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Buzzer Brick: Florida State drops a heartbreaker to USF

by Bill from Tampa

As was the case against Cleveland State the night before, Florida State had
a chance to pull out a win with the last shot in regulation. Only this time the game did end after forty minutes but the outcome was the same. Toney Douglas’ wild three pointer with just a second left missed badly sending the Seminoles down to defeat to South Florida by the score of 68-67.

The ‘Noles had just held the Bulls scoreless for nearly a minute when confusion reigned at the end for FSU. Jason Rich had thirty seconds earlier made his only basket of the game to pull FSU to within one point. But after the defensive stand with seven seconds remaining, Douglas who rebounded the ball hesitated to bring the ball up. The Seminoles had a timeout left to use but no one seemed sure whether to call the timeout then or call it when the ball was in the frontcourt. Douglas eventually raced the ball up the floor and launched a three from  just across the timeline just before the buzzer sounded.

On that play Leonard Hamilton said after the game that communication at the end was to blame. “We knew we needed to call that timeout but we had a miscommunication.”

Florida State struggled with the Bulls throughout the entire game playing catch up for most of it. The ‘Noles held four leads but only briefly as USF would quickly answer back.

Still FSU did a good job to come back from 11 points down early in the second half. But every time the ‘Noles made a run at the lead mistakes either on defense or often unforced turnovers allowed the Bulls to fend off the Tribe.

Hamilton said afterwards, “Ever time we got close we made poor decisions.”

The head coach also pointed to  defense, in particular the defense at the arc where USF was a scorching 11-18, as a cause for the loss. “It was not a night where we defended well from the perimeter. That has as much to do with the outcome as anything.”

Many of the three pointers USF took were uncontested. That certainly had to be a topic of conversation in the extended locker room post game talk

Several other factors troubled Hamilton notably the inability to get to the free throw line where FSU was just 4-5 from the stripe.

And as has been the case this season, the lack of an inside game continues to plague the team. The four post player combined for just 19 points with most of Uche Echefu’s points coming from ten to twelve foot jump shots. Noting Jesus Verdejo’s defense on Isaiah Swann the coach said “That should stretch the defense to open up the inside game. But we were still unable to get it inside. We need to find a way to attack inside.”

Leading the way for FSU was Ralph Mims with 16 points. Both Swann and Douglas  added 15 with eight of Swann’s points coming in the first 3:40 of the game. After that Verdejo made it slightly tougher for the senior guard to score.

Kentrell Gransberry, the leading scorer and rebounder for USF led the way with 21 points and 8 boards. Hamilton complimented Ryan Reid’s second half defense on Gransberry in holding him to just 7 points.

In the first half USF led by as many as nine points. But increased intensity on both ends of the floor got FSU back to within two, 32-30. With a chance to tie or take the lead, Douglas shot from the left corner missed and ended up in Gransberry’s hands. The quick outlet pass saw the ‘Noles caught under their own basket that gave USF a four on one break.

Poor transition defense gave USF another wide open three.

Two free throws closed out a 7-0 run to end the half and the ‘Noles trailed 39-30 at the break.

In the second half after getting down 41-30 early, the Seminoles worked their way back to take 48-47 lead at the 12:30 mark on a layup by Mims. That lead lasted 35 seconds.

FSU managed to tie it at 54 apiece four minutes later on Reid’s offensive putback. Again the Bulls answered this time with a  5-0 run.

The Seminoles would get it to within one point six more times only to be held off by USF. Missed opportunities plagued FSU such as Mims steal taking it the distance only to miss the layup.

With the score 66-65 and just one minute left and just after Gransberry air balled two free throws, Swann had the ball and leaped to take a three pointer. Verdejo apparently disrupted him enough and Swann made a poor choice in passing the ball across the court. Chris Howard picked the pass off and was fouled. His two free throws made it 68-65 with 55 seconds remaining in the  game.

That was followed by the chaos at the end and FSU falling to 3-2 on the season.

On a positive note, Swann did dish out 8 assists and both Reid and Casaan Breeden pulled down 7 boards.

