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FSU Game Time - 7:30 ACCN

We are averaging 550 yards a game will win a few games just outscoring people if nothing else
 
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Each game is a test of a teams character. Has this team developed what it takes to overcome these problems? Has the sophomore benchwarmer been working hard at his craft in preparation for his moment? For the upperclassmen, this is the last chance to beat these bums. Stick a spear in them! GO DEACS!
 
Still looking for 3tix plus a Blue Lot pass for FSU. Please PM me if you have some available! TIA
 
2 years ago they had no QB. Blackmon started his first game against us ans we managed to allow 2 long kickoff returns for TD's and a last minute 50 yard TD pass to give the game away so I'm not confident at all we won't follow a similar path this week.
 
Our offense wasn't functioning at a high level then yet, didn't really take off until later in the season. And that FSU team had a much better defense and was desperate as hell at 0-2.

Also don't really understand why we'd be reading very much into a game from two years ago
 
Weather Underground suggests there might be some showers during this game
 
Hartman getting the start against FSU with the 3 tds in 5 minutes against Louisville but the two terrible passes that should have been intercepted ... even though he has no good wins or acc wins on his resume he WILL get the job done and we will aim Saturday.

I’m happy for Sam it’s his day to shine.
 
Did Clawson announce Hartman as the starter tonight?
 
Did Clawson announce Hartman as the starter tonight?

As he said in his press conference, he doesn't have to. What we know:

* Newman DID NOT practice on Tuesday.
* As Conor said in the news thread, Clawson has a history of resting kids who are at <80% - see Cade for two games already this year. He doesn't change the depth chart because he longer is required to do so
* The fact that we also have a bye next week would also strongly indicate that Clawson is likely to lean towards resting Newman and ideally having him ready to be the backup instead of Kerns
* Hartman came in and looked very sharp against Louisville

That all said, FSU is the type of defense I would ideally like to see Newman. There are plays where FSU may not get much push, but their height may kill some throwing lanes for Hartman - lanes that may be open to Newman.

I honestly think this is a game we could win 30-0. I am exaggerating obviously, but it would be crazy if we killed two FSU coaches in 15 years. The young may not remember, but it was our shellacking of FSU 30-0 that finally led to FSU strongly suggesting
their ole ball coach" step down and let Jimbo Fisher take over ...
 
Willie isn’t announcing his starting QB either. I agree it makes sense for Hartman to start but I would rather see what Newman can do.
 
As he said in his press conference, he doesn't have to. What we know:

* Newman DID NOT practice on Tuesday.
* As Conor said in the news thread, Clawson has a history of resting kids who are at <80% - see Cade for two games already this year. He doesn't change the depth chart because he longer is required to do so
* The fact that we also have a bye next week would also strongly indicate that Clawson is likely to lean towards resting Newman and ideally having him ready to be the backup instead of Kerns
* Hartman came in and looked very sharp against Louisville

That all said, FSU is the type of defense I would ideally like to see Newman. There are plays where FSU may not get much push, but their height may kill some throwing lanes for Hartman - lanes that may be open to Newman.

I honestly think this is a game we could win 30-0. I am exaggerating obviously, but it would be crazy if we killed two FSU coaches in 15 years. The young may not remember, but it was our shellacking of FSU 30-0 that finally led to FSU strongly suggesting
their ole ball coach" step down and let Jimbo Fisher take over ...

I really agree on wishing Newman could go. I think if you take Sam and Jamie and give them both clean pockets and clear throwing lanes, Sam is probably the better thrower. However, with Jamie's size he is able to stand in there when the pocket breaks down, when the throwing lanes aren't clear, he can still deliver the ball. That was the biggest difference I saw when Jamie had to take over for Sam last year. There was 2 TD passes in the Duke last year, that Jamie delivered with the Duke rush right in his face. Sam would not have been able to deliver the ball in those instances.

While Sam looked really good Saturday night, he came in a situation where because of the score Louisville was playing more of a prevent defense, then an aggressive defense looking to bring pressure. I know Sam has probably matured and is better able to handle this then last year as a true freshman, but you can't replace Jamie's size and what that brings. There is a reason why the prototype QB is now 6'3"+ and 220lbs+, and I don't think it's a coincidence that our offense has flourished finally having a QB that fits that mold. I know Wolford had our offense humming too despite being smaller, but it also took John 3 years of experience playing the position to start playing that way, along with better talent on that side of the ball.

I'm certainly not saying we can't win Saturday night with Sam back there, but if Jamie can't go, it's a big blow.
 
As he said in his press conference, he doesn't have to. What we know:

* Newman DID NOT practice on Tuesday.
* As Conor said in the news thread, Clawson has a history of resting kids who are at <80% - see Cade for two games already this year. He doesn't change the depth chart because he longer is required to do so
* The fact that we also have a bye next week would also strongly indicate that Clawson is likely to lean towards resting Newman and ideally having him ready to be the backup instead of Kerns
* Hartman came in and looked very sharp against Louisville

That all said, FSU is the type of defense I would ideally like to see Newman. There are plays where FSU may not get much push, but their height may kill some throwing lanes for Hartman - lanes that may be open to Newman.

I honestly think this is a game we could win 30-0. I am exaggerating obviously, but it would be crazy if we killed two FSU coaches in 15 years. The young may not remember, but it was our shellacking of FSU 30-0 that finally led to FSU strongly suggesting
their ole ball coach" step down and let Jimbo Fisher take over ...

30-0 was not a good day for Bowden, but he coached for 3 more years (and went 1-2 against WF)

I believe Hartman will start, and I expect him to play well; hopefully our defense and special teams are up to the task this Saturday
 
2 years ago they had no QB. Blackmon started his first game against us ans we managed to allow 2 long kickoff returns for TD's and a last minute 50 yard TD pass to give the game away so I'm not confident at all we won't follow a similar path this week.

