Florida State 2011

Florida State 2010 Statistics

(ACC) The Seminoles play on a grass field at Doak Campbell Stadium (82,300)

• Jimbo Fisher is now in his second year as head coach at Florida State.  And last year was the first time a head coach other than Bobby Bowden was on the sideline since 1975. It was a hard act to follow, but Fisher started off well with a 10-4 record.  As a result, in January the school rewarded him with a one-year contract extension to make his agreement last through 2014 and pay him $2.75 million per year. That’s a raise of about $1 million from what Fisher received during his first year at Florida State.  The additional compensation in his extended contract will come from FSU’s athletics contracts with IMG and Nike, and no public or private donations will be used.
• The Seminoles won the Atlantic East Division in 2010, lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game and then won their bowl game against South Carolina.   They also beat in-state rivals Florida and Miami.
• Trying to get back to the dynasty era of the ‘90s. The dominant years were 1987- 2000, a 14-year span during which FSU had just 19 total losses, won 2 National Championships and had a part in 9 consecutive ACC Championships.
• Quarterback E.J. Manuel filled in at times during 2009 and 2010 when Christian Ponder was injured (previous starter Ponder graduated and was drafted in the first round in April’s NFL Draft).  While Manuel has been inconsistent in his decision making and ability to read defenses, to his credit he did lead FSU to two bowl wins.  He will absolutely need to improve his ability to read defensive coverages and to call the right reactions against certain formations.  But he is coming off of a big bowl win in which he was 11-15 in relief of an injured Ponder and led a touchdown drive to seal the win.  Now that the full-time job is Manuel’s for 2011, we will see how much he has matured as a player and decision-maker and if he has grown enough to take this team back to the championship era level.
• It’s also important to note that the bowl win against South Carolina was thanks in HUGE part to the defense that forced five turnovers, including four in the first half. Cornerback Greg Reid won MVP in that game, in which his father was watching for the first time since going to prison six years ago.   He is a sophomore this year and may be the answer Florida State needs on passing defense, the only significant area defensively that did not show considerable improvement last year.
• Defense had a complete turnaround in 2010. In 2009 they had one of the worst defenses in the nation in several categories.  And while their passing defense remained mediocre, they really improved in terms of rushing defense, passing efficiency defense, total defense and scoring defense (20th in the nation).  They gave up a considerable amount of passing yards, but the huge improvement of their passing efficiency defense meant that teams were not as efficient and successful in their passing attempts.
• The best thing this defense did was get to the quarterback in 2010.  They were ranked #3 in the nation in terms of sacks—averaging almost 3.5 sacks per game. And this year plenty of talent returns on defense at all three levels: defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs.
• Defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is now in his second year and his players should improve even more with the experience they have with the Zone Coverage system he installed last year. Prior to that the defense used a Man-to-Man scheme.  While Man-to-Man is highly dependent on athletic ability, Zone defense relies primarily on the defender’s ability to anticipate what is going to happen.  Now that this unit fully understands the zone concept, Stoops can add even more tricks and complexity to the playbook.  This year we will see how good this defensive strategy can be for Florida State and the athletes/personnel they recruit.
• Offensive Line in Progress: New Center and New Guard.  Another challenge for the offense will be breaking in one of its most significant positions with a new Center and also replacing Rodney Hudson at guard (one of the most decorated offensive linemen in FSU history).
• Receivers:  Kelvin Benjamin is 6’6, 210 lbs, and even though he’s a true freshman, because he’s a wide receiver he has a chance to make an impact right away (comng soon…Oregon’s Chip Kelly explains why).  And another true freshman Nick O’Leary expects to compete right away at Tight End.  He is the grandson of golf legend Jack Nicklaus.
• They were already dealing with injury problems in the off-season as seven starters missed the spring game.
• They will be tested early in a home game against Oklahoma in week 3 (September 17th).

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