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Jimbo and FSU: A Match Made in College Football Heaven?

Not this year.
Probably not next.
But in the foreseeable future, the winningest coach in college football will signal the end of his era and make way for a new and uncertain one. That's a given.

But does anyone seriously doubt some kind of timetable for transition is already underway, or at least in discussion? And who among us doesn't think that Jimbo is the annointed one?

It doesn't take a hidden microphone to be all but certain that Fisher and T.K. weren't discussing tree stands on their recent hunting trip.

Whether you love him or have doubts, believe he's a genius or just lucky, Jimbo has the Bowden seal of approval. He's played and coached for them. So for Bobby he's the next best thing to having a son succeed him. Actually better, because the senior Bowden has never seemed hot on the idea of being replaced by one of his boys.

So get used to Jimbo's room-brightening smile and paint-peeling snarl. Because unless the world spins off its access, we'd bet the farm that this is all but a done deal. 

Some of us would've liked a little more time to get to know the guy better before jumping into such a major commitment. But just like a young Bobby and Ann couldn't wait back in 1949, FSU is apparently hot to tie the knot with the in-demand Mr. Fisher -- before his head is turned by a more attractive offer.

Tavares Pressley Video a Horror Movie for FSU's 2008 Opponents?

Jimbo gets his big back and FSU fans get new reason to hope for better things in '08.

California Juco star Tavares Pressley made the commitment Tuesday. And because Tav is a Florida native itching to come home, it appears to be a lock.

How does this sound in next year's backfield: 6'1", 215 pounds and 4.4 in the 40. Better yet, check out the moves in this video.

Pressley's coach at El Camino College puts him at the top of the school's best: "He's got a whole other gear. Once he hits the hole and gets in the crease, he explodes faster than those guys." (Read more in this L.A. newspaper story.)

As an extra added bonus, the kid apparently goes to class and makes good grades. Pressley is on the school's Scholar-Baller honor roll of athletes with 3.0 or better.

With the name Pressley, expect FSU fans to nickname him Elvis. And with the speed displayed in the video, we expect FSU opponents to call him gone.

Gary Danielson pours salt in the wound with comparison of FSU vs. Hogtown program

Gary Danielson's comments Monday on XM Radio's
college football show:

"They (the reptiles) clearly had better talent -- and offensively it really showed. You saw it in the style of play. They attacked from the very first play of the game with a modern offense that takes advantage of its players' talents. 

FSU has a decent defense that stopped BC and Bama, but had nothing for this style of offense. It was almost like trying to hit a fly with a sledgehammer. No matter how hard they tried to play they were swinging at air.

After awhile, a team loses confidence in the game plan, then coaches lose confidence in the players, and players lose confidence in the coaches. You could see it.

When you get Bobby Bowden wishing for the Steve Spurrier days, you know you've done something."

Regular Season Finale Get-Real Rant, Part 2

Opinion by The Big Kahuna, FSU grad, booster and long-time fan

On paper Florida's personnel is about 30 percent better than our guys. At home that becomes 40 percent. Throw in Geno Hayes' trash talk and the superiority index becomes 60 percent.

Saturday's game turned out to be the "perfect storm" for FSU. With everything stacked against us, the last thing we needed was a confirmed "thug" in a Seminole jersey adding another offense to his rap sheet...writing a check he couldn't cash by making the comments he made BEFORE the game. That merely served to make everybody in the country a Gator fan including Gary Danielson who must have used Geno's comments as license to become an unabashed gator fan with a microphone. Normally, the guys covering the game give a little love to the underdog just for being the underdog. Not Danielson and Lundquest. They sounded like two shirtless guys with their heads painted orange and blue. And frankly, I couldn't blame them. One guy's comments don't represent the team as a whole, but they certainly made the rounds as he knew they would, and served to cast us as the bad guys. And for us fans, made losing even more humiliating

I wouldn't be unhappy to see Geno Hayes whose jersey wasn't even dirty in the fourth quarter and Xavier Lee who the camera caught laughing on the sidelines when we were down about 4 touchdowns, leaving Tallahassee on the same Greyhound Bus.

And speaking of busses...with the high cost of gasoline, we should have left the team busses parked in the garage and just sent Gary Cismecia to the game by himself in a cab. The result wouldn't have been any different.

End of Regular Season Get-Real Rant

In place of our regular post game feature "Tomahawks and Smelly Socks," we bring you the following rant.
It's either get this off our chests or look up Dr. Kervorkian's phone number.

What a difference a year makes. Last season the Noles came within two toes (Michael Ray Garvin's little toe stepping on the sideline and Gary Cismesia's toe missing a field goal) of beating the team that would become national champs. A Jeff Bowden offense put points on the board against a veteran gator D with two NFL first-round draft picks. Mickey's defense made far fewer mistakes and tackled with authority. Go figure.

Sneak preview of Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy acceptance speech. "I want to thank my family, coaches and teammates. But in particular, I want to thank FSU. They made a pretty darn good quarterback look like a superhero with amazing supernatural super powers. I couldn't have done it without them."

