ChantRant.com

Alexander, Harley and Jackson clean out their lockers

Lost in the celebration of Saturday's final gun field goal win over Clemson, was this terse announcement from FSU Sports Information:

"A.J. Alexander, Jamar Jackson and Jajuan Harley have all left the Florida State football team on their own accord."

In the case of Alexander, the Noles were able to steal him from Penn State, his home state favorite, in 2008. The speedy athlete (WR, kick returner and DB who ran a 4.4) was tried at DB, then moved to the offense this year. Used sparingly, he had 12 rushing yards on three reverses and 15 yards on two pass receptions.

Jamar Jackson had the prototypical defensive end size, but could never overcome injuries and move up the depth chart.

Jajuan Harley was a Rivals 4-Star out of Rickards, who was injured on the kickoff team this season and apparently decided to move on.

It's a shame when it doesn't work out for the team and the player, for whatever reasons. Especially with guys who have potential, on a team hungry for playmakers. On the other hand the departures open up roster spots and scholarships for coming seasons.

Singleton's record breaker leads Noles

by Bill from Tampa

If you missed Sunday’s Florida State 97-73 win over UNC Greensboro, you missed history,

Chris Singleton, the defending ACC Defensive Player of the Year and who is attempting to become only the second ACC player to repeat that accolade, had a game for the Florida State record books.

Singleton recorded the third ever triple double in 64 years of FSU basketball by scoring 22 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, to go along with 10 steals.

The steals set a new record breaking Bob Sura’s record of nine thefts in one game.

Showing why he is considered one of the very top defenders if not the best in the country, Singleton took over the game immediately by scoring 10 points and collected two of his steals in the first four minutes of the game.

Leonard Hamilton simply said after the game about Singleton’s performance, “Chris was very focused.”

“He brought a lot of energy that the rest of the team fed off of. Defense means a lot to him.”

Defense apparently meant a lot to the whole team in this game.

Not exactly thrilled with the defensive effort in Friday’s game despite the statistics, FSU held UNCG to 38.6% from the floor. Although that statistic was higher than the prior game, Hamilton was happier with this effort.

“In one on one situations against their guards our defense was better," Hamilton said. “Our big men rotated better.”

But not only was the defense better, the offense was sharper as well. Helped by numerous run outs leading to 32 points off 26 Spartan turnovers, the Seminoles relentlessly attacked the rim scoring 42 points in the paint and 17 second chance points.

For the game, FSU shot 51.5% from the floor helped by 7 of 14 shooting by Singleton and a quiet, relatively speaking compared to Singleton, 7 of 9 by Michael Snaer (16 points) and 6 of 10 by Okaro White (also 16 points). Derwin Kitchen added 11 points.

The ‘Noles were an excellent 20-25 from the free throw line and a more than respectable 7-18 from behind the arc.

Deliriously Random and Ecstatically Meaningless Thoughts

1. So, can I assume no one needs any cheering up today? Anyone? Anyone at all? There is no one that needs cheering up today? No waiting. Seriously, no waiting at all. Just let me know.

2. Monk Bonasorte on the pre-game radio show: “I hope it doesn’t come down to a kick at the end of the game.” Why? Why not?? A 55-yard field goal? Piece of cake. With our kicking history, was there ever a doubt in any FSU fan’s mind? It’s not like we miss game winning field goals very often at all now is it.

3. Asked an exhausted Mrs. BFT from a long last several days of work who just could not make it through the game and was awoken by this wild one person celebration going on (assuming that can be done), “Did we kick the extra point to win the game?” Yes dear, we always line up at the 45 yard line to kick PATs. It’s muuuuuuuuuuuuuuch more exciting that way.

4. Said Jimbo Fisher, asked just prior to kickoff about his team following “two crushing losses," “They’re ready to play football.” And of course as we all know playing football includes holding calls, being offsides, not covering RBs out of the backfield, giving up 10 yards at a clip, etc. Somehow I’m guessing that is NOT what Jimbo meant by playing football on Clemson’s first drive of the game.