Tuesday the Seminoles will travel home to the Donald L. Tucker Center to regroup against Georgia State. Tip off is  at 7:00 PM. The game will be aired on FSN.

Tomahawks and Smelly Socks: Best and Worst of the Maryland Game

Coach Bowden, take a bow.
Bravo for number 300. May you notch your 301st before the week
is up.

Deja Vu all over again? Tomahawks to Preston Parker for making us think Warrick Dunn was back in Garnet and Gold.

Now that's offensive. The OL continues to climb Trickett's learning curve, opening some impressive holes for Parker to
scoot through.

Here's one for the entire team. Only three penalties in a game!?
If FSU had racked up their normal per-game average of flags, Saturday's W could have been an L.

Half a Tomahawk to Weatherford. Good job managing the game. But please learn to take a dive or risk suffering the football equivalent of a frontal lobotomy.

On the minus side, Third and Long is becoming Third and Wrong. As in wrong alignment, bad tackling technique, letting opponents take advantage of a confused defense trying to get set.

Where did that guy come from? Smelly socks to a secondary with more breakdowns than a '77 Pacer. Too many opposing WR's are getting way too open, way too often.

The usual suspects. You can depend on an ACC ref crew making some glaring calls as well as missing painfully obvious infractions. Saturday's men in stripes were true to form.

Question and Answers with Matt from Turtlewaxing

Maryland has some impressive wins this season, but some close losses. What happened against UNC and Virginia?

"In both those games the offense sputtered badly. Friedgen used a conservative game plan that almost assured that the opponent would be in the game at the end. Against Virginia the defense collapsed on the final drive. Against UNC the offense couldn't muster anything and had one of the most inept performances I've seen under Ralph Friedgen. The wrong plays were called, the wrong formations, delay of game penalties, backs running the wrong direction, it was almost comical."

QB Chris Turner seems to be getting better as the season goes on. What's the secret of his success?
"Given his lack of experience he is very poised. He'll still make
a mistake from time to time but he makes the right reads and often finds the open receiver. From my perspective it has as
much to do with the playcalling allowing him to go down field as anything else. He's much better when he's allowed to throw over the middle and down the sidelines. When Friedgen calls a slew
of screens and dump off passes it seems to get Turner out of rhythm."

How would you describe Friedgen's offense this year?
"It has been a run oriented offense for most of the year. Problem
is this isn't a great running team. The injuries have turned a good, but not great, running game into a really mediocre attack. The offense has opened up in only a couple of games, including last week against BC. The formations vary widely and run the gamut of two tight end to shotgun spread depending on down and distance. The passing game has been the weakest part of the offense but the running game often fails to get first downs in
the second half."

What are the key injuries that might effect the Terps this Saturday?
"Almost too many to list here. Linebacker Erin Henderson
won't practice all week but may try to go on Saturday, TE
Dan Gronkowski will likely return. Wideouts Danny Oquendo and LaQuan Williams are both out with knee injuries leaving freshmen and walkons in backup roles. Running back Keon Lattimore missed last week but returns Saturday, however Lance Ball is the starter. Many nagging injuries along the offensive line. Guard Andrew Crummey is probably a week or two away from being able to come back from a broken leg."

What's been Maryland's high point of the season so far? 
What's been the low point?
"The low point would have to be the 31-24 loss to Wake Forest in
overtime. Leading 24-3 in the 3rd quarter the Terps gave up 27 straight points, including a 100 yard interception return for a touchdown. I turned off the radio broadcast (it wasn't televised here in the Washington area) after Riley Skinner was intercepted with about 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. A buddy called me up and just said "What happened?" in a voice that clearly indicated something unexpected and really bad had happened. Yeah, that isn't a good sign.

"The high point would have to be beating an overrated Rutgers team. At that point the bowl possibilities still seemed good and Maryland had only lost one conference game. Beating Boston College was nice but unless that can win another couple of games it will just be an odd footnote to a disappointing season."

For more on the Terps season, check out Matt's site.

The Fridge Opens Up

Comments from Ralph Friedgen's weekly press conference.

