Posted by William Kristoph

James Esco and Dustin Hopkins are locked in a battle for the place kicking job which will likely last until Labor Day. Hopkins, the stronger leg of the two, is a shoe-in for the kickoff duties, but Esco continues to push Hopkins for the extra point and field goal duties with his consistency in practices and scrimmages. That’s good news for FSU fans who definitely need a solid replacement for Graham Gano. I also have to wonder if Hopkins really has the inside track to winning the job and all of this talk about Esco is to push Hopkins in practice (much like Kellen Clemens and Mark Sanchez for the New York Jets).

Speaking of kicking, does anyone else find it ironic that we will always talk about FSU’s kicking woes, but we’ve had some of the best kickers in the country over the years? Bentley, Janikowski, Cismesia, Gano.

ChantRant is still talking about the Miami game and empty seats. They cite the 84,000+ that showed up on a Labor Day night in 2005 at Doak as a reason for FSU and Miami fans to be headed to Doak this year. But here are a couple of reasons why that thought process doesn’t work in 2009.

• In 2005, FSU was ranked #14 in the AP, Miami was ranked #9.
• The economy was still booming in 2005.
• The 2005 game still had some novelty, being the first FSU / Miami match up at Doak Campbell Stadium.
• Ticket prices were cheaper.

One other tidbit, that orange ball sport announced their upcoming men’s schedule.

And now for your YouTube Clip Of The Week, The Hurricanes Rap, ugh: