Emerald Bowl Matchup: Noles vs Bruins
Posted by NoleCC
By Bill Kristoph
I realize the above picture has nothing to do with the Emerald Bowl, however it’s cheery and after this season, I think Seminole fans are looking for something to smile about. The FSU cheerleaders tend to bring a smile to fans’ faces. Anyway, on to an early look at the Seminoles’ Bowl Matchup against the UCLA Bruins.
The Emerald Bowl is the only bowl game to pair the ACC and Pac-10 Conferences. It will do so through 2009. You might not know it based on the performance this season, by both squads, but the pairing is two of the most successful bowl programs over the last 20+ years. The Seminoles are 17-6-1 since 1982, and the UCLA Bruins are 11-6 (a Pac-10 Conference best). FSU has not played in California since 1997 (at USC) and they have never played a game in Northern California. Throw in next season’s matchup with Alabama, and Bobby Bowden has officially done it all.
The UCLA Bruins are similar to FSU in a few ways. They haven’t generally been blown out this season. The average a few less points on offense than the Noles, but they also give up a few less than the FSU defense. The Bruins rush the ball a bit more than Florida State, but overall have the same average yards per play, just over 5. They play their biggest rival to end the season (and I’m betting they keep it close like the Noles did with UF). In fact, the Bruins have even split time at quarterback like the Noles, where each QB, Patrick Cowen and Ben Olson have started 5 games. Two big differences are glaring, however. The first is that the Bruins ride one running back, Chris Markey (with 912 yards rushing as of this post) versus the Seminoles’ two, Antone Smith and Lorenzo Booker. The second is that UCLA boasts a more consistent kicking game with Justin Medlock.
Folks, this game might be 6-3, 56-3, 3-56 or 3-6. It depends on what combination of the two teams shows up to play in San Francisco on December 27. Two teams that have struggled to find an identity, will try to end the season on a winning note and with a winning record (unless UCLA manages a victory over USC this weekend). 7-6 looks a lot better when doing a year-in-review and 6-7 does. 7-6 can be chalked up to a few missed plays (not that it should be) while 6-7 makes you a bunch of losers for the year. For these teams the Emerald Bowl is a huge game.
What are your thoughts about the Emerald Bowl? Leave some comments!
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Nancy on 
Nole4ever on 
Abe Fr0man on 
Interesting that I have a friend and fellow FSU fan by the name of Patrick Cowen. I’ll be asking him shortly about keeping it a secret that he was a closet Bruins fan.
Small world… maybe he can get you some good seats in San Fran? lol.
oh….. my….. god. Here i was, excited to play this underachieving Bruin squad – and excited to watch USC (the FSU of THIS decade) demolish them, exposing all their weaknesses for even OUR inept offense to discover and attack.
and then the game came on.
and then i started to cry. It’s obvious JDB isn’t a very mobile quarterback (ahem, Drew, ahem) – and yet apparently USC doesn’t have a shotgun formation in their arsenal to maybe give the kid some time to throw. I will never understand that. With the 14 running backs on USC’s roster – did they not have a second tight end to bring in for “max protect” situations? did that just make TOO MUCH sense?
this team is going to swallow us alive. we have a running back who hasn’t broken a tackle in four years, wide receivers that longer to get open than it takes my grandfather to urinate, and a quarterback – that….well, let’s face it, is tough as nails, but might as well just wear jersey number “0″ in san francisco – it’s closer to the target that will be on his chest than his traditional “11″ jersey.
the UCLA qb, Cowen, who looked a little like “shaggy” from scooby doo running around there for 15-20 yards at a time (oh dear…. god…. how did THAT happen?) is actually a pretty good passer on the run. well, that’s just great – since we don’t get any pressure on qbs anyways – he should have fun.
Maybe i’m just bitter because i had to work last night until 5 am…. so i expected to watch USC sinch it up, take a nap, and head into work an excited young man. And then the inevitable Carroll bonehead decision clinic (ever read Bill Simmons’ theory on Pete Carroll aka “Coach Fredo” on page 2 of espn.com?) led to the trojans handing a spot in the NC to Florida.
I really can’t understand this. Florida gets handed their season to them. I can’t even describe the amount of luck that has shined on Florida this year – between their 2 best defensive lineman failing drug tests strategically during the worst games of the season – and then being reinstated for the big games… to the Razorbakcs freshman punt returner’s Willie Mays impression when they had THE LEAD and the GAME in the SEC title game.
Since i can’t seem to stop typing – let’s discuss that play right there. It was (in my opinion) the biggest momentum changer in the history of SEC football. yeah, im 25 – so my history is limited – but, i’ve never seen anything like that in my life. Here was a case when Arkansas was up 4 points, and Oscar Meyer had just burned THE FINAL TIMEOUT OF THE GAME in the middle of the third quarter. even the announcers (who – in the state of football today – are AWFUL) mentioned that now the Gators HAD TO GO FOR IT on fourth down. that timeout had to mean something. Well, Meyer spent the timeout talking himself out of 4th and Tebow, and punted. HE PUNTED. he basically conceded the game to Reggie Herring and the Arkansas Defense and said “we can’t do it, we’re going to let Charlie Strong win this one for us – let’s hope that Dick, or Nutt or Johnson make a mistake and ol’ Reggie Nelson is there to capitalize….” (Dick, Nut, or Johnson? – i mean SERIOUSLY folks…. the jokes write themselves…)
and then some little Circus Midget they have returning punts decides to make the all-time boneheaded, worst case scenario decision of all-time.
and the Gators snatch momentum, the lead, and in effect, the game.
and now, they are going to play Ohio State. for A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. i need a drink. or something sharp. or a swift kick in the stones.
