FSU 2007 Football Schedule Posters

The Seminoles have selected "The Awakening" as the theme of this year's effort. There are two different schedule posters. One has the Unconquered Statute and the other only the FSU field.

Hart Wants To Stay And FSU In Top ACC Games For 2007

An article in The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Dave Hart has released a statement saying that it's his desire to"finish my athletics administration career as a Seminole." Hart and Wetherell are scheduled to meet later this week.

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If you were planning on going out to purchase Athlon or Street & Smith to see where FSU is ranked in their top 25, save the money. The answer is that FSU is absent in both.
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According to one of the many sports sites, FSU is involved in three of the Top 10 Games Involving ACC Teams:
3. FSU at. Clemson

4. FSU at Wake Forest

8. FSU vs. Alabama

Bama Self-Reports And Gators Take Disciplinary Actions

The University of Alabama has self-reported three secondary violations committed by its football program since Oct. 16, 2006, according to documents obtained by The Birmingham News.

Two of the violations occurred after Nick Saban was announced as the Crimson Tide's coach on Jan. 4, though one of those happened "unbeknownst to (Saban and his) staff," documents say. Two of the violations involved a representative of athletics interest (booster) having an impermissible contact with a recruit.

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Colorado head football coach Dan Hawkins is eager to have the football season begin. "I just see much more assertiveness, much more confidence, much more twinkle in the eye," he said. "I know we're going to be a lot stronger than we were last year. That will help us just physically."
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Florida offensive lineman Ronnie Wilson has been suspended for the 2007 season and running back Brandon James is suspended for Florida's opener because of separate off-the-field incidents, according to The Gainesville Sun. Wilson is facing misdemeanor charges after allegedly taking a rifle from his trunk and firing it in the air to intimidate a man during a disagreement.

"Everybody Is Getting Stronger Because Of It"

"We don't have as many exercises, but we're a lot heavier on everything we do. There's a lot more of the core exercises that everybody did in high school Ð squat, bench, power cling, pull-ups. . . . I think everybody is getting stronger because of it.”
Drew Weatherford regarding new football conditioning and strength coach Todd Stroud's summer conditioning program

My View: It's About Time

A story in the Tallahasssee Democrat today indicates that T.K. Wetherell does not plan to renew Dave Hart's contract when it expires in 2009. The only thing that I can say is that it's about time.

I have written several My Views regarding Hart and the FSU program. On April 4 of this year, I criticized Hart because of his lack of leadership regarding the basketball program. At that time, I said that I had..."had enough Hart. It is time for someone new." Apparently T.K. thinks so also.

Dave Hart in many respects has gained what influence he has by being in the right place at the right time. He has been able to ride Bobby Bowden's coattails for all these years. However, when you look at those things that he actually did, the proof as they say is in the pudding. His hires relating to the basketball program have been awful. His inaction regarding to the Jeff Bowden situation and the subsequent payoff of Bowden were examples of his lack of leadership.

Dave Hart has been a great promoter for Dave Hart. A lot of fluff but very little substance. The decision by T.K. Wetherell to say goodbye to Hart if the story is accurate is good news. We need an athletic director who can take FSU to the next level in all sports.

FSU In Middle Of Pack According To Some For 2007

Rivals.com apparently doesn't think much of FSU's football team for 2007. They have FSU ranked 23rd in their Top 50 countdown.

In addition, their most overrated player is Greg Carr who"can frustrate coaches with his inconsistent effort." Their most underated player is De'Cody Fagg.

Stadiums Of 2007 FSU ACC Foes: Boston College Alumni Stadium

FSU has another payback game when they take on Boston College at Boston College on November 3. The Noles lost at home to the Eagles 19-24 in 2006.

Opened in 1915 as "Alumni Field," Boston College's first stadium was located just south of Gasson Quadrangle, on the site of the present "Campus Green", better known as the "Dustbowl." While today that area of BC's campus is grass-covered and landscaped, the Dustbowl nickname originated as a description of Alumni Field in the years when it was intensely-used not only as a gridiron, but a practice field, a baseball diamond and a running track. Formally dedicated "as a memorial to the boys that were" on October 30, 1915, Alumni Field and its distinctive "maroon goal-posts on a field of green" were hailed in that evening's edition of the Boston Saturday Evening Transcript as "one of the sights in Boston."

