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Canes Have Cred (though obviously that doesn't carry over to gameday attendance)

For the last year or so, college football authorities have toyed and teased with crowning FSU and/or Miami as being back to their rightful place among the gridiron elite. Well, apparently some of the cognoscenti have convinced themselves that Miami has achieved "back," while ignoring FSU like Michael Vick at the Westminister Kennel Club Show.

As we detailed last Friday, all the early bird Top 25 predictions for 2010 were eager to rank the Canes as high as #5. Only one of those polls included FSU (ESPN's Mark Schlabach at #21).

And Monday another early bird Top 25, this one by CBS Sports Dennis Dodd, trumpets UM's supposed return to greatness with a #12 ranking and the belief that "The 'Canes will take another step into growing into a national championship challenger." I suppose we should be thankful Dodd at least included the Noles in his "Ten to Watch" list.

Looks like Dennis and his colleagues may be overlooking just a few things, such as:

• How the Canes totally gakked it in the Champs Bowl (and against the same team that FSU whipped in the same bowl last year).

• Wisconsin demonstrating how to pressure the supposedly unflappable Jacory Harris and throw UM out of sync.

• The supposedly unnecessary surgery Harris will now have on his throwing hand, sidelining him for much or all of spring practice.

• The redshirt freshman (A.J. Highsmith) that will be UM's only healthy QB til Harris returns.

• An even nastier injury that apparently knocks leading rusher Graig Cooper out for the entire 2010 season.

• Not to mention the recruiting class that writers for both The Herald and Sun Sentinel say could be a disappointment.

• Not to mention #2: UM's recruiting coordinator and D-Line coach, Clint Hurtt, is all but out the door.

Now does that sound like a team that's back, swagger and all?

SMU fan site calls Valoria a steal for FSU

To find out more about Vic Valoria, FSU's new Strength & Conditioning Coach, we did a little due diligence. And a great place to start is with the folks who know SMU as well as anybody -- the guys who run the team's premiere fan site, ponyfans.com. Here's what they told us about the man who was an intense competitor for the Mustangs (he's no. 55 in the video above) and later brought that intensity to their S&C program.

"What a STELLAR guy Vic is. As I recall, Vic came to SMU as another one of those "ho hum" recruits that was a little too short and a little too slow. But the guy played with more attitude than.... well, anyone. He went on to be probably the best SMU linebacker post Death Penalty besides Chris Bordano (who played for the Saints). Vic was a 4-year letterman and was a multi-year all-conference selection. I know after SMU he left to play in NFL Europe. Then next I heard, he was setting the world on fire as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at LSU. While there, he was credited for basically single-handedly turning JaMarcus Russell from a big tub of goo into one of the most dominant college players of his day.

"We had a great strength and conditioning coach at SMU prior to Vic -- Chuck Faucette, so I was surprised that someone as young as Vic got the job to replace Faucette. Candidly, I was a little concerned. But between his knowledge and the attitude he brought – which infectiously began to rub off on his players – Vic was a huge improvement.

"You guys got a steal in Vic. I can't stress how good of a hire you just made."

Bill from Tampa's Basketball Diary

Post-Virginia Tech Thoughts & Analysis

As shaky as our FT shooting has been at times this season, we came through when we needed to with Snaer and Dulkys sealing the win from the line. It was clear VT wanted the ball in Snaer's hands in those final seconds. It didn't work. All the trash talking in the world from Hudson didn't rattle Michael at all.

Hamilton can claim all he wants that this was not a must-win but it was obvious talking to some after the game that there was a real sense of urgency Saturday night and not wanting to be 1-3 in ACC play. Apparently that player's meeting Friday night was rather intense and paid dividends as well.

Jeff Allen getting into foul trouble in the first half was a big plus for us. That essentially left Delaney to beat us (and despite those threes at the end, frankly I was never worried that we would lose it as there just wasn't enough time; in other words no Les Henson moment this time), leaving them without a good scoring option in the post. Delaney is good but they have some players who just turned down shots, i.e. Davila. He had a wide open shot at the FT line very late in the game. He turned it down and passed to Delaney who had a much harder shot, made harder with Dulkys's hand in his face. That was a key moment for us IMO. when you had guys turning down shots. Or taking really bad shots, as well -- i.e, J.T. Thompson's three from the right wing.

Defense was all over the place, especially Chris Singleton. Can't overlook the breakaway play that looked like a sure two points for VT, where Chris and someone else hustled back, and instead VT came away with nothing.