Will the team have a letdown after such a big win against B.C.?
"They just came through a very tough game. A lot of 'em are beat up. But in a way the win should give us some confidence of how we can play when we put everything together. I have a lot of faith in these kids. I think they'll bounce back and be fine."

Will you be taking shots down field and playing aggresively again this week?
"It's a whole different deal. B.C. was a zone team, played very little man-to-man. Florida State is a man-in-your-face press team. Our receivers are gonna have to press. I  think they can, I think we did it last year. But we're gonna have to play extremely well. We could put Boston College in some binds schematically and make plays. Here we're gonna have to win the one-on-one elements to make plays.

How has QB Chris Turner developed in just five starts?
"I thought Chris Turner played very smart and did a good job of managing the game.  I told him Boston College was gonna be a team that keyed where he looked, and that he was gonna have to look people off or he was going to get in trouble. And he did unbelievably at that. Maybe better than any QB I've had here to date. He made plays, he didn't turn the ball over, he kept his poise."

When you talk to Coach Bowden, do you talk about ACC parity?
"Coach Bowden usually tells me why he beat me. Normally, it's 'you turned the ball over too much son,' and he's probably right. I just don't need him to tell me that. But he's been a great coach for so long, just being on the same field with him is an honor. And they've done so much to upgrade the level of play since they came in (to the league). And it's more about everybody else getting better to get to their level than them dropping."   

Pusillanimously Random and Vapidly Meaningless Thoughts

by The Man, The Myth, The Legend...
(drumroll) Bill from Tampa

1. Congrats to Virginia Tech. After going winless in the last fifteen against FSU one can only ask what took you so long? 
2. If I had a vote (and I don’t) I’d vote to petition the NCAA to play games for just three quarters. Yes, yes I know it would mean less football to watch. But heck, FSU would be 9-1 this season and more importantly …… no wait  ….. that IS the important part!!
3. Third and thirty-one, yeah, that’s ALWAYS a gimmie first down. That has to be THE longest QB dive for a first down I’ve ever seen.
4. With FSU taking a 21-20 lead one just had to PONDER (insipid pun intended) why we haven’t seen him on the field before?
5. Following VT’s tackling D’Vo in the endzone, the ever optimistic PT Willis asked  “Can you have an onside punt?”
Oh sure, let’s go ahead and give it a try. So what if Tech got the ball deep in FSU territory. It’s not like we had done that already in the game.
6. What was the best thing to see in tuning into the UNC/NCS game? Seeing that Ron Cherry’s crew was officiating the game. The words “Thank God we’re not going to end up with him” quickly came to mind.
7. OOPS!!!!!!!!!! That didn’t work out so well as FSU ended up with the second worst (worst if you’re a gatros (their …) aka crocs of XXVI fan) officiating crew in the conference. Thank you Jack Childress for once again proving that the ACC has officials can’t see five feet in front of their face. Willis summed up that last VT no touchdown touchdown succinctly and understatedly saying “It’s not even close.” NOT CLOSE? The ref blew it by more than a yard. I have no clue what goal  line he was looking at because it sure wasn’t the one painted on the field!
8. The wit and wisdom of Mrs. BFT. With Childress announcing Tech’s OL being called for that penalty so often attributed to FSU came the comment, “Gee, somebody holding other than us? I didn’t think that was in the rule book.”
9. With Derek Nicholson collapsing on the field as he was trying to get off came this comment from Gene Deckerhoff. “Great fans they have here in Blacksburg. A player falls down and they start booing.”
10. With Deckerhoff describing VT’s color scheme and how they were somewhat similar to FSU’s, Willis added “At least we know our fans won’t have orange on.” AMEN to that brother!!
Bonus Pusillanimously Random  and
Vapidly Meaningless Thoughts
11. If you missed the pre-game radio interview with Rick Trickett you missed a good one. In talking about last week’s win over BC Trickett speaking as if he was giving a pre-game pep talk said “Whatever BC don’t want, we want. They don’t want wet? We want wet. They don’t want 80 mph winds? We want 80 mph winds!”  I wonder if he cleared that with Bobby before the game? Must have been because FSU won.
12. Wouldn’t it have saved a whole lot of time if they had just ended the Miami/UVa game after the pre-game ceremony? Obviously the Hurricanes were REEEEEEALLY wanting to get over to Dolphins Stadium ASAP. Cavs fans I’m sure appreciated the stress free game over the one point pull it out at the end cardiac break out the defibrillator type contests they have had
this season.
13. The good news for Miami’s (yeah, bringing back all those former players really inspired us) debacle last night? They didn’t have to have the cleaning crews come in after the game. Alright boys, roll in the demolition crew! Just to be clear we’re talking about that other demolition crew that tears down structures and not the one dressed in orange and blue with sabers on their helmets.
14. And as we tuned in to the start of the game featuring the two most hated symbols (if you’re a Seminole fan that is) in college football in the form of the Ol’ Ball Coach and the New Ball Coach, the aforementioned Mrs. BFT asked the poignant question, “Who do we root for in this game or do we hope for a sinkhole to open up at the 50 yard line and swallow up both teams?” BTW, we both voted (and in this case we get a vote) for the sinkhole. But you  probably guessed that already.
15. With 135 total points scored in the game, obviously both defenses of Navy and North Texas carefully studied and executed them quite well the principles of the Cornhusker defense. And speaking of Nebraska, it’s easy to see how they racked up 73 points against Kansas State. They practice against that same Cornhusker defense you know.

