The More You Know...About Florida State

Dan E. Dangerously · Nov 12, 2014

The defending national champions make their way to south Florida this Saturday. Let's see what they're all about.

What a difference 3 weeks makes. After losing to Georgia Tech even the most ardent supporters of this coaching staff would have LOL'd at the notion of us giving FSU a competitive game. Now after slapping around 3 flawed teams, even jaded/cynical fans like myself feel like we have better than a puncher's chance to win. Vegas seems to agree. After opening as a 3 point underdog, the line has slowly inched down to FSU giving just -1 or -1.5, depending on what book you are looking at. Obviously this means little in the grand scheme of things since FSU is one of, if not THE best team in the nation right now.

Of all the teams we've faced this season, only Nebraska (#10) and Georgia Tech (#13) put up more points than Florida State's #16 ranked scoring offense (37.9 ppg). They're ranked in the triple digits in rushing yards (129.89 per game), but that's a bit misleading. They started off poorly because Karlos Williams sucks, and Dalvin Cook is now beginning to eat into his carries as the season progresses. Their passing game is elite, ranking #10 in the nation with 319.9 yards per game. This will prove just how legit our #10 ranked passing defense (180.6 ypg) really is.

Meanwhile Florida State's defense, while good, isn't the force they were last year. Miami has actually been statistically better in scoring, rushing, and passing defense. The biggest drop-off for the Noles has been in pass defense, which sank all the way from #1 last year (156.6 ypg) down to #83 this year (238.8 ypg). I don't think anyone believes we're going to beat this team by slinging the ball around though. We'll go as far as Duke and the offensive line can take us.

One more thing to keep in mind is that FSU is a 2nd half team. In the 8 games against FBS opponents this year, the average score of every Florida State game at halftime is a 15-13 Seminole lead. Whereas in the 2nd half they're beating teams 23-11. So if we jump out to some big lead early in the game be prepared for when FSU makes their run.

1. Where they are in the standings/rankings:

Thanks to Clemson's ability to always be Clemson, even if we beat FSU it's a mortal lock that we're going to have to beat them again if we manage to get to Charlotte. We still need Duke to lose another game for that to happen though. The Noles are coming off a 34-20 win over Virginia. Here's what UVA people are saying about them:

From: Streaking The Lawn

Brian Schwartz said:
...The first 16 minutes of the game encapsulated both teams' struggles; FSU held a 21-13 lead, with all points coming off turnovers. Kevin Parks fumbled on Virginia's first offensive play from scrimmage, leading to FSU's first TD 3 plays later. Virginia took a 13-7 lead later in the period. The first UVA score was set up when Maurice Canaday picked off Winston around midfield. Greyson Lambert led the team down the field, throwing a nice ball to Andre Levrone who made an outstanding catch to tie the game. Next, Eli Harold intercepted a tipped pass, and led to another Lambert touchdown, this time to Darius Jennings; however, FSU blocked the extra point.

The lead didn't last long. After a Florida State 3-and-out, Greyson Lambert threw an awful interception at the team's own 3-yard line. FSU punched it in, and Lambert quickly made another mistake, throwing a poor backwards lateral that the Seminoles recovered - they found the end zone on the next play once again...

Squinton will throw picks. He's already thrown 11 in just 7 games against FBS opponents. We had to turn both of his interceptions into touchdowns last year just to keep the 1st half competitive. We'll need to do it again if we want to win. Here's what the UVA/FSU game looked like:

[video=youtube;DxUFtfy6NO0]www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxUFtfy6NO0[/video]

2. What happened the last time Miami played Florida State?

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

From last year's recap:

I said:
...Miami gets the ball to start the 2nd half, but can't cross the 50 yard line and punt it to FSU. FSU starts running on us and going play action off of it. When Miami is able to get FSU to a 3rd down situation, it's always an easy 3rd and short. Once they get to midfield, Winston finds Greene for a 22 yard gain, and then Shaw for a 26 yard gain to set up 1st and goal from the 5. After the play, there was a scrum because Chickillo and Hart were going at it.

Stick-tap to Chickillo. I hope he didn't hurt his fingers in that sequence. The refs called offsetting personal fouls. The crowd is now super into the game. They erupt on the next play when Wilder bounces it to the outside and dives for the pylon to get his 2nd touchdown of the game.

28-14 FSU...

A few weeks later Chickillo said his scrap was a result of Bobby Hart spitting on him. Chick trying to gouge his eyes out was the highlight of the game for me.

3. Who to be scared of:

Kevin Cox/Getty Images

Rashad Greene

This isn't even close. If you added together both Jesus Wilson and Nick O'Leary's receptions, who are 2nd and 3rd on the team with 33 each, you'd be 5 shy of Greene's 71 catches. He also leads the team in receiving yards and touchdown grabs. He's tied for 6th in all of college football in receptions (71), and he's 7th in yards (989). Whenever it's 3rd and long, Greene is the guy Winston will look to first because he's always open. I mean, he's ALWAYS open. So open that he usually has at least 1 or 2 plays every game where he picks up a ton of yards after the catch. Here are Greene's highlights throughout his time at FSU:

[video=youtube;xqQUWmevwvY]www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQUWmevwvY[/video]

Something to think about...the 2009 St. Thomas Aquinas football team had Lamarcus Joyner, Rashad Greene, & Phillip Dorsett as its top 3 receivers...Brandon Linder and Bobby Hart on the offensive line...Giovani Bernard and James White in the backfield...Cody Riggs and Marcus Roberson in the secondary with Joyner playing both ways. Insane.