Back to the future. The story arc of this season begins and ends on an almost identical note. Compare the first half of game one at Clemson
with the second half of the last game of the regular season. They're remarkably similar: a three-and-out offense that can't find the end zone and a defense that's out of position and thinks it's playing touch football. Blecch. Pass the Nexium, please.

And one to grow on? The absolute imperative now is to make the bowl game a statement. It matters not whether it's the Tidy Bowl or the Weed Eater Classic. This team must finish strong to go into '08 with momentum, ensure a top ten recruiting class and give fans reason to look forward to September.

Two Down, One To Go

In what we all hope is a preview of things to come at 5pm Saturday, FSU's men and women basketball teams beat the Hogtown hoopsters on their home court.

Riding the hot hand of Jason Rich -- 20 points and 11 rebounds on the night -- the Noles started strong and made it look easy, handling the number 24 reptiles 65 - 51.

Earlier, the women went down to the wire, holding on for an 81 - 78 victory.

High fives to the hardwood Noles for setting the stage for a hat trick. Leaving a distraught Uf A/D Jeremy Foley muttering Gainesville's favorite new catch phrase, "Don't tase me, bro!"

Seminole Firsts and Worsts from 51 games with the Hogtown team

OFFENSE
Most Points Scored: 52 in 1988
Least Points Scored: 0 in 1960 and '63
Most Rushing Yards: 296 in 1988
Least Rushing Yards: -18 in 1969
Most Passing Yards: 446 in 1993
Least Passing Yards: 28 in 1961
Most Penalties: 12 for 143 yards in 1996
Least Penalties: 2 for 10 yards in 1964

DEFENSE
Least Points Allowed: 3 in 1960 and '61
Most Points Allowed: 53 in 1983
Least Rushing Yds. Allowed:
5 in the '95 Sugar Bowl
Most Rushing Yds. Allowed: 357 in 1974
Least Passing Yds. Allowed: 18 in 1960
Most Passing Yds. Allowed:
449 in the '95 Sugar Bowl
Interceptions: 5 in 1979

Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley on how FSU could beat the Gators

In this ChantRant exclusive, Pat Dooley talks candidly about the team he covers 365, and Saturday's matchup in The Swamp.

Pat, how did Auburn beat Florida?
"What happened is that Florida didn't come out ready. There was just not a sharpness in their offense. The first half they were just miserable. I don't know how much of it was Auburn and how much was Florida. In the second half Florida had no trouble moving the ball. They scored 17 points and got the ball back
with a chance to win the game. But Auburn kept hitting them
with short passes. And to me that's the way to beat Florida, is to be methodical and be patient, and hit a bunch of short passes on them to move the ball down the field. And you could mix in the run. What Florida does a lot is get a speed rush with two defensive ends and a tackle, and that's when you need to run the ball the ball on them."

Will they be ready for FSU?
"The bottom line is it's still a rivalry game. And this is it, the last game of the year until a bowl game. FSU could probably take away the Tebow runs up the middle, they did it last year. But Tebow's become such a good passer that it may not matter. If you say you're going to take Tebow's runs out of the offense, that'll help you. Then suddenly he hands off to Harvin instead or you've got three receivers open down field. That's what's made their offense so effective this year." 

Speaking of Harvin, will he be back and 100%?
"He practiced Monday and seems to be fine. He had migraines for the South Carolina game and was home in bed and couldn't even watch the game it hurt so bad. And he threw up thirty times one day. But they seem to have found the medicine that's going to solve that problem. So I don't think any guy who's sat out two weeks will be 100%, but he's been pretty good when he's 85%."

How about the offensive line?
"They were considered a strength coming in and I think they've lived up to it. They haven't overachieved, but you're talking about a line with one of the starters suspended before the season. They lost their starting left tackle in Phil Trautwein, and they haven't really missed a beat, mainly because this freshmen Marquis Pouncey has come in and played really well. Now he missed last week with an injury. His status will be a big factor
for the offensive line. They say he's probable."

And the defense?
"They've got a lot of injuries and they haven't been real good when they're healthy. Joe Haden who's a decent corner, he's hurt. The other corner's been up in the air all year. You've got a free safety who's a true freshman and a real good hitter, but sometimes gets caught out of position. Their defensive line has been shaky at best all year, especially at tackle. And Michael Pouncey got hurt in the last game. So I'd think FSU would be able to do some things offensively. But I was looking at the stats and FSU's had one game where they scored in the thirties. And they're going to have to get in the thirties to beat Florida, I think."

How about the size of the corners who'll match up against Greg Carr?
"They're in the six foot size range. but they've not shown great ball awareness. So I'm sure FSU has looked at that and said that's a play that'll have to be in there more than once or twice."

