it means is that Warrick earned his touchdowns by dancing and juking on simple screens, while Minnis reaches the end zone by running long and out-leaping opposing defensive backs. Against Florida, all he had to do was run past them.

"I knew going into this game that they were going to cover me with one guy, so I looked to have a big game," he said. "I just went out there and felt like I was in the zone. I told Chris that I felt like everything he would my way, I would catch." Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.