Free Lap Dance Night

Is the $19 / Free Coke Zero promotion really better?

FSU DT, Emmanuel Dunbar was injured at practice yesterday, he was taken to Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee with an injury to his back. No further information has been released. With the injury, the Seminole defensive line has only two players with collegiate experience for the first three games.

In brighter news, K/P Graham Gano is mending well from his surgery, and trying to make it back prior to the 4-6 week prognosis that doctors gave him.

The Sporting Gnomes Have All The ACC Action for the upcoming 2008 schedule, in .bmp format! It’s hot sweaty Helmet On Helmet Action… check it out.

The new photo gallery of the Doak Campbell Stadium improvements is rather, uh… impressive. :)

But I needed a moment of Zen…

By Bill Kristoph (aka Captain Killjoy)

I’ve read Andrew Carter’s blog. I’ve read NoleSports.com. I hear good old P.T. thinks the team has reasons to be optimistic, and I hear that William Floyd thinks the Noles will contend for the ACC Title this season. Maybe it’s the Mets fan in me, but I can’t help thinking that the Noles aren’t going to be much better THIS year. Why? Let’s take a look at the game by game breakdown.

Before I start, let me say this… fans should not talk smack after the Noles hand out two beat downs in the first two games.

(W) September 6, 2008 - Western Carolina (FCS) - Welcome to the Gator preseason schedule. I say that, only because UF has schedule inferior out of conference opponents for years because of the “tough” SEC schedule. This year the Gators play Miami, +1 for them on that. The Noles, trying to pick up a couple of victories while some players are suspended for the first three games for academic scandal issues, play Western Carolina, a team that has the added pressure of an entirely new coaching staff. Noles Win Big 45-6.

(W) September 13, 2008 - Chattanooga (FCS) - The game that doesn’t count. Why? Well only one win against FCS competition counts towards bowl eligibility. So unless the Noles lose this game, it really doesn’t count other than as a stats padder. Noles Win Big 48-10.

(W) September 20, 2008 -  Wake Forest - Did you sit through the beat down in the rain two years ago? If you say yes, you’re lying. Because only Randy and Noleman were in the stands at the end, along with me. I stayed to the bitter end to witness “the bottom.” The Noles are riding high in front of a good crowd at Doak. Wake Forest will have an off day, and FSU wins after harassing Riley Skinner all day. Noles win 27-17.

(W) September 27, 2008 - Colorado -In Jacksonville, in front of a lackluster crowd. The atmosphere will be nothing like last year against Alabama. The Buffs aren’t a bad team by any means, with Dan “This Is The Big XII” Hawkins at the helm, but they aren’t super impressive either. The heat of Jacksonville will get to them, and the Noles will have a full squad available to them. Plus, FSU has history on their side. Noles Win 24-20.

(W) October 4, 2008 - at Miami - The game of delusions. Drew Weatherford is a Cane killer, like Rix was a Gator killer. The Noles win this one ugly. At least the Orange Bowl is gone, and maybe the general curse against the Canes is too? Another 10-7 win for the Noles?

(L)October 16, 2008 - at N.C. State - Tom O’Brien is still rebuilding the Wolfpack. Lucky for him, the Noles don’t play well on Thursday nights. Sadly for FSU fans, this is the beginning of the end for the season. Pack shock Noles 27-24 with a late TD.

(L) October 25, 2008 - Virginia Tech - I really don’t like the Hokies. I didn’t like their stupid Turkey calls, I didn’t like their fans at the Sugar Bowl in 1999. I don’t like their colors, or the Hokey Pokey. And I really won’t like it when they beat FSU in Tallahassee. VT wins 24-10.

(L) November 1, 2008 - at Georgia Tech - Paul Johnson has the talent to run some very weird schemes, more weird than Navy. Did I mention at GT, he likely has the brains on the team to do it too? FSU has trouble with the option, no matter how good the defense plays (in fact I’d argue the better and faster the D, the worse they play against the option). Atlanta is a tough place to play, even if the seats at Bobby Dodd are like 80 miles from the field. The dark days of November begin for the Noles, Yellow Jackets beat the Noles, 31-20.

(L) November 8, 2008 - Clemson - Clemson is the class or trash of the ACC by this point. I’m banking on the class of it, which means I’ll lose another bet, with Block-C (formerly Danny Ford Is God). Tommy beats his Dad again, Cullen Harper is a Swan, and Clemson runs up and down Doak Campbell Stadium. Clemson 35 Noles 24.

(W) November 15, 2008 - Boston College - Thankfully B.C. lost all of those seniors, and they’re going to have a tough time in 2008. The Noles get revenge from the first blackout game loss, and beat the Eagles, 28-10.

(W) November 22, 2008 - at Maryland - The “hope” game. I have a feeling that FSU will make turtle soup of the Terrapins, giving Seminole fans false hope for the Florida game. The Terps don’t seem to have FSU figured out as well as some other ACC foes.

(L) November 29, 2008 - Florida - Ugh, I really don’t want to talk about them. Tim Tebow is going to have another ridiculous season, while also saving baby seals, being a choir boy, putting Chuck Norris in his place and delivering twins of a random stranger trapped in a burning vehicle. Whatever. Gators win. I’m not predicting a score and my Thanksgiving dinner turns to diarrhea. It will make for a wonderful Monday return to work. When does Duke get back on the schedule?

So that’s it. Barely bowl eligible, maybe the Noles will be eating Emerald Nuts again? Next season it gets better, and perhaps this will be enough to push Bobby Bowden into retirement, not that I’m forcing him to go. The fan reaction throughout the year ought to be thrilling, as will the blogosphere that will be in meltdown mode. Good luck weathering it!

Disagree? Leave me your predictions in a comment. I’m going on gut reaction, not stats or preseason hype, just what my gut says.

P.S. - I’ll still make predictions before each game, and depending on what we see this season and what happens with injuries that 7-5 might get a lot better.

Rain, rain go away in Tallahassee. We’ve had upwards of 22 inches of rain in spots the last few days, and there is more on the way. I guess it’s a good thing they redid Doak a few years ago after that awful Miami game, when the PAT system screwed up and let the stadium flood. Anyway, I enjoyed some very nice HD action over the weekend (granted it was of the movie and Olympic variety) and it made me wonder, how many of you have HDTVs and service ready to roll for the ‘08 season?

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Andrew Carter is reporting that Graham Gano, FSU K/P is out 4-6 weeks with a torn ligament.

Well, at this rate I’ll have 50 yard line seats with the idiotic out of conference scheduling FSU is doing now. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? I don’t care if Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher started their careers there, playing Samford, not Stanford… seriously… is just AWFUL.

Andrew Carter has the major scoop as usual… frankly I’m too beside myself to have a coherent thought, other than this is STUPID and as a fan I’d rather not sit through that garbage after paying $40 for the ticket. Would someone please wake up down at the Athletics Office?