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Seminoles Pull Out Another Close One

by Bill from Tampa
For the third game in a row the Seminoles managed to eek out a close one in beating Stetson 79-77.

The Stetson Hatters came into Tallahassee shooting a woeful 19% from behind the arc. You would never have known it however as the Hatters connected on 13 of 32 three pointers nearly pulling off the upset of Florida State.

FSU however apparently contracted the Hatters’ three point difficulties in shooting a horrendous 1-10 from behind the line, a bomb that Uche Echefu canned from above the key at the 13:25 mark of the first half.

The saving grace for the Seminoles however came at the free throw line where the ‘Noles were 28 of 24 to Stetson’s 8 of 13.

It was Toney Douglas’ two charity shots with 1:02 that was the final margin of victory. Following a missed runner by Douglas with nine seconds left in the game a driving layup by A.J. Smith was no good but would have been called off as Smith charged sealing the win for the 3-0 Seminoles.

FSU jumped out to a 7-4 lead before Stetson canned three wide open three pointers all from above the key giving the Hatters a 14-10 lead.

It was back and forth with Stetson taking a 27-24 lead on yet another wide open three from above the key. this time by Eric Diaz at the 5:30 mark.

At that point FSU increased their defensive intensity getting hands into the passing lanes, forcing Stetson in to turnovers or poor shots that led to easy run outs (three baskets of which were attributable to the pinpoint passing of Luke Loucks) or foul shots.

FSU held the Hatters scoreless over that final 5:30 outscoring them 19-0 to lead 43-27 at the half.

It looked like FSU finally had control of the game.

Stetson had something else in mind.

It's an important game for Mickey, but he won't even be on the sideline

Good old Mickey. While Nole fans could always grouse and disagree on the offense, they counted on Andrews' defense to keep it close.

But since midseason, FSU's fire-breathing D.C. finds himself in a place as unfamiliar as a quantum mechanics lecture: the hot seat.

Suddenly the Garnet & Gold nation sees defense as the team's Achilles heel. Worse, they mutter that the art of stopping opponents has passed Mickey by. That he stubbornly clings to his favorite man coverage. And the way he telegraphs blitzes is the football equivalent of putting a "Kick Me" sign on your back.

Our friends at Tomahawk Nation have been especially tough on M.A., beginning with the Georgia Tech shame game, and cranking it up to a deafening Number 11 after the B.C. debacle.

Now if it's true that Maryland's offense is a kissin' cousin to Boston College's attack, at least Mickey has a chance to get it right Saturday night.

But first he faces another hurdle. Tonight.

If Miami's D-coordinator slams the door on Georgia Tech's wicked triple option -- something Andrews couldn't do -- it adds fuel to the fire that Mickey's ready for a rocking chair at the Old Coach's Home.

Seminole faithful who still believe in the man might say a prayer that he'll vanquish opponents and vindicate himself. Otherwise, they could soon be praying to St. Jude -- the patron saint of lost causes.

Young Seminoles Come From Behind To Win

by Bill from Tampa

In a game that saw seven lead changes, Leonard Hamilton’s young squad showed that apparently this season is going to be filled with a lot of nailbiters.

Led by senior Toney Douglas’ 18 points, it was sophomore Jordan DeMercy and freshman Chris Singleton who were the heroes late in the game. DeMercy scored four points in the last twenty seven seconds and Singleton with a basket and a key rebound to give Florida State a hard fought 65-61 win over LaSalle.

But it was a team effort that put the ‘Noles in a position to win the game as Hamilton noted in a post game radio interview.

“What I’m most proud of is how everybody who played contributed in some meaningful way” Hamilton said. “Whether it was someone getting a rebound, going after a loose ball, or scoring a basket for us we had players step up and make plays for us.”

Although the boxscore saw only one other player in double digits, Ryan Reid with 11, other players hit key baskets at crucial times to either keep FSU in the game or take the lead back.

FSU began the game as though they would control it somewhat easily leading 7-0 with just over two minutes gone in the game. The Explorers cooperated by being ice cold for more than six minutes before making their first points.

But then the ‘Noles experienced a number of sloppy turnovers and a scoring drought of nearly ten minutes and found themselves trailing 12-9 with 7:56 left in the half.

The Seminoles trailed by as much as eight points twice until Hamilton employed a 2-3 and even a little 1-3-1 zone defense and inched back to trail 19-22 at the break.

Hamilton explained afterwards that the zone was not so much to slow down LaSalle’s transition game and force low percentage perimeter shots as it was to offset the smaller lineup of the Explorers and keep the players he wanted on the floor offensively.

