By Bill Kristoph

The 2006 regular season is over for the Florida State Seminoles, after a hard fought, close-but-no-cigar loss to the Florida Gators, 21-14. Once again, the Seminoles lacked an identity on offense, while the defense did their best to keep up their end of the gameplan. Chris Leak sliced and diced the young Seminole defense methodically, however, it was a couple of big plays that stabbed the Seminoles in the heart. Dallas Baker’s touchdown reception with a little over ten minutes to play in the fourth quarter was good enough for the victory, while a dejected crowd looked on.

The game was a microcosm of the entire 2006 season. At times, FSU gave its fans glimmers of hope, only to yank them away. Drew Weatherford spent a fair amount of time on his back (pictured above) thanks to an offensive line that STILL can’t block for him, 12 games into the season. Weatherford also threw 3 interceptions, 2 of which were huge drive killers. Still, Greg Carr caught another jump-ball touchdown and Joe Surratt pounded in a 1 yard TD run from the fullback position. We’ve seen both of those over and over again this season.

The Seminole defense tried their best to hang in there, but when they are asked to play long stretches of the game while they are short on players due to injury, results aren’t good. Chris Leak had all day to throw, thanks to the fact that FSU could not find a pass rush. Was that because of injuries, or Urban Meyer’s rolling out of Leak? It was probably a bit of both. The young corners couldn’t keep a couple of big plays in front of them. Dallas Carter fooled the usually reliable Tony Carter in the 4th quarter, to catch the game-winning touchdown for the Gators. The bright spot for the Noles was the run defense, where the linebackers and defensive line filled the gaps and held DeShawn Wynn to 16 yards. Perhaps the story would have been slightly different had Percy Harvin not been injured for the Gators in the first half, but overall the Seminole run defense was respectable.

A good amount of credit, of course, goes to the Gators who, yet again, played good enough to win. Playing “good enough” has them at 11-1 and playing for an SEC championship. I hate to think what might happen when Urban Meyer has all of “his guys” playing in his system. And contrary to those that don’t think Chris Leak is that good, I think he’ll surprise many people in the NFL if he gets an opportunity. He’s calm, smart and has an accurate arm.

Near misses. They’ve been the general argument of FSU coaches for the past couple of seasons and once again they were prevalent in Saturday’s contest. We were only a few points away from a victory, but it’s still not a victory. Brandon Warren’s near TD in the north end zone, Greg Carr’s near jump-ball catch and a couple of Lorenzo Booker’s near breakaways don’t get the Noles partial credit or a win. And, for those hoping for something to change by the time FSU plays in the Emerald Bowl on December 27, good luck. Head Coach Bobby Bowden would like for son Jeff to continue to coach through the bowl game for continuity. Continuity? Only if that means another anonymous day from the FSU offense. Maybe at the bowl game the defense can score a couple of points to help them out.

To end on a positive note though, the fans were loud at Doak Campbell Stadium, and despite the problems with the football team, the players hung in there and nearly pulled out a huge upset. Many of them have next season to look forward to, which will be a fresh start in more ways than one. For those that graduate, I’d like to say a big, “Thank You Seniors!” The fans appreciate everything you do for FSU, and we all wish you continued success in whatever you do at the next stage of your life! You are always Seminoles, be proud of it!

1. Adding up the at leasts:

At least it was close and not a blowout as some thought it might be

At least the other FSU football team won this weekend

At least the FSU women’s basketball team beat their women’s team

At least their basketball team lost to Kansas

At least for now it looks like that team from back East won’t be in the title game

At least their kicker missed more field goals than FSU (big surprise right?)

Does that help? Probably not. I tried. What can I say?

2. Having outscored the gatros (their …) aka crocs of XXVI 14-7 in the second half, I wonder if there is some obscure rule that can throw out that first half score?

3. Best post game Bobby Bowden quote: In responding to the question whether this season was worse than the 1974 season at West Virginia, “They (the fans) didn’t use a rope this season. Probably would have used it on myself if they had given me one.”

4. Second best post game Bowden quote: “Disappointing year. I think we would get a unanimous vote on that.” Just to make it official please (no touch screens or hanging chads allowed), show of hands.

5. Post game analysis from Mrs. BFT: “It was the defenses fault. They didn’t hold up their part of the offense by not scoring their usual one or two touchdowns or running back a blocked kick for a score.” Shame on that defense for not scoring!