Last year is a better comparison, IMO. We started hot but the special teams and D let us down. Multiple long runs and pass completions, 2 or 3 for TDs, IIRC. I remember we did have one punch out on a long run near the goal-line that resulted in a recovered fumble, so that was good. Otherwise, you could tack another 7 to their 38 points. Francois was the starter, but Blackmon eventually started due to injury. (Francois transferred after some behavior issues and likely because he wasn't playing.) Hartman had an INT where, I think it was Scotty, got bumped really hard before the ball got there, and the defender was able to cause a high bounce into another defenders hands. Newman came in but was sacked just like Hartman, so Hartman came back in for the final meaningless TD against their 2nd and 3rd string. Like Louisville, the speed (not even including the size and athleticism) disparities really showed.

Like I've said several times, until we get serious about a legit top quality D! DC, we will continue to struggle against average (USU, Louisville, UNC 2nd half, this year) and good (BC, NCSU, VT, Duke, Pttt, Syracuse, etc programs in our conference) competition. Such a mentality will lead to average results, avg wins, and periodic mid-tier bowls. The record setting excellent effort and performance by Wolford is the only thing that overcame our smelly D 2 years ago....and then we had to win late in the year to get to bowl eligibility.

I think the DC hire is necessary for the next step.
 
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Last year is a better comparison, IMO. We started hot but the special teams and D let us down. Multiple long runs and pass completions, 2 or 3 for TDs, IIRC. I remember we did have one punch out on a long run near the goal-line that resulted in a recovered fumble, so that was good. Otherwise, you could tack another 7 to their 38 points. Francois was the starter, but Blackmon eventually started due to injury. (Francois transferred after some behavior issues and likely because he wasn't playing.) Hartman had an INT where, I think it was Scotty, got bumped really hard before the ball got there, and the defender was able to cause a high bounce into another defenders hands. Newman came in but was sacked just like Hartman, so Hartman came back in for the final meaningless TD against their 2nd and 3rd string. Like Louisville, the speed (not even including the size and athleticism) disparities really showed.

Like I've said several times, until we get serious about a legit top quality D! DC, we will continue to struggle against average (USU, Louisville, UNC 2nd half, this year) and good (BC, NCSU, VT, Duke, Pttt, Syracuse, etc programs in our conference) competition. Such a mentality will lead to average results, avg wins, and periodic mid-tier bowls. The record setting excellent effort and performance by Wolford is the only thing that overcame our smelly D 2 years ago....and then we had to win late in the year to get to bowl eligibility.

I think the DC hire is necessary for the next step.

I agree, but it begins with recruiting defensive players who possess the physical tools to compete with top tier athletes. There is not a lot that a DC can do if he does not have sufficient quickness and strength to pressure the QB while also maintaining pace downfield with speedy receivers. We are not generating enough pass rush to protect our D-backs from getting beaten by faster receivers.
 
I agree, but it begins with recruiting defensive players who possess the physical tools to compete with top tier athletes. There is not a lot that a DC can do if he does not have sufficient quickness and strength to pressure the QB while also maintaining pace downfield with speedy receivers. We are not generating enough pass rush to protect our D-backs from getting beaten by faster receivers.

To me, linebacker recruiting has been a little bit disappointing. Strnad is a stud, but beyond him our linebackers seem weak. It's hard to recruit at a high level on the defensive line unless you're one of the top tier programs. Guys big enough and skilled enough to come in and be great at those positions are pretty few in numbers. We typically have to recruit guys with potential and hope they grow into the position. I think it should be easier to recruit good linebackers. Sure the top tier programs are going to get the best ones, but I think it should be easier to find guys that are north of 200lbs and good athletes coming out of high school to develop into good linebackers. I think and hope it's been a bit of a situation where when Clawson got here, we were so talent deficient on the offensive side of the ball that they've concentrated so hard on recruiting that side of the ball it's token a toll on the defensive side of the ball and in the future it will start to even out.
 
To me, linebacker recruiting has been a little bit disappointing. Strnad is a stud, but beyond him our linebackers seem weak. It's hard to recruit at a high level on the defensive line unless you're one of the top tier programs. Guys big enough and skilled enough to come in and be great at those positions are pretty few in numbers. We typically have to recruit guys with potential and hope they grow into the position. I think it should be easier to recruit good linebackers. Sure the top tier programs are going to get the best ones, but I think it should be easier to find guys that are north of 200lbs and good athletes coming out of high school to develop into good linebackers. I think and hope it's been a bit of a situation where when Clawson got here, we were so talent deficient on the offensive side of the ball that they've concentrated so hard on recruiting that side of the ball it's token a toll on the defensive side of the ball and in the future it will start to even out.

Agree. DL is typically the hardest area to recruit for the reasons stated above, but WF has actually had solid DL over the last couple of years, and it looks like the ability to cultivate talent on the DL is continuing. Deacs have offered a lot of LBs, and the results haven't been great. Yes, Strnad is a player, but other than that not much production on the field which even led to WF moving DBs to LB spots. Realize that injuries have played a role (DJ Taylor), and that WF is till young at that spot (Smenda, Monroe, Burley all sophomores), but looks like LB play still is the weak link of the defense.
 
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I think the UL game was a complete fluke. I have no explanation for the special teams, turnovers, and pathetic defense. FSU is a talented team and they will have some big plays but the Deacs will score plenty in a balanced offensive attack and FSU will make enough mistakes.

WF 38 FSU 31 in a game that was never over but never really that close.
 
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