Posted by NoleCC

By Bill Kristoph

Did any FSU fans really believe that Miami wouldn’t drive down the field by throwing to their tight end in the last minutes of the 4th quarter? It seemed to me, that Labor Day’s showdown would end in heartbreak for my beloved ‘Noles again. After watching the Hurricanes get down to the goal line, my worst fears were confirmed. Or were they? I’m not willing to say that I knew the FSU defense would hold off the ‘Canes and that Miami would muff the snap for the field goal attempt. But, for some reason, I wasn’t sick to my stomach like other years where the ‘Canes won the game in the same fashion.

Maybe it was the unusual breeze at Doak Campbell Stadium. Maybe it was the unseasonably cool temperatures that made the first tailgate of the season a joy to sit at for nearly 12 hours. It might have been that there were no Hurricanes in our parking area. Maybe it the odd flyover by a fighter jet, that banked off to the right of Doak Campbell Stadium 6 hours before game time. It could have been that there was another record crowd in attendance. Maybe it was having an actual member of the Seminole Tribe throw Chief Osceola’s spear. Or, it might have even been the simple fact that this year, the ‘Noles were better than the ‘Canes. Whatever it was, last Monday felt different long before the game kicked off on ABC.

I’m sure the game was boring for many of the viewers at home that aren’t defensive fans. I laughed when I watched the DVR yesterday and realized that the scoring concluded so early in the game. Who knew at the time? Granted, there were some great interceptions (Ernie Sims comes to mind) and a whole lot of sacks (9! Can you believe it? 9!) but if you like those “barn-burners” you might as well have changed the channel to competitive eating. It was a better chance at offensive action.

A 10-7 final score, tells me that we have work to do on offense, as usual. Does that come as a surprise? Not really, especially with two young quarterbacks. Seminole fans, please don’t be too quick to jump all over their backs. Weatherford had a bad game throwing the ball, but compare him to his predecessor, Chris Rix. Not only did Weatherford make some good choices in throwing the ball away, or dumping it off, but he wasn’t afraid to stand in there and make a play. Everyone will be surprised at how well he plays the rest of the season, since opening a career against Miami isn’t the easiest thing to do.

The same goes for Xavier Lee, who still looks uncomfortable under center. In the shotgun, however, I saw for the first time that intangible that Lee has, a glide to his step. Do you think Lorenzo Booker has been dying to have a QB that could run that roll reverse that gained about 10 yards Monday Night? Me too. Lee might eventually win the starting job, but if he does, we need to see a lot of the fast break offense!

Kudos to Chris Davis, who, as a former QB, got away from the defender and not only threw the ball away to save a large loss of yardage, but threw it far enough to go past the line of scrimmage. Sometimes a broken play that doesn’t go badly, can help a teams (and fans) confidence tremendously. The ‘Noles looked like they were playing heads up ball.

As for the ‘Canes, they didn’t look like themselves. The defense is talented, as always. The offense could move the ball against the ‘Noles, until they got to the red zone. Also, it looked like they needed to get some extra conditioning in Miami. It was definitely NOT at hot evening at Doak, so why were ‘Canes going down with cramps? Over the last couple of seasons, the Seminoles had that problem, but for the first game at least, it appears to be fixed.

Finally, isn’t it great to watch someone else miss kicks, have bad snaps and even worse holds? Miami’s punter, Monroe, must feel like everyone in the ‘Canes Nation is pointing their fingers saying, “It’s all your fault!” The game tying attempt could have, and should have, been handled by him, although Pettie certainly wasn’t making a lot of kicks Monday night either. Hester better put some more calls into Deion, since he looked awful on kick returns and Larry Coker had better not lose anymore ACC games until Virginia Tech, or the leather on his seat might start melting.

10-7! 10-7! The monkey is off FSUs back! Great job ‘Noles!