4. Player that will score against us:

Phil Sears/AP

Karlos Williams

When Williams committed to FSU to play safety, every Seminole fan said he was the next Sean Taylor. He was big, fast, and brought with him tons of athleticism. They would've have been right if Sean Taylor was an awful defensive player. Then last year the "next Sean Taylor" was moved to running back midseason. All of sudden Seminole fans started comparing him to Willis McGahee. I'm dead serious. Now the "next Willis McGahee who used to be the next Sean Taylor" is seeing a chunk of his snaps going to true freshman Dalvin Cook. LOL. He still leads the team in rushing with 520 yards in 8 games, along with a team leading 9 rushing touchdowns. This is what the next Sean Taylor did after he was moved to running back last season:

[video=youtube;vnaRCN6Vd_U]www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnaRCN6Vd_U[/video]

His best performance this year was against NC State when he ran for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was the only game he rushed for more than 75 yards this season.

5. Person that will **** you off:

Getty Images

Famous ****

Do I really need to explain myself here? What's not to hate? I mean he's a rapist (allegedly), a common thief, and a point-shaving (allegedly) lunatic with no sense of public decency. He's also a really good football player for a team I don't like, so **** him. Here's what Winston does when he isn't raping women (allegedly):

[video=youtube;dhH7yHDJQLE]www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhH7yHDJQLE[/video]

6. Some Guy:

Associated Press

Mario Edwards, Jr.

Edwards was all everything coming out of highschool from Texas, and is the son of a former Seminole cornerback that played in the late '90s. Edwards has lived up to every bit of his lofty praise as a prospect, seeing extensive time at defensive end since his freshman year. He's a force on the edge of their defensive line, leading the team with 10 tackles for loss. Occasionally they'll use him as a stand-up pass rusher. Before the season the ACC Digital Network came out with a list of 25 players to watch out for. Edwards checked in at #8 and this is the video package they made for him:

[video=youtube;JSI8PAKpc5o]www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSI8PAKpc5o[/video]

With the injury situation of Ereck Flowers, this is a matchup to keep an eye on.

7. If Florida State were a punk rock song, they would be:

The Second Rape by Aus-Rotten

This song isn't so much about rape as it is the system in which rape victims are forced to go through in order to bring their attackers to justice. It points out the ridiculous lengths defense attorneys go to in blaming the victims in order to help their clients. Kinda like how Winston's lawyer violated Rape Shield laws by revealing the victim's name on two separate occasions. He justified it by stating that since charges were never brought against him, her accusations are therefore false, and so the laws don't apply to this situation. Un-*******-real.

[video=youtube;A3YlVYQ0Jbk]www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3YlVYQ0Jbk[/video]

For those who couldn't stomach listening to that, I'll just focus on what happens from the 2:00 to 3:00 mark:

Aus-Rotten said:
Defense attorney: Do you know the man who "allegedly" attacked you?
Victim: Yes, I know the man who raped me.

Defense attorney: And isn't this gentleman a friend of yours?
Victim: Well, I thought he was a friend of mine.

Defense attorney: And were you drinking that night he "allegedly" attacked you?
Victim: I had a drink or two but is that a crime?

Defense attorney: I'll ask the questions if you don't mind!
-What were you wearing? How did you act?
Victim: My wardrobe is not a reason for some guy to attack.
-I didn't act in any way to bring this on. Why am I on trial? What did I do wrong?

Defense attorney: Could you tell the jury why you let this happen?
Victim: I was in shock. I couldn't stop him.

Defense attorney: You claim that you were raped but how do we know?
Victim: I said no, I said no, I said no, no, no!

Defense attorney: Isn't it true you're just a woman scorned?
Victim: I'm a woman who's been raped and torn.

Defense attorney: Your honor, I demand that this case be dismissed,
-it all comes down to her word against his!

I may not have bruises all over my body
I may have been drinking while at the party
But when I went to his room I never would have guessed
That he would force my no to mean a yes
You tell me, You tell me, You tell me why I'm guilty of this crime
You tell me, You tell me, You tell me why the responsibility is mine
When women suffer a second rape during trial
Courts help rapists to violate and defile

Any of that sound familiar? The only difference is that when Winston raped this chick (allegedly), it never even got past the initial investigation phase because Florida State University has a rape fetish (allegedly). I'm pretty sure it's Jimbo Fisher's favorite category on RedTube (allegedly). The parts in the song from the defense attorney may as well be word for word from press releases by Winston's lawyer, his coaches, administrators, campus police, and every slack-jawed FSU dip**** on planet earth.

Not even the threat of a Title IX lawsuit has any effect on these morally bankrupt ***-hats. Not just Jameis Winston's Title IX investigation, but Karlos Williams' Title IX investigation as well. It seems that when FSU football players aren't raping women (allegedly), they're beating their pregnant girlfriends (allegedly).

Boys will be boys.

8. Official Internet meme for this game:

You Gonna Get Raped...

...(allegedly)