FSU at North Carolina
Florida State (2-4, 0-3 ACC) at North Carolina (4-2, 0-2 ACC)
8:00 PM ESPN
Kenan Memorial Stadium (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: North Carolina -2.5, O/U: 47
Last week I started my writeup of the Thursday night game by commenting how smart ESPN executives were to have picked Cincinnati?s trip to Tampa to play South Florida as a Thursday night game. After all, both teams were undefeated and ranked in the Top 25, something that hardly could have been expected before the season started.
Unfortunately, just a week later those same executives look pretty foolish as this Thursday we have a pair of teams who have so far combined to go 0-5 in ACC play. And last time I checked, the ACC wasn?t exactly the SEC so if you can?t get a win or two in this conference, something must be wrong.
And indeed something is wrong at both North Carolina and Florida State. Let?s start with the obvious one in Tallahassee.
There is a large group of fans who feel that after everything coach Bobby Bowden has done for Florida State University, he should be able to retire from coaching whenever he sees fit. I happen to agree with that thought process ? in theory. The theory being that if and when coach Bowden got to the point where the program wasn?t heading in a positive direction, he would be honest enough with himself to recognize it and retire.
Of course, had that been the case Bowden might have retired from FSU a few years back. Now? Now it?s just getting ugly and embarrassingly obvious that a change needs to be made. The once proud Seminoles are 2-4 on the season and a program that was once synonymous with Top 10 rankings, National Championship hunts and a shut down defense is ranked 107th in the nation in total defense and has to scramble to win games at home against Jacksonville State.
If that isn?t a sign the program is headed in the wrong direction, I?m not sure what is.
I suppose there are some positives with the Seminoles this season, mainly on offense.
When this offense has clicked, it has really clicked. Against Miami, Brigham Young and Georgia Tech, three pretty solid programs, the Seminoles averaged 44 points and 485 yards of total offense. However, that high level of performance hasn?t always been there as against Jacksonville State, Boston College, and South Florida that same unit averaged just 15 points and 367 yards total offense.
Whatever the reason for the discrepancy, don?t look at QB Christian Ponder. Were the playmakers around him more consistent and his defense ? especially his defense (more on that in a bit) ? better this team would not only have several more wins but Ponder would be discussed as one of the best signal callers in college football. His numbers are certainly right there as he is completing nearly 68% of his passes for 1,781 yards (10th in the nation) and a sparkling nine touchdowns to just one interception ratio. Ponder is throwing for just under 297 yards a game, best in the ACC.
The FSU QB has a number of talented receivers including Bert Reed, Richard Goodman and Taiwan Easterling, who missed the entire spring after rupturing his Achilles tendon in offseason conditioning but is now back to 100%.
As mentioned however, there are issues with Florida State and most of them can be found on the defensive side of the ball where the Seminoles rank an extremely uncharacteristic 107th in the nation in total defense. One of the biggest problems has been a lack of pass rush, something the Noles have been known for over the years. Making matters worse for this Thursday night is that CB Patrick Robinson (ankle), probably the Seminoles' best cover corner, is questionable to play. If Robinson can?t go then Bowden will likely have to press CB Xavier Rhodes, a freshman, into service.
Whether the potential loss of Robinson actually hurts the Seminoles is based on the assumption that North Carolina can actually exploit a weakness on a defense and trust me, that is far from certain.
There is one thing you notice almost immediately when sizing up these two teams. On paper they are basically opposites of each other. FSU has a pretty good offense (27th in the nation) and a horrible defense (107th) while North Carolina has an abysmal offense (117th nationally) and a rock solid defense (3rd in the nation). If nothing else, it will certainly be interesting to see which team can take advantage of the other?s weakness.
There obviously isn?t much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball but coach Butch David would certainly point to RB Ryan Houston (seven rushing touchdowns), RB Shaun Draughn (leads team in rush with 355 yards) and leading receiver Greg Little (27 receptions) as bright spots.
QB T.J. Yates is not one of those bright spots as the junior is only throwing for about 161 yards a game and has six touchdowns against seven interceptions thus far in 2009, stats that look even worse in comparison to FSU?s Ponder.
Thankfully for North Carolina, their defense is showing up in just about every game and carrying the load for the team. The Tar Heels have held four of the six opponents to under 100 yards rushing. DE Robert Quinn has been the star of the unit thus far with seven sacks and three forced fumbles. Quinn is joined by DE Robert Quinn by a pair of talented defenders in the secondary in CB Charles Brown and FS Deunta Williams who both have two interceptions on the season.
Game Notes:
--This will be the first Thursday night home game for North Carolina in school history. The Tar Heels did play a Thursday game against Bowling Green on Thanksgiving morning back in 1982, but it wasn't televised.
--Florida State has owned this series with a 14-1-1 all-time record. The two teams haven't met since the ACC went to divisional play in 2005.
--In 2004, #9 Florida State beat up the Tar Heels 38-16 at home behind QB Wyatt Sexton?s three touchdown passes and RB Leon Washington?s 153 yards rushing.
--FSU is 1-4 against the spread, with four of the five games going ?over? the posted total. North Carolina is equally as bad against the number as the Tar Heels are 1-3 ATS with three of their four lined games having gone ?under? the posted total.