Tomahawks and Smelly Socks: Best and Worst of the Va. Tech game

Ponder this. Despite the interceptions, our biggest Tomahawk goes to number 14. Against a nasty defense that had Weatherford running for his life, Christian Ponder turned the momentum FSU's way. You've gotta love his good arm, surprising elusiveness and poise. Even with X. Lee eligible next Saturday, Ponder has earned the number two spot -- and maybe ignited a new QB controversy.

Just for kicks. Gano and Cismesia did their jobs. In particular the 70-yard punt and 50-yard doinking field goal. And an extra Tomahawk to Gano for his nifty scamper for a first down.

Elementary, my dear Watson. Another week, another LB touchdown. This week Dakoda Watson swiped and scored.

From a huge hamper of smelly socks, we now
present the stinkiest.

Mickey's off-season mission. Fix, retool, or replace the secondary. Obviously the weak link in this year's defense.

Momentum killing penalty of the week: Inside VT's five, illegal motion by an OL and another red zone opportunity wasted. At least FSU got three points out of it.

A sweaty sock for every member of the kickoff coverage team. Time after time the Hokies started with great field position.

Referee rant of the week. How many penalties did these guys miss -- on both sides? We've gave up counting.

Noles Start the Season in Fine Fashion

by Bill from Tampa

The word to summarize Friday night’s game against Nicholls State is turnovers. Specifically turnovers caused by a ball hawking Florida State defense leading to an 81-58 blowout over the Colonels.

Led by five steals each for Toney Douglas and Ralph Mims, the Seminoles forced 27 turnovers with 19 coming in the second half.

For the game FSU had 18 thefts caused mostly by a four guard lineup in the second half of Mims, Douglas, Isaiah Swann, and Jason Rich. That lineup that included freshman Julian Vaughn who started the game came out in the second half and seemingly anticipated every pass by the Colonels.

What had been a close first half with FSU leading 42-35 quickly turned into a runaway in the second with the Seminoles dominating every aspect. Until after intermission, the Colonels just about matched every shot. Had it not been for Swann connecting on all five of his three point attempts it might  have been closer or worse.

The Colonels definitely posed some challenges for Florida State as one coach said after the game although they started off shaky with turnovers on their first two possessions. Nicholls actually tied the game at 25 until FSU managed to get a bit of space on Ryan Reid’s layup on a nice pass from Douglas to end the first half.

But the second half was much different as FSU’s defense was all over the visitors from  Louisiana creating three turnovers in first four Colonel possessions.