Looking ahead, do you see the Gators being a national championship contender again next year?
"Well, next year's the big year for Florida. Tebow will be a Junior, with a year under his belt as a starter. You've got everybody back on offense except Caldwell. Then their offensive line will have Trautwein back. At tailback, they're hoping Emmanuel Moody, who's a transfer from Southern Cal, will help them next year. But the question will be does the defense get better? There's nothing I've seen to think they're going to make a big jump next year. But we've seen it happen before, where a defense was mediocre one year and really good the next because everybody's back. And they'll have just about everybody back. So they're a 9 and 3 team next year if the defense doesn't improve. And if it does improve, there's no reason to think they can't be playing for it all."

FSU Rebounds to Rout Georgia State

by Bill from Tampa

A 22-4 run in the second half, a career high 18 points by Uche Echefu coupled with a much more energetic defense compared to Sunday night’s loss to USF saw the Florida State Seminoles easily defeat the visiting Georgia State Panthers by a score of 78-48.

Echefu was nearly perfect missing just one shot out of his seven attempts as well as connecting on all four free throw attempts. The junior forward made his presence felt right from the start of the game scoring 10 points in the first 6:30 of the game leading the ‘Noles to a 15-8 lead. He added 5 rebounds and 2 steals to his line as well.

Defensively FSU was very active in forcing 26 turnovers by the Panthers that included 15 steals. Ralph Mims backed up his five steals from Sunday night’s game with four more against Georgia State. But it was a team effort as seven Seminoles had at least one theft in the game.

That effort pleased Leonard Hamilton. “I liked our energy  tonight” said Hamilton afterwards. We stepped up our defensive pressure. And were more physical inside”

What didn’t please Hamilton was rebounding especially the offensive boards. The ‘Noles gave up 18 offensive boards to just 9 for FSU. Overall the Seminoles were beaten on the boards as Georgia State had 41 rebounds to just 30 for FSU. Leading rebounder and second leading scorer Rashad Chase had 11 of those rebounds that included 7 on the offensive end.

“I don’t even know what to think about the offensive rebounds we gave up tonight” commented Hamilton.

Though FSU outscored Georgia State in the paint, mostly on the strength of a lot of layups off of those steals, the head coach was still concerned about the inside game offensively. Even though Echefu scored 18 most of his shots were jump shots from the perimeter. The other post players Julian Vaughn, Ryan Reid, and Solomon Alabi who played six minutes combined for just 9 points. And Vaughn had eight of those.

Despite that Hamilton said “We still need more out of him” referring to Vaughn. “It appears we will have to rely on our more experienced players” said Hamilton.

What that apparently meant is more touches for Isaiah Swann. “We need to get him 12 to 15 shots per game” added Hamilton.

Commenting briefly on Alabi’s play Hamilton said “Solomon still has not had a full practice. What he is doing out there he is doing on instinct.” What Alabi did do out there was have two blocked shots and altered a couple of others. He did pick up three fouls however, one on the offensive end for hooking and his one shot will not appear in any textbooks on how to shoot the ball. But Hamilton was pleased to be able to get him on the floor.

Florida State never trailed in the game and held 35-21 halftime lead. The ‘Noles were much better attacking the basket drawing  several fouls late in the half in getting to the free throw line.

The ‘Noles ramped up their game even more at the start of the second half. Swann connected on a three from above the key, Echefu canned a nice stop and pop jumper from the left wing, and Jason Rich took a steal the distance to give FSU a 42-23 lead. That forced Panthers head coach Rod Barnes to call a timeout at the 17:31 mark.

Halfway through the second half though the ‘Noles experienced an offensive lull unable to make anything. A  10-2 run by the Panthers pulled then to 50-40 with 9:12 to play.

That’s when the Seminoles really ramped up the defensive pressure picking of numerous passes by the Panthers leading to easy run outs and layups or slam dunks at the other end. A decisive 22-4 run over the next five plus minutes left no doubt about the outcome.

The walk ons of Matt Zitani, Brian Hoff, Ben O’Donnell, and Josh Bolton along with Jordan DeMercy took the floor with two minutes left to finish out the game.

DeMercy was particularly active in his fourteen minutes on the floor with 2 steals, 6 points all on breakaways, and dishing out 2 assists.

Also in double figures was Swann with 14 and Toney Douglas with 10 points. Douglas added 3 assists with no turnovers.

Up next for the ‘Noles. A trip to Gainesville, where FSU has not won a game since 1993, to take on the defending champions. Tip off is 8:00 PM and will be televised on FSN in North and Central Florida only.

Albany TV Station Reports D'Vo Considering Transfer

From WALB-TV:

November 19, 2007 / Leesburg - Rumors are flying around Florida State that quarterback D'Vontrey Richardson is transferring from the Seminoles.

A source close to the former Lee County quarterback says Richardson has not made a decision on whether he will stay or leave the FSU football program.

Richardson did come home Sunday and talked with his family for several hours about his football future.

The source says Richardson is not happy with several things including FSU going with Christian Ponder at quarterback when starter Drew Weatherford was knocked out of the Virginia Tech game and Xavier Lee was not available while serving a two game suspension for missing class.

Richardson and his family will meet again after the season and make a decision on whether to stay at FSU or transfer to another school.