Florida State (2-4, 0-3 ACC) at North Carolina (4-2, 0-2 ACC)
8:00 PM ESPN
Kenan Memorial Stadium (Natural Grass)
Sports.com Line: North Carolina -2.5, O/U: 47
Last week I started my writeup of the Thursday night game by commenting how smart ESPN executives were to have picked Cincinnati?s trip to Tampa to play South Florida as a Thursday night game. After all, both teams were undefeated and ranked in the Top 25, something that hardly could have been expected before the season started.
Unfortunately, just a week later those same executives look pretty foolish as this Thursday we have a pair of teams who have so far combined to go 0-5 in ACC play. And last time I checked, the ACC wasn?t exactly the SEC so if you can?t get a win or two in this conference, something must be wrong.
And indeed something is wrong at both North Carolina and Florida State. Let?s start with the obvious one in Tallahassee.
There is a large group of fans who feel that after everything coach Bobby Bowden has done for Florida State University, he should be able to retire from coaching whenever he sees fit. I happen to agree with that thought process ? in theory. The theory being that if and when coach Bowden got to the point where the program wasn?t heading in a positive direction, he would be honest enough with himself to recognize it and retire.
Of course, had that been the case Bowden might have retired from FSU a few years back. Now? Now it?s just getting ugly and embarrassingly obvious that a change needs to be made. The once proud Seminoles are 2-4 on the season and a program that was once synonymous with Top 10 rankings, National Championship hunts and a shut down defense is ranked 107th in the nation in total defense and has to scramble to win games at home against Jacksonville State.
If that isn?t a sign the program is headed in the wrong direction, I?m not sure what is.
I suppose there are some positives with the Seminoles this season, mainly on offense.
When this offense has clicked, it has really clicked. Against Miami, Brigham Young and Georgia Tech, three pretty solid programs, the Seminoles averaged 44 points and 485 yards of total offense. However, that high level of performance hasn?t always been there as against Jacksonville State, Boston College, and South Florida that same unit averaged just 15 points and 367 yards total offense.
Whatever the reason for the discrepancy, don?t look at QB Christian Ponder. Were the playmakers around him more consistent and his defense ? especially his defense (more on that in a bit) ? better this team would not only have several more wins but Ponder would be discussed as one of the best signal callers in college football. His numbers are certainly right there as he is completing nearly 68% of his passes for 1,781 yards (10th in the nation) and a sparkling nine touchdowns to just one interception ratio. Ponder is throwing for just under 297 yards a game, best in the ACC.
The FSU QB has a number of talented receivers including Bert Reed, Richard Goodman and Taiwan Easterling, who missed the entire spring after rupturing his Achilles tendon in offseason conditioning but is now back to 100%.
As mentioned however, there are issues with Florida State and most of them can be found on the defensive side of the ball where the Seminoles rank an extremely uncharacteristic 107th in the nation in total defense. One of the biggest problems has been a lack of pass rush, something the Noles have been known for over the years. Making matters worse for this Thursday night is that CB Patrick Robinson (ankle), probably the Seminoles' best cover corner, is questionable to play. If Robinson can?t go then Bowden will likely have to press CB Xavier Rhodes, a freshman, into service.
Whether the potential loss of Robinson actually hurts the Seminoles is based on the assumption that North Carolina can actually exploit a weakness on a defense and trust me, that is far from certain.
There is one thing you notice almost immediately when sizing up these two teams. On paper they are basically opposites of each other. FSU has a pretty good offense (27th in the nation) and a horrible defense (107th) while North Carolina has an abysmal offense (117th nationally) and a rock solid defense (3rd in the nation). If nothing else, it will certainly be interesting to see which team can take advantage of the other?s weakness.
There obviously isn?t much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball but coach Butch David would certainly point to RB Ryan Houston (seven rushing touchdowns), RB Shaun Draughn (leads team in rush with 355 yards) and leading receiver Greg Little (27 receptions) as bright spots.
QB T.J. Yates is not one of those bright spots as the junior is only throwing for about 161 yards a game and has six touchdowns against seven interceptions thus far in 2009, stats that look even worse in comparison to FSU?s Ponder.
Thankfully for North Carolina, their defense is showing up in just about every game and carrying the load for the team. The Tar Heels have held four of the six opponents to under 100 yards rushing. DE Robert Quinn has been the star of the unit thus far with seven sacks and three forced fumbles. Quinn is joined by DE Robert Quinn by a pair of talented defenders in the secondary in CB Charles Brown and FS Deunta Williams who both have two interceptions on the season.
Game Notes:
--This will be the first Thursday night home game for North Carolina in school history. The Tar Heels did play a Thursday game against Bowling Green on Thanksgiving morning back in 1982, but it wasn't televised.
--Florida State has owned this series with a 14-1-1 all-time record. The two teams haven't met since the ACC went to divisional play in 2005.
--In 2004, #9 Florida State beat up the Tar Heels 38-16 at home behind QB Wyatt Sexton?s three touchdown passes and RB Leon Washington?s 153 yards rushing.
--FSU is 1-4 against the spread, with four of the five games going ?over? the posted total. North Carolina is equally as bad against the number as the Tar Heels are 1-3 ATS with three of their four lined games having gone ?under? the posted total.