More importantly Florida State converted those opportunities into points scoring 37 points from those miscues.

Back to back layups by Uche Echefu stretched out the lead to twenty nine points, 75-46, with 7:47 to play. At that point it was only a matter of what the final margin would be.

That margin culminated with a three pointer from walk on Matt Zitani.

The Seminoles had four players in double figures. Rich led the way with 17 points followed by Swann’s 15. Douglas and Echefu both had 10.

Vaughn in his first start in his first college game did not disappoint. The freshman was 3 of 5 from the floor for 8 points pulling down 4 rebounds,  three offensively. He added one assist with no turnovers.

Defensively the ‘Noles clamped down on the Colonels’ leading scorer Adonis Gray. After scoring 9 points in the first twenty minutes, Gray scored just two more in the final twenty.

The Seminoles return to action Monday night, hosting Georgia Southern in the first round of the Glen Wilkes tournament. Tip off is at 9:00 PM.

"This game will be won or lost by Drew Weatherford": Va. Tech preview with Hokie insider Greg Roberts

Besides being the honcho of Frank Beamer's "Beamer Ball" website, Greg is a veteran Virginia broadcaster, seven times honored by the AP, has done college football for ESPN, and hosts a daily sports talk show throughout Hokieland on WFIR Radio. Oh, and he's a Tech grad. So who better to tackle the big questions about the Hokies.

Are the players out to prove there's no such thing as an FSU jinx?
"I don't think Frank Beamer has to say a word. They know what's on the line. Many were on that team that lost that ACC championship game in 2005. Virginia Tech is trying to stay in the hunt for the Coastal Crown, and it's a nationally televised game. Tech is number 11 nationally, and they've already been embarrassed on national TV this year. So there's motivation enough."

Who does Beamer start at QB, Glennon or Taylor?
"My gut feeling is that Sean Glennon will start the game, because he's the hot quarterback. But if things aren't going well -- if he's not moving the offense, or FSU is pinning their ears back and getting to Sean -- I think they'll be quick to bring in the true freshman, Tyrod Taylor. So it wouldn't surprise me to see both
of these guys over the course of this game."

How do you compare the two QBs?
"Sean Glennon the last three ball games has completed
almost 70% of his passes, thrown for over 700 yards, and five touchdowns with zero interceptions. I think it's hard to give that guy the hook. But then Tyrod Taylor brings a different skill set.
I don't think Ty has the elusiveness of Michael Vick, but he's pretty elusive. And for a kid that just turned 18, he throws a gorgeous football. Where I think he has the advantage over Vick is the ability to manage the offense, and I think he's much more grounded as a person."

Key injuries?
"Frank Beamer told me last night Tyrod Taylor is back to 100%. But one of Tech's true playmakers, Eddie Royal, looks like he's out for this game. And that hurts Tech in two areas. First, he's the go-to receiver. But more importantly, he's the return man on special teams. He's like Virginia Tech's all-time leader in punt returns, kickoff returns -- I don't have the numbers in front of me -- but he's sensational. And the Hokies starting tight end, big Sam Wheeler, a threat in the passing game and good blocker -- he's out. He tore up a knee in the win over Georgia Tech. And then the starting Center Ryan Shuman, he's out of the game.

"On defense the man in the middle, Vince Hall, who's kind of the heart and soul of the defense and leads the team in tackles, he's had broken bones in his hand and had surgery, so I think they've already ruled him out."

How will Virginia Tech attack FSU?
"In my opinion, this game will be won or lost by Drew Weatherford. I've never seen Tech's defensive game plan change. They want to make you one dimensional. Bud Foster (Tech's D-coordinator) loves to load the box. He's going to take away the run. And he want to make you beat him throwing the football. That's why if Drew Weatheford finds the Matt Ryan magic, I think Florida State will have a lot of fun in Blacksburg on Saturday."

Finally, define "Beamer Ball" for us.
"Virginia Tech's game plan, it's not rocket science. Frank Beamer at times plays a little conservative, and hopes the defense or special teams will give the ball to the offense in good field position. So you're going to see that defense playing like their hair's on fire, special teams trying to block a punt or come up with a big return. Then you're going to see the offense just try to do its job, move the chains, not turn the football over."