6. As FSU QBs struggled in the first half, Gene Deckerhoff offered the best description for those listening on the radio and not able to watch the game. “Seminole quarterbacks can’t hit a barn door.” Thankfully barn doors aren’t used in football so we’ll never know if that is true or not.

7. Comment from the gatros (their …) aka crocs of XXVI pre-game radio show: “The Gator defense is a little banged up.” You want to talk about a banged up defense?? Two words: Wanna trade injury situations???

8. After the first replay review (the incomplete pass ruling) went in favor of FSU, I wonder how many gatros (their …) aka crocs of XXVI fans thought that was Jack Childress in the replay booth?

9. As Tim Tebow made his first appearance in the game on a short yardage play, anybody in that crowd of 83,507 not expecting a run please DO NOT submit your resume for a defensive coordinator’s job anytime soon.

10. After Ron Cherry offered as less than stellar explanation of the replay decision on the punt accidentally touched by a FSU player and then a player from that team back East, PT Willis made the astute observation “We need to just quit micing them”.

Bonus Indescribably Random and Absolutely Meaningless Thoughts

11. Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a guess here. Chris Hetland will NOT be kicking in the NFL. Just another guess, gatros (their …) aka crocs of XXVI fans are probably glad he won’t be kicking for them anymore either.

12. FSU’s season in a nutshell: A wide receiver drops a sure catch. Next play? An interception.

13. No big kicking surprise Part II: As Clemson’s Jad Dean lined up for the game tying field goal how many wished they could get a quick call to Vegas to bet the farm/mortgage//car/wife/kids/dog/cat that Dean would miss the kick? There probably was no surer bet in the history of betting that he would miss it.

14. If there is anyone that has a harder voice that sounds like gravel to listen to than Chuck Amato it has to be US(eless)F’s head coach Jim Leavitt. In listening to his interview right after the win over WVU, the only thought that came to mind was “won’t somebody PLEASE give that man a throat lozenge”.

15. We bid a fond farewell and copy of the home game to yet another Plant Panther opponent, Armwood this time, who clearly early in the game took the Panthers lightly. A good indicator that that attitude was not going to work were the first two Armwood series as the QB threw interceptions returned for TDs of 68 and 80 yards. If the crowd of 6,000 hadn’t been so loud you might have heard an audible “Hey, maybe we should take these guys seriously” from the Armwood team.

By Bill Kristoph

It was a day of near catches and near scores for the Florida State Seminoles. However, FSU didn’t have quite enough in the end, as the Seminoles lost to the Florida Gators 21-14. The Noles outscored UF in the second half, 14-7, but a late Chris Leak touchdown pass sealed the deal for the Gators.

I’ll post my final thoughts later, but for now here are a couple of the highlight photos and a link to the Florida / Florida State album (there are nearly 300 photos from the game) in the ScalpEm.com Photo Gallery.

The game probably should have been called at halftime because by then it was definitely over. In what Leonard Hamilton called “one of the poorest games we have played in four or five years” Florida State was trounced by 3^rd ranked Pittsburgh 88-66.

The score was closer than the game actually was with Pitt playing sloppily down the stretch allowing FSU to close the gap by a few points.

Unfortunately the Panthers didn’t play as sloppy as the ‘Noles did for most of the game.

Hamilton had little trouble expressing his displeasure with his team’s performance. “I was disappointed in our concentration and focus. As a coach you wonder why that happens. We looked like we were stepping in mud at times” he said.

FSU came into the game concerned about Pitt big man Aaron Gray, a candidate for player of the year. However it was the Panthers’ perimeter game that burned FSU connecting on 10 of 18 three pointers.

Hamilton assessed the defense saying” We were a half step slow”. “We didn’t fight through screens and we didn’t contest shots.” All that led to allowing Pitt to shoot 63% from the field.

Pittsburgh meanwhile played a great team system doing the things like making the extra pass. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said he has nine starters and they played like nine starters.

Expecting more of a deliberate game by Pitt and wanting to use it’s running game it was FSU that was actually run out of the building as the Panthers time and again beat the ‘Noles down the floor.

The Panthers put five players in double figures with Antonio Graves leading the way with 17 points. Mike Cook had 15; Ronald Ramon 12 all on three pointers, Tvral Biggs 11, and Sean Young had 10.of the bench’s 19 total points.