It was not a good shooting half for FSU as the ‘Noles were just 23% from the floor.

“We were out of sync offensively” said Hamilton. “We had difficulty in getting things going. We’d had turnovers or miss a point blank shot” he added.

Still FSU was very much in the game trailing by just three.

We interrupt your B.C. hangover for a Seminole feel-good moment

If there's a classier guy in college football than Myron Rolle, he must be curing cancer or negotiating for world peace. We're gonna miss the way no. 3 played a role model for his teammates and all the positive press he brought to the Seminole Nation. For example, this interview heard on, of all places, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" a few days ago.

Meaninglessly Random and Randomly Meaningless Thoughts

1. Black uniforms eh? Appropriate color after last night’s game.

2. BTW, did you hear? FSU football players were involved in a brawl earlier in the week. Just in case you missed it. Pretty sure the ESPN family of networks didn’t make much mention of this yesterday.

3. Here’s an alternative energy suggestion albeit a very short term one. Take eighty five all black uniforms and BUUUUUUUUUUUURN THEM!!!!! BURN THEM TO A CRISP!! BURN THEM TO ASHES!!! Just build a big pile of them, take a few matches, and just ignite them never to be worn or seen again. Sure the heat generated would last only a short while. But the serenity gained from never EVER seeing them again would more than offset that.

4. And on the topic of energy, here’s an energy saver. Let’s see, FSU won at Boston College three seasons ago. BC won in Tallahassee two years ago. The Seminoles come out on top again in Bean Town last year. The Eagles become annoying guests again winning in Tallahassee on Saturday night. So obviously the ‘Noles win in Chestnut Hill next season. No need to make the trip. It’s all settled.

5. After Graham Gano’s run off a fake punt and Preston Parker’s TD pass to Greg Carr, maybe we should have stuck with the trick gadget plays? Just a thought.

(Really, I mean a news story like that fight in the student union just went practically unnoticed by that four letter network and I know I’d like to utter a few four letters right about now to them. Don’t know how they could have missed that.)

6. Gene Deckerhoff on the weather Saturday night and the crowd in attendance: “Everyone is wearing black and shivering.” Today, no one is wearing black or even wants to see that color ever again and is depleting the supply on store shelves of Pepto Bismol.

7. Memo to Jeff Jagodzinski: Now really, did you think calling that timeout was going to make Graham Gano miss that field goal near the end of the half?

8. Bobby Bowden in a pre-game interview on FSU’s kicking game: “Our legacy is wide right. Wide left. Short. Never too high though.”

9. If anyone saw that TV commercial for that certain insurance company that sponsors college football knows where I can get me one of those nifty nacho cheese fountains with Bowden’s head on the top, email me.

10. Falling under the category of “And you do what for a living?” that aforementioned four letter network during the Ohio State/Illinois game flashed a list of upsets that happened one year ago to the day. That list included a win over #2 ranked Boston College by “Florida”. And again we ask, you do WHAT for a living?

Young Noles Hang On to Win at JU

by Bill from Tampa

It had been twenty-one years and fourteen games since the Jacksonville Dolphins had beaten Florida  State. That streak came darn close to ending Saturday night.

But despite scoring just two points in the last four minutes of the game the Seminoles held on for a 59-57 win.

Toney Douglas led all scorers with 16 points and added 4 steals as well.

It didn’t take long for McDonald’s All American Chris Singleton to make an impression showing what kind of an active player he will be. In his college debut Singleton scored 12 points and pulled down 17 rebounds as well.

Jordan DeMercy added 10.

The ‘Noles started off the game well enough with an 8-2 lead. But turnovers began to plague the Seminoles and eventually the Dolphins took an 11-8 lead on Ben Smith’s long three from above the key.

Leonard Hamilton adjusted his lineup going with a smaller and quicker unit that allowed his team to attack the basket better. The result was a 22-6 run to finish out the half.

DeMercy set a rock solid pick allowing Douglas to hit a stop-and-pop jumper right before the buzzer giving FSU a 30-17 halftime lead.

FSU connected on 50% of its shots while holding JU to just 24% in the first twenty minutes.

The ‘Noles and Dolphins pretty much played back and forth for four-fifths of the second half until Solomon Alabi hit an eight-foot jumper from the left side to give FSU a 57-40 lead with 4:10 remaining.

At that point the young Seminoles must have felt the game was in hand. Jacksonville had other plans though.

So just what have we learned from the B.C. Blackout breakdown?