FSU vs. Nicholls State Preview

By Bill from Tampa

Where/When:  Tallahassee, Friday 11/9; tipoff 7:00 PM, TV - None

Record: Season opener for both squads

Last season: FSU 22-13 overall, 7-9 ACC, 16-3 home, 15-4 non-conference. Nicholls 8-22 overall, 7-9 Southland, 2-16 road, 1-13 non-conference

Last exhibition game: FSU beat Valdosta State 87-66 behind Isaiah Swann’s 21 points and Julian Vaughn adding 15 with 6 rebounds. Nicholls State came from four points down with less than a minute to play to beat the University of Mobile 77-76 on the strength of shooting 26-39 from the free throw line.

Projected FSU starting lineup:
Toney Douglas - 12.7 ppg, 2.9 apg in 2006-2007
Isaiah Swann - 10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg in 2006-2007
Jason Rich - 10.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg in 2006-2007
Uche Echefu - 6.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg in 2006-2007
Ryan Reid - 2.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg in 2006-2007

About Florida State: Al Thornton is no longer in the  building. His points will fall to what Leonard Hamilton likes to call his “offense by committee." For FSU that means the backcourt of Swann, Rich, and Douglas. Once again the Seminoles will be a perimeter-oriented team at least to start the season. The frontcourt offense will be an issue again as Echefu is used more at the perimeter and Reid’s job is to play defense and rebound.

Post play was supposed to get a boost from 7-1 Solomon Alabi. Alabi however has been out with a stress fracture and has not been able to participate in practices. The staff is taking no chances with him and thus there is no timetable for his debut.

But there is hope for the Seminoles with FR forward Julian Vaughn. Vaughn has played quite well scoring 15 points with 6 rebounds in the exhibition game against Valdosta.

Casaan Breeden will see more time at the three spot unlike last season when he backed up Thornton at PF. Ralph Mims will obviously spell Douglas at the point. Both will be expected to add some offense when on the floor.

Freshman wing man Jordan DeMercy may see some time in these early games provided the outcome is not on the line. Exactly how Hamilton will use him remains to be seen has DeMercy has played only a dozen or so minutes in the two exhibition games.

Guard Chris Blake will not see the court as he is suspended for the semester.

About Nicholls State: Just as is the case for FSU, the Colonels lost a big part of their offense to graduation. Last season’s leading scorer in the Southland Conference, Stefan Blaszczynski is gone. With him leaves 19.2 ppg and 7.0 rpg. What will make that loss even more problematic for head coach J.P. Piper is because of his team's play at the defensive end. Last season, the Colonels gave up 80.9 ppg and were outrebounded by 6.2 rpg. If the defense does not improve, it could be a long season for Nicholls.

The Colonels are predicted to finish fifth in the conference this season.

Adonis Gray is the top returning scorer for Nicholls  State with his 13.9 ppg from a year ago. What needs to happen to help Gray is Justin Payne, the club's point guard, needs to step up his offense. To date Payne has shown little scoring ability.

What the Seminoles will do: Run. A lot. Hamilton feels more comfortable with his motion offense this season and he will be looking to keep the tempo up even when the team is forced into a half court game. Hamilton will try and get more scoring inside the paint feeling that the ‘Noles did not attack the inside enough against Valdosta.

Hamilton has not been pleased with his team’s rebounding. It has been an issue for FSU for several years now. With the exception of Vaughn, the players counted on to hit the boards just have not done the job. Look for an increased effort in that department.

Bottom Line: No disrespect to the Colonels intended. But the bottom line is that if FSU does not win this game and win it by a decent margin Hamilton will have greater issues to work out than he possibly thought he did.

Happy 78th Birthday, Bobby!

Thanks for all the wins and championships,
milestones and memories.

2 National Titles

15 Top 5 Teams

12 ACC Championships

30 Winning Seasons

25 Straight Bowl Games

2 Heisman Trophy Winners