FSU Seminoles

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A week earlier, Jimbo Fisher suggested his punt returner needed to do a better job of ignoring defenders as he fielded a catch. Fisher just didn't expect the defense to be quite so aggressive with Rashad Greene in his next game.

USF's punt coverage unit held Greene without a return, but the Bulls still pressured Greene on each of his fair catches, with defenders setting up just a step or two from Greene as he secured the ball.

"I thought there had to be some room," Fisher said. "But he made some nice [catches], and they were right up on him."

Fisher suggested he might check in with the league for a clarification on how close defenders could be when a player signals for a fair catch -- it was an ACC officiating crew against USF last week -- but also said Florida State may try to pressure returners more now, too.

"We're going to have to do some of that," Fisher said.

Whether or not USF worked the periphery of the rule book was less significant than the job Greene did of avoiding distractions.

After fumbling two punts earlier this season, Fisher made a point of grilling his sophomore on the importance of making a clean catch -- no matter how tight the defense plays him.

"I was more focused on my technique, keeping my nose on the ball, catching the ball first," Greene said. "It doesn't bother me. I'm getting more comfortable catching the ball with defenders around me in traffic."

Greene said he felt USF pushed the envelope in coverage, too, and Saturday's game marked the first time FSU was held without a punt return in more than a year. Still, the lack of negative plays was progress.

"He kept his elbows in, and he was very smooth with it, too," Fisher said of Greene. "His body wasn't out of whack, got squared up on the ball, read the nose of the ball very well and got his angle very well."

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Time to take a gander at the top Heisman contenders from the ACC.

1. EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State. Manuel followed up his breakout game against Clemson with a quiet game this past week against USF. Manuel threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and was not much of a factor in the run game as the Seminoles won 30-17. Still, Manuel completed more than 70 percent of his passes and continues to lead the ACC in pass efficiency. He ranks No. 8 in the nation in that category. On the season, Manuel has thrown for 1,147 yards, with nine touchdowns and one interception. He also has 197 yards rushing. As long as he keeps playing consistently and Florida State keeps winning, he should be in the Heisman mix. He remains a distant second this week in the ESPN.com Heisman Watch.

2. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson. Boyd continued his terrific play in a 45-31 win over Boston College. He completed 28 of 38 passes for 367 yards and three scores and added 42 yards rushing and another score. His 409 yards of total offense gave him the sixth 400-yard total offense game in Clemson history. Boyd also tied Charlie Whitehurst for the school's career touchdown mark with 49. It took Whitehurst 44 career games to do it. Boyd has done it in only 26 games. On the season, Boyd has thrown for 1,356 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions and has added 161 yards rushing and another score. Boyd got a vote this week.

Florida State's ugly road win at USF wasn't the type of game that will build many awards campaigns for the stars, but it was a solid overall effort with a handful of standout performers. Here's how the Seminoles' awards hopes stack up after five games:

RISING
DE Cornellius Carradine, Sr. (Bednarik)
Added to the Bednarik watch list last week, Carradine quickly added to his campaign against USF. The senior, who is replacing Brandon Jenkins in the starting lineup, finished with a team-high nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown. Carradine earned ACC defensive lineman of the week honors and is FSU's leading tackler this season.

DT Everett Dawkins, Sr. (Outland)
Dawkins had another strong game and has been one of FSU's most impressive, if altogether unheralded, performers so far this season. Dawkins had three tackles and helped out on a sack while controlling the middle of the line of scrimmage. QB B.J. Daniels found little room to maneuver, and Dawkins stuffed the run game up the middle.

K Dustin Hopkins, Sr. (Groza)
The ACC's specialist of the week had a nice rebound after an ugly game against Clemson. Hopkins converted three of four field goal chances, including a long of 43 yards. His lone miss was from 48. USF also spent the first half with a long field thanks to Hopkins' leg. Its average starting field position in the first half was its own 19.

CB Xavier Rhodes, Jr. (Bednarik, Nagurski, Thorpe)
Rhodes made three tackles against USF and had a crucial interception of Daniels late in the first half, setting up an FSU field goal with just a few seconds left before the break. Rhodes also blanketed USF's top receiver, Andre Davis, holding him to just one catch for three yards.

HOLDING STEADY
QB EJ Manuel, Sr. (Heisman, Maxwell, O’Brien)
It's hard to fault Manuel for his performance against USF. He completed 73 percent of his passes for 242 yards and converted three big third downs in a road win over an in-state rival. The problem, of course, is that Heisman front-runner Geno Smith threw eight TDs and dismantled the record books. Manuel's game was good, but as Jimbo Fisher continues to say, he's the hunting dog when the awards tend to honor the show dogs.

DT Timmy Jernigan, So. (Outland)
Another solid game from Jernigan, who was exceptional against the run once again, helping to control the line of scrimmage against a USF team aiming to negate the pass rush with quick passes and lateral runs. Jernigan finished with two tackles, including one for a loss, and helped stifle the Bulls running game, which managed just 43 yards on the ground after the first quarter.

LB Christian Jones, Jr. (Butkus)
The big tackle numbers needed to win the Butkus simply haven't materialized for Jones, but he had a strong game against USF. He was routinely in good position on misdirections and option runs -- something that wasn't always the case a week earlier against Clemson -- and he scooped up a fumble for FSU's first defensive touchdown of the year.