5. Now North Carolina QB TJ Yates throws four interceptions and a paltry 196 yards. He couldn’t have done that last week???? He must have had a tired arm. Yeah, that’s it.

6. Just checking again ….. no one needs any consoling?

7. One BIG plus about the, shall we say anemic, FSU offense in the first half. At least it didn’t take long to add up the stats.

8. I don’t know about the rest of you, but following the third play of the third quarter 42 yard completion from EJ Manuel to Rodney Smith, where the only other successful play was the 52 yarder to Smith on FSU’s first play of the first half, I’m thinking let’s just run the fly pattern to Smith every play for the rest of the game. Surely, Clemson’s defense would not be expecting that, right? And Rodney is young. There would be no issues running about 30 fly patterns would there?

9. And speaking of play calling, we now know what the hand signal from Jimbo means, the rather interesting signal with his hand under his chin fluttering his fingers almost Three Stooges like, we have that one deciphered. It apparently means to have one of the WRs drop the pass that is right into his hands. I think we should retire that play. Permanently.

10. From Gene Deckerhoff following Clemson’s second offensive possession: “Florida State’s defense thwarts another Clemson drive.” Again I reiterate that was Clemson’s SECOND drive of the game.

Bonus Deliriously Random and Ecstatically Meaningless Thoughts

Seminoles kick last-second gremlins

“I sent up some prayers for sure, and just thanked God for the opportunity again. I felt it off my foot. It felt pretty good, but about halfway I thought it was starting to fade left and I was just hoping, willing it to the right; ‘stay right, stay right. ’ When I saw it was going to be good, Shawn jumped up and started yelling, so I took off because I didn’t want to get dog piled. There are some big dudes out there.” -Dustin Hopkins

"We only had 17 plays in the first half…We knew it was going to be tough...that we were going to have to try to fight through and we just figured out a way, got the option going, got some things going outside and then nickel and dime, got
a couple quarterback runs." -Jimbo

“Jimbo will not let us get down. Honestly we owe a lot to our coaches. They coach us really hard. Win or a lose they are going to coach us hard regardless." -E.J. Manuel

"“The biggest key for us was communication and I felt like we handled that very well tonight. We came together and made sure everyone had their assignments and it came down to making some plays at the end and we were able to do so.” -Kendall Smith

Noles season tip-off game was no slam dunk

Chris Singleton summed it up best, it did not feel like a 20 point win. On paper it was a twenty point win, but it wasn’t all that easy for the Florida State Seminoles in beating North Florida 75-55.

For whatever reasons, first game jitters or just very early in the season, the Seminoles came out tentative to start the game and worse yet the second half where the Ospreys went on a 20-6 run to close the score to 50-45 with 10:45 to play

The Seminoles struggled to score for the first minute-plus in the game, but a steal finished off by a jumper by Devidas Dulkys got FSU on the scoreboard. Three steals and nearly a fourth by Dulkys (he eventually got that fourth steal later in the game) led to a 14-2 lead seven minutes into the game.

After Further Review: Tom Rob's updated Clemson Preview

OFFENSE

This unit has struggled all year with injuries, inconsistency, and predictability. The scheme has been a mix of pro-style (which is rumored what offensive coordinator Billy Napier prefers) and spread (which is rumored what coach Dabo Swinney prefers) and Clemson has been awfully predictable—when they are under center they usually run and when they are in the shotgun, they usually pass. Because of that, game plans have seemed disjointed and many games have lacked any real flow. When the offense has clicked, such as at Auburn for the first three quarters, the Tigers have been dangerous. But more often than not, the offense has not clicked and has been below average.  The Tigers are averaging just 333 yards per game and 5.1 yards per play.