This is the worst season of football ever. EVER.
Well, since i got a little off track with that last post, and there are other obvious cases of UF getting the game handed to them (against FSU, UGA, UT, USC, and even BAMA for god’s sake….) – I can’t spend another 20 minutes of my sunday thinking about it. We all know what happened, and we don’t get it, either. It’s like the run they had in last year’s Final Four – playing George Mason, UCLA, Georgetown handing them the game, missing out on UConn and Villanova…. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion. you could see it coming together, but just….couldn’t believe it was happening in front of you.
Let’s get back to USC. and how they are the FSU of this Decade. Here’s a team that is playing with an incredibly likeable coach, a great offense, a stout defense, in a weak conference that they currently OWN….
And yet, when you look at their body of work… It’s really not that impressive. They won ONE national Championship, in 2004 – with an incredibly stacked lineup – playmakers galore, and a coach that wasn’t scared to roll the dice. Their schedule was basically full of crap teams with 1/10 the talent of what they had, ONE rivalry game (notre dame/miami) and the occasional in state team making a run (Cal/UF).
In 2003, they did the FSU special – lose to a team early, (cal) – and then run the table on a series of crappy opponents, win your bowl game against a decent team, and claim your stake in the national title – okay, well – we never got a national title out of a deal like that – but we darn sure finished Second quite a bit.
And Besides, LSU won the national title that year. That’s how i see it. i just had a Homer Simpson moment…. “MMmmm…. Jimbo Fisher….”
Anyways, USC is dominating Recruiting, they are dominating their division and basically plug in players and never miss a beat. Their coach seems content with where he is, and doesn’t really have that NFL demeanor that he would need to be successful back in the NFL (he failed enough, IMO)…. in fact, this is Bill Simmons’ take on Carroll when he coached the Patriots:
“Pete seemed like a good guy. Of course, that was the problem — there wasn’t anything coach-like about him. His teams consistently screwed up and did dumb things. His players consistently walked all over him and found trouble off the field. Even in his press conferences, beat writers found ways to undermine him and make him look bad. Poor Pete carried himself like a giddy substitute teacher for an inner-city high school, the high-energy dude who strolls in hoping to change everyone for the better and ends up getting duct-taped to his desk and covered with gobs of whiteout. That was Pete Carroll in New England.”
So look at that, this guy is a college coach by definition. A good enough scheme to win, Talent Pool overflowing, and likeable enough to be a player’s coach. You HAVE to be a player’s coach in college. It’s called RECRUITING. Ask Al Groh how being a uber-disciplinarian turns out in college. or Dave Wannstedt. It doesn’t work.
THIS IS FSU. they even have the bandwagon fans, the gorgeous girls that flock to the sidelines, and pretty much the color scheme.
They have a bit more tradition than us, but we’re only talking the HERE and NOW.
I predict that Southern Cal will be doing this for the better part of a decade, plugging in QBs like hair dryers and Ruling the PAC 10 with an iron fist. Jeff Tedford will eventually Leave Cal, and then he will have NO COMPETITION there. Except they will always find a way to lose one. whether its to Notre Dame, or Nebraska (if they keep scheduling them) – or in the National Title Game (which we perfected as an ART FORM.)
Hopefully, we can pull in a good coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball, and show USC how to underachieve the NOLE way.
Hey, i can dream, right?
Like i said, i am in a wierd mood today – so don’t take this as me knocking our program, or anything. I’m just typing my gut feelings on the afternoon that UF will be announced as the NC team. I don’t think i’m alone on this island.
GO BUCKEYES.
Great comments as always Troy. For me… I have to pick the lesser of two evils. I really can’t stand THE Ohio State University. Ever since John Cooper whined and bitched and moaned about not playing for a national title after the 1996 season, and having to play Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Thankfully, Thad Busby smacked around OSU and Mr. Cooper didn’t hang around too long after that.
Now you have that vest-wearing guy Tressel, another one I can’t stand. I guess if I’d been born into the Michigan / Ohio State rivalry, I’d have been a Wolverine. Lloyd Carr is my kind of guy, never says the right thing, is way too honest, has taken some lumps, but is a solid coach. Tressel’s been too successful at various levels and you can tell he “knows it.”
One other thing… on Jimbo Fisher. I don’t get why everyone is so in love with LSU’s offense. Yeah they’re better than us, but I rarely watch a game of theirs thinking “oooh yeah that’s gonna drop a bunch of points on any team out there.” I still think Fedora is the more interesting and better buy of the two candidates, but then again nobody cares what I think. :)
Wow, hate that ya’ll have to play the same team that just beat USC.