On September 21, 1957 Alumni Stadium opened on Boston College's lower campus. The new stadium incorporated a football field encircled by a regulation track with a seating capacity of 26,000. The dedication game, a match up with the Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy, was orchestrated with the help of BC benefactor and then-Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy. Kennedy, who had received his honorary degree at Commencement Exercises in Alumni Field the previous year, would return to Alumni Stadium on a number of occasions over the course of his political career, including a 1963 Convocation Address, one of his last public appearances. Alumni Stadium has hosted numerous intellectual and cultural luminaries, religious leaders and heads of state as the venue for Boston College's annual Commencement Exercises since 1957.

As the home of the Boston College Eagles, Alumni Stadium has been the site of numerous notable moments in Boston College football history. On September 17, 2005, Alumni Stadium hosted BC's inaugural game as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference

No Ducking This List

Under the heading of Can't accuse these teams of ducking anyone, ESPN has the Noles schedule ranked as the second toughest in the nation behind Wshington.

Happy Fourth Of July!

Want to wish everyone a safe and Happy Fourth!

"Bowden Bowl" Sold Out And Another List

The Clemson Athletic Ticket Office announced that the highly anticipated match up against Florida State is now Sold Out. The Kick Off packages went on sale to the public Monday, July 2nd, 2007. The Florida State game is scheduled for Monday, September 3rd, 2007. Kickoff is set for 8pm and will be televised on ESPN.

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Sporting News columnist Tom Dienhart did a subjective ranking of The Top 40 ACC Players. Here are where he ranked Nole players:

10. Andre Fluellen, DT, Florida State

16. Myron Rolle, S, Florida State

22. Antone Smith, RB, Florida State

25. Greg Carr, WR, Florida State

30. Geno Hayes, LB, Florida State

40. John Frady, C, Florida State
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Scottsdale, Az. Notre Dame Prep quarterback Sean Renfree has given Georgia Tech a commitment to play football.

Renfree was set on leaving the state from the beginning, but the push that Arizona State made under new coach Dennis Erickson made his decision more difficult.

"The Bubba Bowl" Makes A List

Apparently someone else has a lot of time to kill.

The MZone(a Michigan blog)posted 100 things to look forward to this college football season. There are some FSU moments:

10. Antone Smith trying to become Florida State's first 1,000-yard running back since Warrick Dunn in 1996.

15. The Bowden Bowl on Monday, September 3.

16. The Bubba Bowl (i.e. Alabama vs. Florida State in Jacksonville) on Saturday, September 29.

94. Watching Myron Rolle continue his progression towards superstardom as he patrols the defensive backfield for the Florida State Seminoles.

"We Have To Do A Better Job Locally"

“Coach Fisher told everybody that Coach (Bobby) Bowden told him that if we're going to get this thing back like we need to do, then we have to do a better job locally.”
Godby Head Coach Shelton Crew's comments after Jimbo Fisher spoke to a meeting of local coaches as quoted in The Tallahasse Democrat

Defining Moments

Ivan Maisel of Sports Illustrated has too much time on his hands and decided to put together The 100 Moments That Have Defined College Football. Here are the ones that involve FSU:

11. Raising Cane: Miami's fourth-quarter comeback knocks out Florida State. (Oct. 3, 1987)

47. Twice As Nice: FSU holds off Nebraska for Bobby Bowden's first title. (Jan. 1, 1994)

52. Well Dunn: 79-yard TD catch/run by Noles Warrick Dunn seals Florida's fate. (Nov. 27, 1993)

60. Wide Right I:: Trailing Miami by 1, FSU's Gerry Thomas misses 34-yard FG. (Nov. 16, 1991)

84. Road Kill: Nebraska fans applaud FSU after Noles upset Cornhuskers. (Oct. 4, 1980)

86. Death Valley Deception: Florida State's puntrooskie to topple Clemson. (Sept. 17, 1988)

Clemson And Auburn To Play Again

University of Maryland junior offensive lineman Jared Gaither has decided to apply for entry in the 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft, head coach Ralph Friedgen announced Thursday.

"It's a decision he's put a lot of thought into," Friedgen said. "He's expressed a desire to get his degree, but I think the opportunity to make a living and the chance to be successful at the next level was a deciding factor.

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Clemson and Auburn have announced a two-game football series that will be played during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The first contest will be played at Auburn and the second game will be played at Clemson. The Auburn series replaces the two-game set that had been scheduled with the University of Pittsburgh during the same seasons.

This will be the first time the two teams have met on the gridiron since the January 2, 1998 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Auburn won that contest 21-17 in the Georgia Dome thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback. Terry Bowden, the brother of Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden, was the head coach at Auburn for that game.
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Clemson offensive tackle Barry Richardson and defensive tackle Dorell Scott are both ranked among the top 10 players in the nation according to position rankings in the 2007 preseason college football issue of The Sporting News. Running back C.J.