The QB situation figured to be in good shape once Kyle Parker somewhat spurned baseball (he signed a contract, but won’t play until next season). Instead, Parker (1,529 yards, 55%, 9 TDs, 7 ints.) has struggled with accuracy and consistency. To be fair to Parker, the game plans have been erratic and the Tigers have struggled at WR, but he also hasn’t progressed as much as coaches or fans thought he would. It got so bad that the coaches said they would likely play backup Tajh Boyd (107 yards, 43%, 2 TDs, 1 int., 4 games) against NC State, but I believe Parker went the whole way. Parker has talent, but will likely never be the upper level QB that the coaches and fans thought would emerge.

The RB position has talent with Andre Ellington, Jamie Harper, and Roderick McDowell, but FSU likely will not face Ellington (686 yards, 5.9 average, 10 TDs, 12 receptions, 109 yards, 1 TD), who injured his toe two weeks ago. In his place, expect Harper (383 yards, 3.5 average, 4 TDs, 18 receptions, 203 yards, 3 TDs) and McDowell (95 yards, 4.8 average, 1 TD) to split the carries fairly evenly. Harper hasn’t had a great year running the ball, but he is a dangerous receiver.  McDowell has the shiftiness that Harper lacks, but has not featured much until Ellington went down. Fullback Chad Diehl is talented, but not utilized as much as he should be. The Clemson coaches have not featured the running game as much as many fans have wanted and that likely won’t change too much against FSU.

Much like FSU, the WR corps has been pretty average…and that might be nice. Clemson started the season with upperclassmen getting the bulk of the playing time, but as the weeks have progressed youngsters such as DeAndre Hopkins (23 receptions, 266 yards, 2 TDs), Jaron Brown (16 receptions, 230 yards, 2 TDs), Bryce McNeal (16 receptions, 166 yards), and Marquan Jones (14 receptions, 96 yards) have gotten the lion’s share of the playing time. The group still doesn’t scare anyone, but it’s setting the Tigers up for a better future. Hopkins, especially, has serious talent. Tight end Dwayne Allen (29 receptions, 339 yards, 1 TD) is a big-time talent who leads the team in receptions and yards. 

Yet again, the offensive line is struggling and inconsistent. For several years Clemson fans have been calling for the head of offensive line coach, and former FSU offensive coordinator, Brad Scott.

Bill from Tampa's Long Awaited FSU Basketball Season Preview

When we last saw the Florida State basketball team, it was making a vaunted second half comeback against Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament that came up just short.

The quest for FSU to reach the NCAA for a third year in a row for only the second time in its 64 year history begins tonight against North Florida.

Gone are leading scorer and shot blocker Solomon Alabi and Ryan Reid whose defense in the post was frequently praised by Hamilton and will be missed by fans.

With those personnel losses what can be expected from this season’s edition and will there be a drop off in Hamilton’s calling card namely defense?

Fortunately for Florida State junior Chris Singleton, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and second leading scorer (10.2 ppg) last season, leads a core of returning players. They include starters senior PG Derwin Kitchen (3.9 apg) and sophomore SG Michael Snaer (8.8 ppg). Moving into starting roles are junior SG Devidas Dulkys who started 22 games last year before Snaer was inserted, and F Xavier Gibson, also a junior, who Hamilton frequently comments on the potential he possesses.

Among returning players off the bench are junior guards Luke Loucks, Pierre Jordan (nursing a foot injury), and sophomore forward Terrance Shannon (also nursing an ankle injury).

As you can see the unit has quite a bit of youth to it. But it is experienced youth that has played a lot of minutes in nearly every game over the two previous seasons.

Who doesn’t have a lot of D1 college experience are the newcomers, two freshmen and a junior college transfer who add depth and talent to the roster.

And now the very definition of being "Seminole Faithful"

We know a Seminole fan named Kenny. You could say he’s a loyal fan.

How loyal? Well, he has an unbroken streak of being at Doak for every game since the season opener in 1987. That’s 144 games by our count. Throw in some away and neutral site games over the years and you have at least 20 more.