That FSU was probably due for a dud performance. After all, it's been a thrilling 5 - 1 run since the meltdown vs. Wake. Even the Georgia Tech loss could have been a win.

That Jimbo, Mickey and the rest of the staff could be out-schemed and out-coached, even though they had more talent on their side.

That with so much to play for, since Wake's loss conveniently teed up the Noles to win the division, FSU players could be out-hustled by a team with a smart plan and refuse-to-lose attitude.

That a light, quick offensive line can beat a bigger defensive front, but not when that defense is at least as quick, more disciplined, and motivated.

That, on the other hand, stout defense and hard-nosed tackling can occasionally take the night off.

That when it comes to calling pass interference, Ron Cherry's ref crew is on a different planet than other college zebras.

That Christian Ponder has come a long way, but may be only half way there. And that D'Vo needs to play more than one or two snaps a game.

That excessive celebration can result in more painful things than a penalty.

That even after the suspensions for fighting, some players still wanted to get it on after the final gun. Apparently an important lesson yet to be learned.

That we never again want to see those damn black uniforms.

Boston College Preview: Alex of BC All Access answers our questions about the Eagles

QB Chris Crane has been hot and cold this season. He threw for well over 400 yards against N.C. State in an early season win. What's happened since then?
To be perfectly honest, I don't really know. How someone can look so good passing the ball one game (and he looked Matt Ryan-esque that game) and look terrible all the other games is tough to understand. I suppose its been mostly due to confidence issues. He put together a couple miserable games so I guess he has lost confidence in his ability to get passes completed. He hesitates, gets happy feet, and is not accurate with his passes. I would expect a Florida State crowd to keep him from getting comfortable and most likely force him into another one of his cold games.

Talk about B.C.'s run threat, who'll get the ball Saturday, and can the RBs also catch out of the backfield?
BC will split carries between two freshman running backs, Montel Harris and Josh Haden. Both have shown they are very talented and bring different things to the table. Harris is quick and has great vision, making good cuts through holes. Haden is also quick but is more of a between the tackles runner. Typically BC will give both backs carries early on and then stick with whomever is playing best that game. Harris has had three 100 yard rushing games this year.  As for their receiving ability, it's a little unknown at the moment. They hardly ever throw it to the RBs out of the backfield and when they do, they usually catch them for minimal gains.

B.C.'s always has a massive O-line. How do you compare this year's to the OLs that did a good job protecting Matt Ryan? And are they better at run or pass blocking?
This year's O-line has had some great games, but have also struggled in some cases. They are still getting used to the zone-blocking scheme that Coach Jags installed last season. We are trying to make a transformation from big and strong lineman to agile and quick lineman. Their pass blocking has been solid for the most part, but sometimes they will break down and cause Crane to get sacked or make a bad pass. The run blocking has been solid most of the season but nothing spectacular. I would say at this point the run blocking is better because it has been much more consistent.

Friday Bulletin: Suspensions will devastate FSU's WR corps for Saturday's B.C. game

Just in from a very reliable source in Tallahassee: Suspensions for Saturday are Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Taiwan Easterling, Cameron Wade and Richard Goodman.

You've got to hope this won't affect team morale against the Eagles. And that Parker, Carr, Owens and Louis Givens, FSU's new threat, will have extra motivation to perform, as well as take up the slack.

More details as the rest of this story unfolds.

Another Fearless Football Forecast from the Great Seminole Swami

He's back. Nolestradamus and his crystal ball are getting some strong vibes about Saturday night.

Spread 'em. To counteract the Eagles' wide load D-line, FSU will spread things out. Way out. Look for every spread in the playbook, reverses to the speed guys, misdirection -- and little or nothing in the middle. That is, unless or until the Noles can tire out B.C.'s big boys and quick linebackers.

Ponder under pressure. For B.C. to have a chance they must terrorize Christian. He'll be on the run, hence rollouts from the shotgun will be SOP.

D'Vo Do Your Thang. FSU's special secret sauce against B.C. might very well be more of D'Vo. Who better to throw a change up at Frank Spaziani's defensive strategy and run 'em ragged. Also, just as we...ahem, correctly predicted against Georgia Tech, Richardson will use his arm when the D least expects it.

A close one. Expect B.C.'s defense to keep them in the game, at least until the fourth quarter. 

Emotional edge. The Beantown boys will come in full of pee and vinegar. FSU is coming off an emotional high against Clemson and has been distracted by the midweek brawl at the student union.

We've got this weird feeling. Call us crazy, but something tells us that everyone will wear black Saturday night.