Saturday, September 26, 2009

Fisher's Former Pupil Continues to Struggle

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Following Wednesday evening's practice, Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher discovered a gift waiting for him when he greeted his wife as he left the field: a framed and autographed poster of Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell.




Fisher coached Russell at LSU, helping Russell develop into the top overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. A lot has changed since their last season together at LSU in 2006.

Fisher left Baton Rouge for Tallahassee after the season, and Russell soon began his quest to find the same success in the NFL that he enjoyed at LSU. So far, Fisher is having better luck as FSU's coach-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, Russell continues to struggle finding his place in the NFL. In the Raiders' 13-10 victory over Kansas City in Week 2, Russell completed only 7 of 24 passes for 109 yards, leaving Oakland officials concerned.

"We're working through trying to get a confidence level with everybody involved from routes, from his footwork, his decision-making, the protection and all of it right has left us all extremely disappointed because it's very easy to pick one guy," Ted Tollner, Oakland's passing-game coordinator, told AOL FanHouse. "It never is quite that way. It's a package of things. For his position, when you're playing as poorly as we did last week, a lot of it falls on the quarterback. That's what happens in the game."

Russell's lack of accuracy -- his 35.2 percent completion percentage is the lowest in the league -- is Oakland's biggest concern.

Fisher remains high on his former star pupil and plans to find a nice place for the framed photo on the wall in his home office.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Mickey Andrews Press Conference


Hey, after an unexpected absence last week, SSC is back and ready to roll. Florida State fans have a renewed sense of hope after the Seminoles crushed No. 7 BYU 54-28 on the road Saturday.

The Seminoles jumped to No. 18 in the polls and host South Florida on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium. I'm here at the coordinators' weekly press conference inside the Moore Athletic Center.

Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews is at the podium. Here is what he is talking about:

* "Our emphasis was really to get to the football this week,'' he says. FSU intercepted BYU quarterback Max Hall three times, including a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown by freshman Greg Reid. "Some kids just have a knack of making big plays. He can do that.''

Reid was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Monday for his performance at BYU.

Andrews liked the way the young FSU defense played at a high energy level after a disappointing effort in a 19-9 win over Jacksonville State the previous week.

I'm going to listen in and ask a few questions of Andrews, and later offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and quarterback Christian Ponder.

I'll post an update later today discussing what this victory really means for the Florida State football program.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Jacksonville State Leads FSU at Halftime

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A colleague just stopped by here in the press box at Doak Campbell Stadium and asked what someone at home watching TV might think as the following halftime score scrolled across the bottom of the screen: Jacksonville State 9, Florida State 7.

Let your imagination run wild on that one.

As for why, it's pretty simple: Jacksonville State has played better.

The Gamecocks had 180 yards in the first half to FSU's 162, but a 67-36 advantage rushing. FSU also had the game's only turnover and fumbled three times total.

Seminoles quarterback Christian Ponder had a decent first half (9 of 13, 126 yards), but he was sacked twice.

The second half is going to be very interesting to say the least. If the Gamecocks pull off the upset, it's safe to say this could be the low point of Bobby Bowden's tenure.

A Pair of Interesting Storylines

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- If there ever was a game I'm glad to own a press pass for, this is it. The sky opened up above Doak Campbell Stadium just as Jacksonville State and Florida State came out for the coin flip, turning the field into an outdoor shower.

What a mess.

The wet weather didn't stop Jacksonville State from marching down the field on its opening drive. Gamecocks quarterback Ryan Perrilloux tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Young to put Jacksonville State up 6-0. The extra-point attempt failed when the snap was bobbled.

There are two storylines that really intrigue me for this game:

1) How will FSU respond after Monday night's heartbreaking 38-34 loss to Miami? The Seminoles travel to BYU next week and desperately need to take some positives out of today. The Noles should obviously beat the less-talented Gamecocks, but they don't need to struggle.

2) How much of an impact will Perrilloux have on the game? The former LSU quarterback, who played there for current FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, is making his season debut after serving a one-game suspension last week. The Seminoles must apply more pressure on Perrilloux than they did Miami's Jacory Harris to keep out of trouble.

Check back later for more.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Miami-FSU Rivalry Goes Old School


This was Miami-Florida State the way we remember. You know, when the 'Canes and 'Noles mattered. When they staged some of the greatest games of the 1980s and '90s. When the winner often played for the national title, and the loser rarely lost to anyone else.

Yep, seemed like old times at Doak Campbell Stadium on Monday night. To make sure, I checked a calender and my waistline. Both assured me it was 2009, not 1989 or 1999.

Miami 38, FSU 34. An instant classic and perhaps the best game of college football's opening weekend. FSU coach Bobby Bowden called it "a great game,'' the third-best game he could remember being a part of behind FSU's 1987 home loss to Miami and a loss at Notre Dame.

ACC officials immediately filed prayer requests for a rematch in Tampa in the struggling ACC Championship Game come December.

The game wasn't decided until the final play when Seminoles quarterback Christian Ponder rolled to his right with five seconds left and threw a pass to Jarmon Fortson in the end zone. The ball was low but catchable. It went through Fortson's arms, and hit the ground.

Not until the officials reviewed the play did the 81,077 in attendance finally take a breath. It was that kind of night.

"We had a chance to win it, and we couldn't come up with the ball,'' Bowden said.

While FSU failed to score a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, the Seminoles walked off the field confident.

"This is a good team,'' receiver Bert Reed set. "We lost this game, but we're not going to let this drag us down. We're too good to let one game get us down.''

What did the Noles learn Monday?

* Ponder looks like the real deal. The redshirt junior finished 24 of 41 for a career-high 294 yards and looked poised and confident.

* True freshman Greg Reid could be that playmaker that Bowden says FSU has missed of late. Reid picked off a pass, had 100 yards in kickoff returns, and caused Miami quarterback Jacory Harris to throw an interception on a hit.

* FSU's secondary is a mess. Harris threw for 386 yards and faced little pressure.

* Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews has a lot of work to do before the Seminoles host Jacksonville State on Monday; meanwhile, for the first time since he arrived at FSU in 2007, offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is comfortable with the starting quarterback and it showed by his play-calling.

More analysis to come on Tuesday from FSU's performance against Miami.

Monday, September 7, 2009

We've Got a Ballgame in Tallahassee

The fourth quarter is about to start at Doak Campbell Stadium, and Miami and Florida State have not disappointed us.

The Hurricanes are driving following a Christian Ponder fumble and FSU holding a 23-17 lead.

Ponder has enjoyed the best game of his young career. The redshirt junior is 21-for-32 for 276 yards and two touchdowns after three quarters. He also scored on a 10-yard run.

Miami's Jacory Harris has also had a good game, hitting 13 of 22 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown.

Check back later for analysis of what happened.