Impressive. But Kenny shrugs it off saying, “There’s other people with longer streaks.”

How does Kenny do it? No excuses.

Noon games too hot for ‘ya? That threat of rain keeping you home? Never a factor for Kenny.

Illness? "Anyone that doesn't go to games due to weather without a serious medical reason is a complete wanker," Kenny says. Heck, he was at the '89 Auburn game with a 103-104 degree fever, barely able make to make the climb to his seat. Had to have his friend drive him home, breaking his record of always being behind the wheel.

High ticket prices? Doesn't stop Kenny. And he’s had some lean years through his 24-season streak. He thanks the generosity of friends for help in the ticket department. They know seeing his streak broken couldn't be good for the home team.

Gas costs too much? Ha! Kenny doesn't even have a dependable car, yet he finds a way to get there -- even though he lives 250 miles from campus.

Recession blues? Not an excuse for Kenny, the very definition of “Seminole faithful.”

The guy has made it to all five national championship games. His ironman effort was the 1999 Fiesta Bowl MNC. Kenny and a fellow fan drove all the way to Phoenix and back, stopping to nap just a few times along the way.

Yeah, you could say FSU football is a priority for Kenny. If they’re teeing it up at Doak, nothing -- at least nothing so far -- will keep him away. As Kenny says, “If you really want to go, you'll go. If not, you'll find reasons why you can’t.”

Being a fixture at Doak over the years has taught him how integral a loud and proud crowd is to the team’s performance. Hey, if we don’t care enough to be there, how can we expect them to care enough to play their hearts out?

So the next time you’re thinking that it’s too hot or too cold, or it might rain, or the kickoff is at noon, or the game ends too late, or it’s too far to drive, or gas is too expensive, or it’s Labor Day weekend, or too close to Christmas, or you feel a cold coming on, or your car’s in the shop or (insert good reason here)…Well, think of Kenny.

He’ll be there. Chopping till his arm is numb, tsk-tsking those empty seats, and muttering about all the “excuse makers” who didn’t fill them.

Photo credit: Bill at Scalp 'Em

Eeeww! A close-up look at how Christian Ponder had his eblow drained

Elbow drain

Kinda hurts to even watch this procedure, eh? But MMA fighter Ray Elbe obviously has some cojones. No wincing. Not a whimper. Though for Ponder the real pain involved would be not playing this Saturday against the guys with Paw on their helmets.

Dabo Swinney: "In our three road games we’ve been in position to win in the fourth quarter and we have not finished”

There's no stat for this, but if there were Clemson would lead FSU in letting a win slip away late in the game. Through gritted teeth, Dabo Swinney copped to it during his weekly press conference:

“We're trying to get ready for the biggest game of the year for us. To do that, we’ve got to put a complete game together on the road. That’s one thing we have not done. The biggest problem with this season is we’re O-for on the road. In our three road games we’ve been in position to win in the fourth quarter and we have not finished.”

If you've got 34 minutes to spare, you can watch all of the Dabo Show here. Meantime, Clemson's Offensive Coordinator, Billy Napier, took his turn grumbling:

“We felt coming in that the defense would be the strength of this team, and that on offense there were going to be some ugly days,” Napier added. “That was certainly the case (against NC State)...We just have to keep showing up and competing with that kind of heart and passion and no-quit attitude, and then keep working to iron out the problems.”

The Death Valley cats just aren't the same without C.J. Spiller -- especially running the ball. They're seventh in the league, averaging 151.3 yards per game versus FSU's 196.6. Worse, CU is ninth in ACC Total Offense. None of which makes Napier a happy camper:

"“We're having to earn a lot right now – we're just not getting those chunks. In the first half we had two 12-play drives and a 14-play drive. It's four yards, five yards, eight yards. It's different from the way it was last year. The things we have to make sure we're looking at are the simple things – fumbling the ball, throwing an interception, giving up a pressure..."