I'm going to have to go back and look at the turnovers but there were a number that just should not have happened -- yet on a good number of them VT just made a good play on the ball. I also question a couple of calls one ref in particular made where he called the ball OB on us (three times in fact) and it sure didn't look like it to me. There was also that basket interference call that clearly was not basket interference. I can see how they called it that way but the ball never hit the rim. It was directly over the basket.

Offense against the zone defense just continues to struggle. Against a 2-3 you want someone going into the middle. We would either not do that at all or do it too late. There was also a play where Solomon received a very nice entry pass from the left wing and rolled into the lane for the shot floater and two points. He could have done that all day if VT kept playing it that way but we never went back to it.

Despite how tight this game became (and to those who left early, why come at all?), we played pretty well overall. They made their runs and we answered this time. Call it a bend-but-don't-break defense that just really turned it on at that end, holding VT to one basket from 8:43 to the end of the game. That's how ACC games go. Look at the other ACC games yesterday, notably Georgia Tech that led by 20 points and 19 in the second half and had to fight off UNC at the end of the game. We have to take that attitude of yesterday's game into every remaining game this season.

One other thing. That had to be THE worst drive home from a game I've ever had to do. Rain, we're talking a deluge, was all the way from Tallahassee to south of Homasassa Springs. Just about a whiteout at times. Nearly five hours just to get home. With the outcome of the game, it was worth it.

Florida State: The Rodney Dangerfield of college football for 2010

Flash forward to the 2010 ACC Football Kickoff at some swanky resort. Jimbo Fisher stands before the media, tugs at his collar and moans, "I tell 'ya, we don't get no respect."

Likely to happen? Not unless Jimbo is channeling Rodney.

Justifiable? Absolutely, judging by all the 2010 preseason polls released so far.

Only one of eight crystal ball gazers includes Florida State in their Top 25. Different story though for the Noles' most heated (Miami) and hated (UF) rivals. Heck, even UNC made more Top 25's than FSU. Yep, the team that was destined to have a breakout season in '09, yet lost to the Noles and choked in their bowl game.

So who do these smarty pants pigskin pickers think will finish at or near the top? Here's a lineup, including links.

ESPN/Mark Schlabach - The savvy Schlabach, a former AJC writer who knows Southern football, squeezes FSU in at #21. He also ranks the gators at #11, and the Canes at #17.

CNN/SI - Andy Staples (who!?) disses FSU with no ranking, while slotting the gators at #11 and Canes at #14.

CBS Sports - Again, no FSU. But Miami fans are juiced about their #9 ranking. The gators fall in somewhere between #11 and 25 as this prognosticator was too lazy to get specific after his Top Ten.

Bleacher Report - The Noles are sub Top 25, being tossed into Bleacher Reports' "Teams to Watch" category. This poll ranks the gators up at #6, while the Canes come in at #17.

Rivals - FSU is a noticeable no-show in the Rivals rankings, but the gators get the #10 spot and Canes jump in at #18.

National Champs - This is a new site to us but the same old story for the Noles. FSU could do no better than their "Others Receiving Consideration" list. Meanwhile the gators and Canes both make NC's Top Ten at #4 and #10 respectively.

College Football Saturday - Ho-hum. It's Top Ten for the gators (#5) and Canes (#10), while the Noles are lumped "Among Others Considered."

Mercury News - FSU is MIA on this Top 25 by West Coast writer Jon Wilner. But how 'bout those Canes at #5 and Gators at #15.

As if you needed any more reasons to be at Doak this fall...

Photo credit: Orlando Sentinel

Wolfpack lays the Wood to Seminoles

by Bill from Tampa

All Leonard Hamilton could say about Scott Wood’s performance was “we had no answer for him.”

As Hamilton likes to often say, “no doubt about that” as the freshman guard scorched the Seminoles for a career high 31 points on 10 of 15 shooting in leading the North Carolina State Wolfpack to an 88-81 upset win over 25th ranked Florida State in Tallahassee.

Just a 7 ppg shooter Wood could almost not miss in a night that included 7 of 11 from behind the arc.

Maybe the Seminoles were just too focused on stopping the Pack’s leading scorer Tracy Smith (FSU did manage to hold Smith to just 7 points) and forgot about Wood. But the ‘Noles allowed Wood to take uncontested shots early on that obviously gave him confidence. By the time FSU got serious in guarding him Wood was nearly unconscious, making shots even with defenders in his face.

But it just wasn’t the defense on Wood that disappointed Hamilton.

“We did not defend very well right from the beginning,” Hamilton said.