Spiller was also named as one of the top 11 candidates for the Heisman Trophy and offensive coordinator Rob Spence is listed as the top offensive coordinator in the ACC.

S.I. Is Nuts

Sports Illustrated has a Mascot Power ranking on their site. Chief Osceola and Renegade only rank eighth in the poll below a fake alligator(Albert), a poisionous nut (Brutus Buckeye), and one of the ugliest dogs ever (UGA). Are they out of their minds?

FSU Recruits And Player In the News

According to the Orlando Sentinel, four Florida State University football prospects who were kicked out of Downtown Disney for loitering last week and banned for life from Walt Disney World can now come back. The four recruits were Avis Commack, Vincent Williams, Nickolas Moody, and Nigel Carr.

Disney World announced Thursday that it has decided to reduce the sanctions against the four high-schoolers, whose banishment last weekend amplified a controversy about Disney's recent efforts to reduce teen loitering and sparked accusations of racial profiling. All four of the students are 17 years old and black. When the Orlando Sentinel obtained 46 Disney World trespass-warning documents from the past two weekends, all but one turned out to have been issued to black or Hispanic visitors.

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Paul Griffin, the projected starting nose tackle for Florida State, was arrested this week for failing to appear at a violation-of-probation hearing stemming from a DUI last November, the Leon County State Attorney's office said. He was later released on bond. FSU's code of conduct states that athletes facing misdemeanor charges will be disciplined at the discretion of the coach, with Athletic Director Dave Hart's review.

"They Are Going To Tell Me What I Need To Hear"

"I'm pretty intelligent, I like to think. So (offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and I will see eye to eye. I'm a competitor. I'm not going to be afraid of playing in the Miami game or anything like that. I see a lot of similarity (in Fisher) that I see with coach (Darnell) Moore at my high school. They are going to tell me what I need to hear not what I want to hear.”
E.J. Manuel regarding his commitment to the Noles

Noles One Two Punch Secures Manuel Commitment

E.J. Manuel becomes the 12th commitment for FSU's 2008 recruiting class. It goes without saying that his commitment will be a big boost to the Noles recruiting and their pitch to other recruits.

Manuel's high school accomplishments are impressive. He passed for almost 2,000 yards as a junior and completed 56 percent of his passes last season for 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions

This illustrates that Bobby Bowden is still a terrific recruiter and the fact that Jimbo Fisher is the offensive coordinator was certainly a great attraction to the 6'5", 210 pound Manuel. It was thought until recently that LSU was the school to beat. The Bowden mystique and the Fisher asset were a perfect fit to attracting a five star athlete and from all accounts a great kid.

Manuel Picks The Noles

Virginia Beach(Va.)Bayside quarterback E.J. Manuel announced his decision before friends, family and teammates on Wednesday evening at his high school. The nation's No. 2 quarterback picked Florida State. More later.

Is Text Message Ban DOA?

Remember the NCAA decision to ban text messages to college football recruits? Seems that the NCAA is having second thoughts. Not that it would affect Bobby Bowden. Apparently however the obsessive/compulsive Urban "The Cryer" Meyer blew a gasket when he heard that he could not text message recruits 150 times a day.

The NCAA will reconsider the rule that bans coaches from sending text messages to recruits, at its Aug. 9 board of directors meeting.

The board could reaffirm the text messaging decision, reject the decision or create new legislation. Current rules place no restrictions on text messaging with recruits. The new rule is scheduled to take effect Aug. 1. Should the board make changes, the rule would be rescinded. If it is affirmed, the rule would remain in place until a January vote at the NCAA's annual convention in Nashville, Tenn.

Greg Carr Among Four Seminoles On Watch Lists

Four more Seminole football players landed on watch lists for major awards on Monday. Greg Carr headlined the group as he was the only FSU player named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is presented to the outstanding player in college football. Tony Carter, Andre Fluellen and Myron Rolle were all named to the Bednarik Award watch list given to the best defensive player in college football.

ACC Players Named To Watch Lists

Clemson safety Michael Hamlin and offensive tackle Barry Richardson have both been named preseason All-Americans by Street & Smith Magazine. The college football annual also ranked Clemson #22 in the nation in its preseason publication and has Clemson running back C.J. Spiller on the cover of its Southeast region edition. The publication will be available on newsstands in early July.

