SB Nation Tampa Bay - Florida State Hopes To Move To 5-0 Vs. South Floridahttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2012-10-02T19:10:48-04:00http://tampabay.sbnation.com/rss/stream/31468192012-10-02T19:10:48-04:002012-10-02T19:10:48-04:00FSU, Florida ranked highly in latest BlogPoll
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<figcaption>Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>The Florida State Seminoles and Florida Gators both remained in the same spots in the latest SB Nation BlogPoll.</p> <p>Neither the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles" class="sbn-auto-link">Florida St. Seminoles</a> nor the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-gators" class="sbn-auto-link">Florida Gators</a> saw any change to their rankings in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/2012/10/2/3442886/college-football-rankings-week-6-2012-alabama-oregon-state">SB Nation's Week 6 college football BlogPoll.</a></p>
<p>The Seminoles remained the No. 3 team in the country according to SB Nation's bloggers, following a 30-17 win over the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-florida-bulls" class="sbn-auto-link">South Florida Bulls</a>. Only the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/alabama-crimson-tide" class="sbn-auto-link">Alabama Crimson Tide</a> and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/oregon-ducks" class="sbn-auto-link">Oregon Ducks</a> are ranked ahead of Florida St.</p>
<p>The Gators, meanwhile, remained just outside the top 10 following a Week 5 bye week, checking in as the No. 11 team in the country according to SB Nation's voters. Florida will have an opportunity to vault into the top 10 this week, as the Gators play host to the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/lsu-tigers" class="sbn-auto-link">LSU Tigers</a>, who are the fourth-ranked team in the BlogPoll.</p>
<p>Florida St. will continue ACC play this weekend, when they head to N.C. State to take on the Wolfpack. Even if the Seminoles win big, they'll likely remain the No. 3 team in the country – unless Oregon is upset by Washington.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/florida-state-seminoles-news/2012/10/2/3446202/2012-ncaa-football-rankingsJP Starkey2012-09-30T12:43:07-04:002012-09-30T12:43:07-04:00 Voodoo Five reacts to B.J. Daniels' performance
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>B.J. Daniels wasn't very good Saturday against Florida State, as Voodoo Five explains. </p> <p>South Florida didn't survive Saturday's matchup against Florida State, but perhaps it could have with better quarterback play. Bulls quarterback <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/37686/b-j-daniels" class="sbn-auto-link">B.J. Daniels</a> struggled to complete more than half of his passes, failed to throw a touchdown and put an interception on his game film.</p>
<p>Subsequently, SB Nation's South Florida blog <a href="http://www.voodoofive.com/2012/9/30/3431528/florida-state-30-usf-17-b-j-daniels-is-electric">Voodoo Five reacted</a> with some criticism of Daniels on completing simple, short passes. Here's Jamie DeVriend:</p>
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<p>It was my #1 point <a target="_blank" href="http://www.voodoofive.com/football/2012/9/29/3428936/five-keys-usf-vs-florida-state">in the Five Keys post yesterday</a> -- accuracy on short passes. The USF game plan wasn't bad at all. There were lots of short passes, knowing FSU would sit back in a zone to take away all the deep throws. Daniels had to hit more of them than he did. That certainly wasn't the only reason the Bulls lost the game. (At this point, I'd like a little less realtalk out of Rick Smith and a little more of, well, anything out of his players in the secondary.) But the erratic passes, even the short ones, aren't going away.</p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/usf-bulls-news/2012/9/30/3432828/usf-florida-state-2012-reactionBrandon Scott2012-09-30T11:34:37-04:002012-09-30T11:34:37-04:00Tomahawk Nation not overreacting to Saturday's win
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Florida State Seminoles defeated South Florida Saturday, but don't get too carried away about it.</p> <p>The Florida State Seminoles clearly outmatched South Florida in Saturday's 30-17 victory, but the Seminoles didn't beat the Bulls down as badly as they could have. FSU started the game in man coverage, and USF found some success on offense.</p>
<p>But once the 'noles set up in zone coverage, everything was covered and the Bulls had few answers to contend with FSU. </p>
<p>Still, SB Nation's Florida State blog Tomahawk Nation says fans shouldn't necessarily feel great about Saturday's performance, rather just take the win and be happy with it. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tomahawknation.com/2012/9/30/3431802/florida-state-football-south-florida-lessons">Here's Bud Elliot with some insight</a> on the offensive line giving up penetration, even in a game which saw more than 200 yards for FSU on the ground:</p>
