FSU Seminoles

It was a big week for the bulk of Florida State's starters as the Seminoles cruised to their third straight blowout victory. Here's how the dominant win may affect several of FSU's stars at the end of the season.

RISING

DT Everett Dawkins, Sr. (Outland)
Dawkins was a monster in the middle of the line against Wake Forest. A first-quarter 34-yard run by Josh Harris accounted for nearly 80 percent of Wake's ground gains for the day, and Dawkins finished with three tackles, including one for a loss.

K Dustin Hopkins, Sr. (Groza)
Hopkins connected on a short field goal and all seven of his PATs while burying Wake Forest with one exceptional kickoff after another. The Deacons average starting field position was its own 19.

(Read full post)

Heather Dinich talks about how the success of Florida State and Clemson this year could help the ACC get two BCS bowl bids for the second straight season.

Florida State baseball's hot recruiting continued over the weekend landing a top-100 type national talent in right-handed pitcher Andrew Karp (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange).

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect visited over the summer, and on Saturday, he felt like it was time to make the call.

"I visited Florida State and I loved the facilities, I loved all the coaches and most of all, I just felt comfortable there with the atmosphere," he said.

"The coaches seem real laid back. You know, there is a real winning tradition at Florida State and there is just a quiet confidence of working hard and winning games."

It wasn't that the Seminoles didn't have stiff opposition, though.

Perennial powers Mississippi and Miami were both firmly entrenched among his top group. And at one point, going out of state looked probable.

"My first visit was at Ole Miss in the summer, and then I visited Miami and Florida State," explained the 2014 pitcher. "At first, my decision was kind of swayed toward Ole Miss, and then I ended up visiting Florida State. At that moment, after I visited, Florida State was the school for me, and it felt right."

Karp throws a fastball that touches 91 MPH, a change-up and a slider. Being able to throw three pitches for strikes is always good, but he says he can throw it by hitters, too.

"I like to consider myself a little bit of both," Karp noted.

As for when a return visit could occur, there aren't any real concrete plans. But Karp certainly would like to come back whenever he gets the chance.

"I haven't really talked about it with my family, but maybe in a month or so from now," he said.

Karp competes with the travel ball team Orlando Scorpions on the summer circuit.

Jimbo Fisher hadn't seen the play in person, so when he got his first look at offensive line coach Rick Trickett's sideline collision with a referee while watching the tape of Saturday's game, he couldn't help but laugh.

The laughter drew the attention of Fisher's wife, and before long she had pulled out her cell phone to shoot video of the replay and text it to all the coaches' wives.

Even Trickett's son, Clint, offered little sympathy once he knew his father wasn't hurt.

"If he would've been hurt, I would've said a couple things to the ref, too," Clint Trickett said. "I wasn't happy. The dude's old. You've got to be careful. He can't be taking them hits."

Trickett's tumble came in the second quarter as tailback Chris Thompson sprinted down the sideline for a long touchdown. A flag came in as Thompson cruised into the end zone, and Fisher first thought a receiver was being whistled for an illegal block.

(Read full post)

By the time EJ Manuel completed his second pass of Saturday's game, Florida State was already up 28-0, and from there it was easy.

But while the Florida State offense soared to its third consecutive game with at least 50 points, Jimbo Fisher found plenty of points of concern when he broke down the film, particularly in the passing game.

Start with the offensive line.

Daniel Glauser got the start at right tackle over a dinged-up Menelik Watson, and on the first play of the game a miscommunication on the right side of the line forced Chris Thompson to go down in the backfield.

Fisher said communication improved as the game progressed, noting that Glauser "gave up a couple things here and there, but for the most part, I was pleased."

Watson should be a full participant in practice today, Fisher said, after getting some late work with the No. 2 offense Saturday.

"He'll be ready to roll this week," Fisher said.

The offensive line flubbed two plays on the goal line in the second quarter, too.

Florida State had a first-and-goal from the 2 and was stuffed on three consecutive plays. The first was the fault of running back James Wilder Jr., who failed to make a proper cut.

"It's a walk-in and he missed the cut," Fisher said.

The next two plays were missed signals by the offensive line, which opened gaps for Wake Forest to stuff the run.

The goal-line issues plagued Florida State a year ago, and Fisher said it will be a primary area of focus this week as FSU prepares for Clemson.

While the line wasn't perfect in pass protection either, Fisher said a number of the problems were actually the result of mistakes by receivers, backs and tight ends.

While Fisher noted that protection broke down a few times early, Manuel's designed runs and option plays helped neutralize Wake Forest's blitz, but the Seminoles still failed to capitalize on some big-play opportunities.

On the second play of the game, Kelvin Benjamin dropped a quick pass over the middle that could have been a big gain, something Fisher attributed to a young receiver trying to do too much before securing the football.

"That's something Kelvin's got to go through," he said.

Greg Dent should have been open for an easy score on a deep ball in the first quarter when Wake was in a cover zero defense, too, Fisher said, but he ran into the corner and Manuel was forced to throw the ball away.

Several bubble screens might have gone for big yards, too, but the blocking from the wide receivers -- which had been excellent on Thompson's two long TD runs -- was noticeably absent.

"One of those, EJ had to take a sack on what might have been a 90-yard bubble play," Fisher said.

Given that FSU had unveiled only a small portion of its passing attack in the first two weeks -- just "three percent," Manuel guessed -- and Wake Forest ran an unusual 3-4 scheme against the Seminoles, the early miscommunications and missed assignments weren't a complete surprise.

What was encouraging, Fisher said, is that the the passing game improved as the game progressed. If Florida State can open this week's game already firing on all cylinders, there's a chance for a lot of plays to be made.

"When we started blocking and running where we're supposed to run," Fisher said, "we're throwing, we're catching, we're doing it."