S Lamarcus Joyner, Jr. (Bednarik, Nagurski, Thorpe)
Offenses are staying away from Joyner's side of the field, which is a strong sign of respect, but also won't help much come awards season. Joyner had three tackles, and both of USF's long passing plays went to the other side of the field.

LB Nick Moody, Sr. (Butkus)
Moody saw more playing time than he did a week earlier against Clemson, and he finished with two tackles in a solid effort.

DE Bjoern Werner, Jr. (Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski)
USF attacked Carradine in part because Werner has commanded so much attention on film. The junior mustered just two tackles, but he broke up a pass and was consistently in the face of Daniels.

FALLING
WR Willie Haulstead, Jr. (Biletnikoff)
Haulstead remains buried on FSU's receiver depth chart.

DE Brandon Jenkins, Sr. (Bednarik)
Fisher said Jenkins is making progress in his rehab, but they haven't discussed the possibility of the senior taking a medical redshirt and returning for 2013.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- He hasn't made the immediate impact his recruiting pedigree may have suggested, but Mario Edwards Jr. is slowly working his way into a more significant role as the season progresses.

The former top recruit has seen only limited action on defense thus far, but he was in on several key snaps against USF, including making a tackle on a short screen to running back Lindsey Lamar in the third quarter.

"We've got to continue to make him grow," Jimbo Fisher said. "It was a weird game to get him a lot of snaps because every possession was pretty critical there for a long time. But he's really developing."

Edwards arrived at FSU heralded by scouts but checking in at nearly 300 pounds -- a bit too heavy for the role he was expected to play for the Seminoles.

In the three months since, however, Edwards has dropped nearly 20 pounds and Fisher said it's clear the freshman is making big strides, particularly in defending the run.

"He's really moving so much better right now," Fisher said.

Fisher hopes to get Edwards down to about 275 pounds, but he said as Edwards gets older, it's not unreasonable to think he could add most of that weight back on and still play with the same quickness.

For now, Edwards remains a work in progress, but Fisher said he's making strides each week.

"He's going to be a really good player," Fisher said. "We've just got to keep bringing him."

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- As the praise mounted for Cornellius Carradine after Saturday's game, Jimbo Fisher's analysis was noticeably tepid.

Carradine had led the team with nine tackles and his forced fumble, which Christian Jones scooped up and returned for a touchdown, was a game-changing play, but Fisher couched his enthusiasm with a simplistic: "We'll have to see what's on the film."

Of course, the coach sees all.

By Monday, Fisher had watched the film and seen all Carradine had done well, but it was clear it hadn't been a virtuoso performance by the first-year starter.

"He made some big plays, but he had a lot of boo-boos in that game," Fisher said. "There's a lot of things you didn't see."

That didn't prevent Carradine from being named the ACC's defensive lineman of the week, nor does it mean Fisher hasn't been impressed by all those big plays, which included 1.5 sacks against USF.

It's just that, from a consistency standpoint, there's still more Fisher wants to see.

"Tank's a phenomenal player, but being an every down player, the starter, there's a lot of little things that go within the teamwork of a defense sometimes," Fisher said. "Now you have to be consistent for a longer period of time. You went from 30 plays a game to 60 plays a game."

Perhaps that's why USF attacked Carradine so consistently, pegging him as "the weakest link," he said.

Indeed, the first four plays of the game were run right at Carradine and met with varied results. When spying quarterback B.J. Daniels, Carradine was strong. He finished with three tackles on QB runs that amounted to a total of four yards, and he was in on two sacks.

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Here’s a look back at Week 5 in the ACC:

The good: Ranked teams stayed ranked. Florida State held off a scrappy South Florida team for its first road win of the season, and Clemson avoided “pulling a Clemson” and escaped Boston College with a win. Through five weeks, the ACC still has a national title contender and a chance at two BCS bowl bids.

The bad: Turnovers. NC State had six. Georgia Tech had four. It would be nice to stop there, but Wake Forest had four, Virginia had three and so did Virginia Tech.

The ugly: The ACC’s 2-3 nonconference record. Georgia Tech’s home loss to Middle Tennessee, Virginia’s home loss to Louisiana Tech and the Hokies’ loss to Cincinnati at FedEx Field didn’t do the ACC's image any favors. Virginia Tech’s loss to Cincy dropped the Hokies to 0-2 against the Big East this year and the ACC to 3-4 overall against the Big East this season.

The streak: Wake Forest’s 12-game winning streak over Duke was snapped. It was the first time since 1999 that the Blue Devils found a way to beat the Deacs.

The record: Miami quarterback Stephen Morris threw for a school- and ACC-record 566 yards and five touchdowns. His final touchdown came with 19 seconds left and sealed the Canes' 44-37 win over NC State for their first three-game winning streak since 2009. Morris was 26-of-50 passing for Miami, which finished with 652 yards of offense.

The record II: UNC set a school single-game scoring record in its 66-0 win over Idaho. The Tar Heels had 371 yards and 45 points by halftime before finishing with 575 total yards.

The record III: Conner Vernon tied an ACC record with his 232nd career reception with about three minutes left for Duke.

The stat: Clemson’s defense had eight plays that resulted in negative yards for Boston College. Entering the game, the Clemson defense had just 20 for the season.

The quote: “I don’t know, in 38 years I’ve never been involved with a team that made this many mistakes,” -- NC State coach Tom O’Brien, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.