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<p>Florida State rushed for 203 yards on 38 carries (removing the two sacks which the NCAA counts as rushing plays for some unknown reason). That is pretty good. But, it also lost 26 yards in reaching that number, which is too much. Some of that was due to penetration given up by the offensive line, and some of that is due to missed zone reads by the QB, giving the ball when he needs to keep it. Both items must be cleaned up, and at least one should improve as the season goes on. </p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/florida-state-seminoles-news/2012/9/30/3432434/usf-florida-state-2012-reactionBrandon Scott2012-09-27T15:52:48-04:002012-09-27T15:52:48-04:00USF worried about FSU's pass rush
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<figcaption>Streeter Lecka - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Bulls offensive line coach called the current group of Seminoles defensive linemen as talented as the legendary FSU lines of the early '90s.</p> <p>Even with All-ACC DE Brandon Jenkins out for the year, Florida State has had no problem rushing the passer as they've gotten out to a 4-0 start in 2012.</p>
<p>USF offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler has noticed, and he lavished the Seminoles defenders with praise when talking to reporters on Wednesday, <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/bulls/content/usf-offensive-line-bracing-depth-fsu-defense">courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times</a>:</p>
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<p>"I don't know that I've seen a team, except maybe the early '90s Florida State teams, that has the depth of quality players. Honestly, after a while, you lose track of who's in there, because they all look the same. When they rest, they come back and holy cow, they play 10 plays and take a break. Their intensity level never wanes. They're as good as a group as anybody I've coached against. The competition level they must have in practice must be off the chart."</p>
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<p>Florida State has 13 sacks already in 2012, with 12 of them coming from their starting defensive end tandem of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/114291/bjoern-werner">Bjoern Werner</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/133856/cornellius-carradine">Cornellius Carradine</a>.</p>
<p>If USF will have any chance of pulling off a huge upset on Saturday, they're going to need to figure out a way of controlling the Seminoles' pass rush.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/usf-bulls-news/2012/9/27/3419198/usf-vs-fsu-2012-defenseJonathan Tjarks2012-09-26T18:18:14-04:002012-09-26T18:18:14-04:00Florida State has turned it around in 2012
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<figcaption>Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>Florida State is a completely different team in 2012, compared to how they were playing this time last year.</p> <p>Last year at this time, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/florida-st-seminoles">Florida St. Seminoles</a> were 2-2 and struggling to once again live up to their preseason hype, when many of the major publications had the Seminoles in their top-10. The Seminoles had issues all over the board from player injuries, which included their starting and backup quarterback, to being unable to move the ball on the ground.</p>
<p>Those problems led to a pair of close losses to Oklahoma and Clemson, and the season went into a tailspin when they lost to Wake Forest the following week.</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2012, and the Seminoles are, at the moment, sitting pretty and being proclaimed by most to be back. Florida State is now fresh off of a come-from-behind 49-37 win over fellow ACC member Clemson who was ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll at the time.</p>
<p>Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher <a target="_blank" href="http://jacksonville.com/sports/college/florida-state-seminoles/2012-09-24/story/seminoles-savoring-season-after-putting-last">uttered the phrase</a>, "what a difference a year makes," a few weeks ago. That reference could mean a lot of things, ranging from Florida State's 4-0 start and being placed in the top five of the polls.</p>
<p>The comment was actually referring to running back Chris Thompson, who is back playing football just 11 months removed from breaking a vertebra in his back. Thompson had 197 yards in Florida State's 52-0 win over Wake Forest -- the same team against which he broke his vertebra last year -- and against Clemson he pounded out 103 yards and two touchdowns.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/florida-state-seminoles-news/2012/9/26/3414156/fsu-seminoles-2012-bcs-title-runJeremy Mauss2012-09-26T17:16:22-04:002012-09-26T17:16:22-04:00Stoops coaching against old team Saturday
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<figcaption>Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>Mark Stoops will face the school that gave him his coaching start, as Florida State travels to USF this Saturday.</p> <p>Florida State defensive coordinator Mike Stoops got his coaching start as a defensive backs coach at South Florida. With the Seminoles taking on the Bulls this Saturday in Tampa, Stoops had the opportunity to reflect on those early years. According to the <a href="http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120925/FSU03/309250028/1024/RSS10?nclick_check=1">Tallahassee Democrat</a>, he views them quite positively.</p>