Nor was it just the defense. The offense once again stalled in the half court.

“I thought we were exposed tonight. We did not attack the basket and we just looked afraid in space,” Hamilton commented. We didn’t play with confidence and was tentative against their three quarter press.”

“Obviously we have certain skills that are not developed yet.”

Even when the ‘Noles did attack the basket things did not go well as FSU missed fifteen layups.

For everyone who told us Mickey Andrews should have his own tribute at Doak:

Noles can't overturn Terps in College Park

by Bill from Tampa

After last season ended Greivis Vasquez thought about going pro and playing in the NBA. Unfortunately for the Florida State Seminoles he pulled out of the draft and returned for his senior season.

Vasquez led three Maryland seniors with 22 points seemingly thwarting every FSU run in the second half with a timely basket or three to help defeat the ‘Noles 77-68.

The trio of Eric Hayes (17), Landon Milbourne (13) and Vasquez combined for 52 points. It was a statistic that did not go unnoticed by Leonard Hamilton.

“Maryland played like a mature team,” Hamilton said. “That’s what three seniors will give you. We played like an immature team.”

Vasquez in particular in the second half was a Seminole killer hitting four straight baskets giving the Terrapins a 62-49 lead after FSU had pulled to within four points with 8:59 left in the game.

Later after Devidas Dulkys hit a three pointer with 3:10 remaining to pull within six, 72-66, it was Vasquez who canned another three to make it just about a certainty that the Terps would upset the 18th ranked Seminoles.

“It’s huge. It’s a ranked team coming in here, and Florida State had beaten a lot of people,” Hayes said.

“Give Maryland credit, they stuck with their game plan,” Hamilton commented. “They moved the ball around and consistently executed their offense.”

That game plan included patiently working the ball, getting the Seminoles moving out of position, thus opening up good scoring opportunities for the Terrapins.

Hamilton added “We didn’t move the defense as well as they did and we didn’t have the same defensive juice as they did in the first half.”

The half time statistics backed Hamilton’s comments. The Seminoles gave up the most points this season in the first half trailing 41-27 as FSU shot just 40% compared to 50% for Maryland. 

Asked about the Maryland pressure Hamilton said “their press bothered us (in the first half) in that it slowed us up enough that we didn’t flow into our offense.”

The second half saw FSU come out attacking the basket more instead of settling for quick jump shots and a more energetic defense to bring the Terrapin shooting percentage down.

FSU pulled within three at one point, at 48-45, following two Solomon Alabi free throws after Maryland had missed seven straight baskets, setting the stage for Vasquez’s explosion.

Leading the ‘Noles was Alabi who scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half. Dulkys also came to life in the second period scoring 11 of his 15 in the final twenty minutes. Chris Singleton was just 1 of 9 with four points in the first half but finished with 12 to go along with a game high 14 rebounds.

So which is it, FSU fans: More creampuffs and empty seats? Or a tough out-of-conf. schedule and sell out Doak?

Good Lord the wailing and gnashing of teeth in 2008 when FSU played two I-AA teams to open the season. Seminole fans weren't happy and they showed it. Those games against Western Carolina and Chattanooga averaged 72, 310.

Now a new head coach wants to make it S.O.P. “I don’t mind playing a tough non-conference game," says Jimbo, "but I think you’re crazy, in my opinion, to go out and play three of them.”

Makes sense. But will your fanny be in a seat at Doak for what many fans called exhibition games back in '08?

Maybe it's just a matter of acquiring a taste for creampuffs. After all, that school to our South -- the one that gives its coach chest pains -- opens every season with a couple of massacres against defenseless opponents that has Amnesty International going "O.M.G.!"

But creampuffs have rarely been on FSU's menu. Guess how many I-AA teams the Noles played in the ten years before opening with a double dose of 'em in 2008? Exactly one -- a  62 - 10 win over The Citadel in 2005.

Division 1 weak sisters? A handful. UAB, Troy, Syracuse, Rice and Western Michigan road tripped to Tallahassee during this decade.

Yes, BUT says the Devil's Advocate: FSU did play its share of cupcakes over the years. They just happened to be ACC patsies like Duke and Maryland. 

One thing that should make those creampuffs palatable. And, of course, that's winning (duh). Until recently, even when Duke, Virginia, Maryland and Wake were at their worst, Doak attendance still averaged around 80,000.

But now that the Bowden drama is resolved, and FSU football has been rebooted, will you be there when, say, South Alabama and FIU kickoff the Noles season? 

Even Jimbo finds it hard to believe Bowden has driven off into the sunset