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Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice was named to the 2007 Maxwell Award watch list, and Philip Wheeler was selected to the watch list for the 2007 Chuck Bednarik Award, announced by Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski on Monday.

The Maxwell Award has been presented to the outstanding collegiate football player in America since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell. The Chuck Bednarik Award is given to the nation's top defensive player, and is named after University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Eagle great Chuck Bednarik.

Colorado Hit With NCAA Penalties And Saban Gets Dissed

Colorado's loss of one football scholarship per year for the next three seasons isn't expected to impact the football team according to head coach Dan "This Ain't Intramural Football" Hawkins. The NCAA handed down its ruling on June 21.

The infractions involved CU undercharging walk-on athletes for meals. Despite calling the infractions "limited in nature and narrow in scope," the NCAA hit CU with a $100,000 fine — nearly $40,000 more than CU recommended — along with two years' probation and the loss of three football scholarships.

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Quarterback Jimmy Barnes' decision to leave the University of Alabama football program had nothing to do with the California native being homesick or disgruntled over a lack of playing time, according to his father.

"To be honest with you, it's the way (Alabama head coach Nick Saban) is treating kids," said John Barnes, a longtime head football coach at Los Alamitos High in Southern California. "What Jim told Saban was he was not going to give up his dignity and be treated like that."

Manuel To Announce Choice On Wednesday

The visit by E.J. Manuel is over. Escorted by Myron Rolle among others, Manuel was pleased with his weekend visit and liked the family atmosphere at FSU. The highlight of the visit was with Bobby Bowden. According to an article in the local paper, Manuel stated, “Coach Bowden was awesome. At first, I was hung up on the glitz and glamour of meeting a legend. I like all the things he has to say to me and my family, too.”

He will announce his commitment this Wednesday. Stay tuned.

"Manuel Hasn't And Won't Change

"I've seen many recruits turn from humble to haughty overnight based on attention, but Manuel hasn't and won't change.College coaches, as jaded as they come, continue to rave about his rare character."
Mike Farrell in Sports Illustrated article regarding E. J.Manuel who visited FSU this weekend

FSU Schedule Creating Buzz

This time of year we see lots of polls and conjectures about what teams will do for the 2007 college football season. Not to be outdone, Sports Illustrated has compiled it's top 25 toughest schedules. FSU is ranked as having the third toughest schedule in the nation.It is also important to note that FSU is one of the rare BCS teams that didn't schedule a Division I-AA opponent. Compare that to the Gators scheduling of Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic this upcoming season. Sports Illustrated ranks the Noles as having the toughest schedule in the ACC.

"People Are Happy, And We're Happy"

"People who were Golden Chiefs are double Golden Chiefs. In terms of people who have said, in terms of when X happens I'll become a million-dollar donor or we'll give a scholarship, we've seen a lot of that. One guy called one of our fundraisers and said 'I told you I'd do it. Come pick up the check.' People are happy, and we're happy."
Seminole Boosters Inc. executive director/senior vice-president Charlie Barnes comments regarding Booster reaction to FSU coaching changes

Another Bag of Popcorn Game

On June 23 at 10 P.M.,Sun Sports will air a new "Gridiron Great" featuring the 1987 FSU-Florida game played on 11/28/87.

Down 14-3 after nearly two quarters of play, FSU mounted a second-half comeback to beat Florida 28-14. The win broke a six-game losing skid to the Gators. This was a pivotal year in that FSU has been 12-7-1 since that game against the Gators.

There will be commentary by former Nole players Danny McManus, Sammie Smith, Dane Williams and Herb Gainer.

“What you’re seeing in 1987 is the berth of something special at Florida State from the class of 1985. In 1985 we had a recruiting class featuring Odell Haggins, Eric Hayes, Pat Tomberlin, myself and Deion Sanders. We knew it was just a matter of time before we were a national powerhouse.”
Former Nole running back Sammie Smith

"Without Losing His Platinum Legacy"

"The reality is this: Bowden's gutting of his longtime, like-minded staff will allow him to gradually and gracefully walk away from the game a winner instead of going out kicking and screaming -- and losing. All without damaging his platinum legacy."
Matt Hayes, Sporting News

"I'd Rather Be Playing Middle Tennessee"

"I hear people say,`Coach Bowden is so happy, he gets to play Alabama'. I tell'em, `I can pick someone a lot easier for us play than Alabama.' This was set up by our athletic director, an Alabama grad.

"Me? I'd rather we be playing Middle Tennessee."
Bobby Bowden comments to The Birmingham News columnist Ray Melick