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<p>"I’m proud to say I was one of the initial members of the coaching staff and helped get the program off the ground," Stoops said. "It was only one quick year, but it was fun for me. I learned a lot there. It was a great experience and a great staff. Definitely, it has a special place in my heart."</p>
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<p>The biggest takeaway Stoops picked up on Jim Leavitt's staff at USF appears to be about relentless recruiting. Stoops said that USF wasn't afraid to recruit against anyone, and that fearlessness started with Leavitt himself.</p>
<p>"I give a lot of credit to Coach Leavitt because he was crazy that way," Stoops said. "I learned from that. I have an appreciation for him."</p>
<p>Saturday's contest starts at 6:00 PM EST and can be seen on ESPN.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2012/9/26/3413848/fsu-seminoles-vs-usf-mark-stoopsMatt Trogdon2012-09-26T14:18:23-04:002012-09-26T14:18:23-04:00FSU in much better shape than they were in 2011
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<figcaption>Streeter Lecka - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A solid running game, a competent offensive line and a QB in the Heisman race? This isn't last year's Florida State.</p> <p>Jimbo Fisher has spent the week following this year's Clemson game trying to manage the media expectations of his quarterback as a Heisman contender. Florida State is No. 5 in both national polls, they're running the ball with authority behind a rebuilt, disaster-free offensive line and oh yeah -- they beat Clemson.</p>
<p>That's why <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/os-fsu-team-progress-0925-20120924,0,5894648.story">the media collective</a> is summing up the Seminoles in just one quote:</p>
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<p>"What a difference a year makes," Fisher said.</p>
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<p>More so than the play of quarterback <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/36085/e-j-manuel">E.J. Manuel</a>, the real turnaround for the Seminoles from a 2-2 2011 to a 4-0 2012 is the running game, as mentioned by the Orlando Sentinel: FSU has rushed for 1,124 yards through four games, while they had just reached 300 at this point last year.</p>
<p>But running back <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/133823/james-wilder-jr">James Wilder Jr.</a> <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/os-fsu-team-progress-0925-20120924,0,5894648.story">is on the E.J. for Heisman bandwagon</a> after the QB totalled 482 yards rushing and passing against the Tigers:</p>
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<p>"I've gotten very tired of the people saying, 'Can y'all do it? EJ's so inconsistent.' Man, EJ's one of the hardest workers on the team," Wilder said. "He just showed everybody up [Saturday]; at least all the people who were saying he was so inconsistent and that he bursts under pressure."</p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2012/9/26/3412606/fsu-seminoles-2012-bcs-title-runSteven Godfrey2012-09-26T09:58:54-04:002012-09-26T09:58:54-04:00Florida State faces USF in potential trap game
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<figcaption>Melina Vastola-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>South Florida will look to jumpstart its season with an upset of Florida State.</p> <p>Florida State is looking like a BCS title game contender after defeating Clemson, 49-37. The Seminoles are off to a 4-0 start and are scheduled to play just one more ranked team the rest of the season.</p>
<p>But even after its big victory, Florida State cannot relax against a dangerous South Florida team. The Bulls were picked to win the Big East, but back-to-back losses to Rutgers and Ball State have derailed the team's hopes this season. Still, this is looking like a potential trap game for Florida State.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Miami hosts North Carolina State in a crucial ACC showdown. The Hurricanes are looking to improve to 3-0 in conference play.</p>
<p>The full list of Florida-area games are below:</p>
<p>North Carolina State Wolfpack at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/miami-hurricanes">Miami Hurricanes</a> (Noon, ESPNU)</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/missouri-tigers">Missouri Tigers</a> at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/central-florida-knights">Central Florida Knights</a> (Noon ET)</p>
<p>Florida State Seminoles at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/south-florida-bulls">South Florida Bulls</a> (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)</p>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/seminoles-fsu-florida-state/2012/9/26/3411114/college-football-schedule-2012David Cassilo