In fact Pitt’s bench outscored FSU 41-5.

One bright spot for FSU was Toney Douglas who finished with a career high 23 points while seeing a lot of time at the two guard spot.

Al Thornton added 16 despite spending much of the first half on the bench with two fouls, Uche Echefu ended with 13 points.

That pointed out the problem for FSU. ’We can’t have just one, two, or three players playing well for us. We need all nine executing at a high level for us to be successful” Hamilton commented, Not everyone had their head into the game and apparently was intimidated to some degree by the atmosphere.

The game started off well enough for the Seminoles with Echefu canning three straight three pointers to give FSU a 9-5 lead. But it did not take Pittsburgh very long to erase that small lead when Cook hit a three ball putting the Panthers up 13-11.

Shooting 80% early FSU then went cold connecting on just 1 of its next 6 shots, Sloppy plays such as air balls, missed layups, and dribbling the ball out of bounds along with other assorted turnovers characterized the ‘Noles play for the remainder of the half.

It all seemed to go south for FSU when Thornton picked up his second foul at the 11:36 mark.

With Thornton on the bench Douglas tried his best to keep FSU close. A three pointer at with 7:32 left in the half pulled FSU to 30-25. Pitt then went on a 13-0 run to blow the game open.

The Panthers made good use of switching their defenses that seemed to confuse the Seminoles’ offense.

By halftime the ‘Noles trailed 50-30 and for all intensive purposes the game was over.

It was much of the same in the second half as Pittsburgh at one point led by 35 points.

So the ‘Noles wil try and put this game behind them as they travel to Wisconsin as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

“If this team responds as it has in the past, it should bounce back for Wisconsin.” Hamilton observed.

Tipoff is next Tuesday at 7:30 PM and will be shown on ESPN2.

Just a quick update, Noles win 2-1 and advance to the Final Four for the third time in the last four years.

Go Noles!!!

By Bill Kristoph

I’ve sat down twice to write an article on the Florida vs. Florida State game tomorrow, and I can’t find an angle that I enjoy. So I’m going to offer 3 rays of hope for the Seminoles, and my prediction for the game.

1. It’s a rivalry game. Experts, and fans, always say that the records can be thrown out in a rivalry game. Maybe the fact that FSU’s offense hasn’t had an identity this year in 2006, will confuse the Gators enough to provide the Seminole upset?

2. Florida has struggled at times this year, and it’s not because the SEC is a super power. UF has not been an offensive machine like they have been in years past. Gators are quick to forget that the Seminole defense has played pretty well all year, even though they are young. If the Seminole defense rises to the challenge, the game will be a low scoring affair, which gives the advantage to the Seminoles, since they are willing to attempt a field goal. Then again, maybe that’s not a great idea for either team.

3. The game is at Doak Campbell Stadium. Hopefully, FSU fans are planning to show up tomorrow, and are willing to be loud and proud of the 2006 Seminoles. If they’re not, then the biggest advantage that the Seminoles have (home field / crowd noise) is nullified. The fans can’t actually catch a pass or kick a field goal, but college football, more than any other sport, is about momentum, and the fans can feed that feeling.

I still have faith in the Seminoles and I hope the rest of the Noles fans out there have some too. While this season has been a huge disappointment, it never hurts to have a win over the most hated team in Florida. Plus there is added motivation for the Noles, a loss to the Gators might mean a trip to Boise instead of San Fransisco, thanks to Miami’s victory over Boston College. I think the Seminoles put up a fight, but come up short.

Noles 16 Gators 28 - But I’ll be cheering my ass off the whole game.

I just thought everyone should read this quote from Urban Meyer over at ChantRant when they get the chance. Good job finding that one, Rich!

If you will be in town Friday night, head on over to the Seminole Soccer Complex. The Noles host Clemson in the NCAA quarterfinals at 7:00. This is the first time the Noles have hosted a quarterfinal game.

Some side-notes about this matchup…

The Noles are 5-0-2 versus the Tigers in the last seven meetings. The last time Clemson beat FSU was 2001, in the NCAA tournament. The Noles have never lost a quarterfinal game, posting a 1-0-1 record. One more barb, you might see more scoring at the soccer complex than at Doak, at least in garnet and gold…and the soccer team has a better kicking game.

ScalpEm.com wishes you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!