***PRIME***TIME*** Coach Prime, Deion Sanders

In my last post about my blog name, alma mater and fandom, I ended on a player I did not originally care for. He arrived at Florida State from Fort Myers the year after I moved to Tallahassee. As I detailed in my last post, I was not an instant fan of the university or the team. In fact, I was a little annoyed at the garnet and gold displayed everywhere and the rabidity of the fans there. I'd never lived in a college football town...let alone in the Deep South!

So this braggadocios, multi-sport athlete from South Florida makes a big splash in town and at Florida State. He almost immediately garnered national attention and a couple of shiny nicknames--"Neon Deion" and "PrimeTime." Then came the infamous "Seminole Shuffle," a spin on the Chicago Bears "SuperBowl Shuffle" a couple years prior. I liked when the Bears did it (and backed it up). The Nole version was followed by a serious ass-whoppin' by #2 Miami (well deserved, in my opinion).

Deion Sanders rapping during the infamous shuffle.

 

He went on to be a success in two professional sports, then followed it up with a TV career. For awhile, PrimeTime was everywhere. I didn't dislike him so much after I became a devotee of Florida State Football and an alum. He'd helped Bowden to forge a dynasty and put our program on the map.

Fast forward to the Willie Taggart fiasco at Florida State and the search for a new head coach. Taggart was FSU's first African-American head coach, though alum and Defensive Line Coach, Odell Hagins, had served as interim.

I REALLY, REALLY wanted my alma mater to follow-up with a second African-American head coach...and his name was now COACH PRIME!

Yes, at the time Coach Prime was untested, but before HBCU Jackson State scooped him up, I wanted FSU to make a PR splash (like we've seen at Colorado the last six months) and take a chance. Prime is a proven winner--and say what you will about his hype and swag--HE BACKS IT UP!

I'm still real sick we couldn't find the courage to hire our former star corner and NFL Hall of Famer. Instead, we settled for Mike Norvell out of Memphis, a move I'm only slowly coming around to appreciate. Still...what coulda been...

Now, naysayers were still questioning Colorado's decision late last year to make Coach Prime a Power 5 head coach. I say "BRAVO! Well done, Buffaloes!" It was a decision that paid immediate dividends. How many 1-11 programs make the kind of immediate turnaround we've seen in Boulder? THEY SOLD OUT THEIR SPRING GAME! Programs like Florida State and Alabama don't even do that! They even beat out the latter on garnering ESPN's national spotlight. They broadcast the sold-out game and I watched every minute of it.

Just like Coach Prime did at JSU, he once again is stealing some of my alma mater's top recruits for Colorado. He has 4- and 5-star recruits lining up to make visits. And all I can think, is imagine if he had the prestige and marketing of FSU behind those recruiting efforts??

He's turning lowly Colorado around right before our eyes. He did it in Jackson, Mississippi, and now he's taken the Prime train to Boulder. I can't wait to see how his team performs in the fall. I believe they become bowl eligible for the first time in a long time. We'll see, but just in marketing and sales, alone, he's already worth his weight in gold! The school has already sold out season tickets for the upcoming football season. Coach Prime merchandise sales are off the charts!

This is the buzz and excitement I wanted at FSU a few years back. Instead, we heard a big thud with the Norvell hire. Let's just say, he's no Coach Prime.

All I can say about it all is: LET'S GO BUFFS!!! #SkoBuffs

#CoachPrime #PrimeTime #DeionSanders #Coach21Prime

A Proud Florida State Seminole: A Retrospective

My Dad moved to Tallahassee in April 1986 for a new position. He would lead the Florida Credit Union League. We helped him move into a small apartment on the city's northside during my senior year spring break. The family would join him a week after my graduation in June.

When I arrived in Tallahassee that year, I knew very little of Florida State University or Bobby Bowden or the fledgling dynasty. I just knew I lived in Florida!

The University sat near the heart of downtown on the city's westside and was bounded on one side by the Florida A&M University and not too far to the west, the school I would attend, Tallahassee Community College. This was very much a college and state government town, with a large transient population. Everyone in town seemed to be a fan of FSU Football and Coach Bowden. Little did I know, at that time, that I'd become one, too, or that I'd witness the building of a dynasty in little old Tallahassee.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

You see, when I got there, the small campus boasted a very high school-looking football stadium with a weird name, Doak Campbell. Literally, it looked like an erector set from the outside, long before it became a brick behemoth, "the House that Bobby Built." It was really quite laughable to me.

I don't remember attending any games that first year there. One striking feature of the metallic skeletal stadium was the scoreboard and "flaming spear" that seemed to light up with crowd noise. The louder the crowd, the higher the lights on the spear would rise until reaching the flame at the top. That was pretty cool, as was all the pregame fanfare, culminating in a student in full Seminole Tribe costume, riding his Appaloosa steed to midfield and planting an ACTUAL flaming spear in the center of the warrior head logo. THAT was impressive! (It still gives me goosebumps!)

I'd post a video, but everyone is familiar with the tradition, the best in college football, I'd argue. But that first year, 1986, I hardly paid attention to college football or the Noles. I honestly didn't understand what all the hype was about. Then, the Bowden-led Noles played my Indiana Hoosiers in the All-American Bowl and beat them. I thought that was a cool coincidence. Then, I met a third-string lineman at church and we became fast friends. Thus, my interest in Florida State Football started to grow.

I remember when Burt Reynolds, the famed alum, paid for new dorms for the football players. My buddy moved in the first year, 1987, and at the end of that season, traveled with his team to Tempe, Arizona, for the Fiesta Bowl v. Nebraska. I got to stay in his new dorm room while he was away. Now, I'm becoming more enmeshed in the culture and taking notice of the team. They beat Tom Osborne's Nebraska, by the way (a pre-cursor/foreshadowing of the 1993 National Championship Game).

Fast forward to 1991 and my buddy no longer plays for the Noles, but is living in a frat house on campus. I'd followed his career and his team, but I was still a holdout. If it was "cool" to love the Seminoles, I wasn't going to be cool. I still considered myself a casual college football fan, at that point, and a Notre Dame fan. HOWEVER, when Bowden took his team to Ann Arbor and silenced a crowd of 106,000+ I was SOLD! That was the day I became a Seminole fan 100%! Right there in my buddy's frat room, watching the exciting drama unfold on national TV. AND HISTORY, as no visiting team had ever scored 50+ points on the Michigan Wolverines!!

Click HERE for a Florida State-Michigan recap.
 

THE DYNASTY

Most people agree that Bowden's dynasty began in the decade of the 1990's, leading up to his first National Championship behind Heisman QB Charlie Ward in 1993, and continuing into the Coach Jimbo Fisher years, through the 2013 National Championship behind Heisman QB Jameis Winston.

I was there for it all!

After letting down my guard fully mid-season 1991, I eventually enrolled at Florida State as a junior, working my way through college to a degree in Communication (Class of 1997). I was a part-time student for a good portion of the 1990's. I attended as many football games, for free, as I could. I was front and center for the rise of Charlie Ward and the fast-paced, shotgun offense that suited his talents best. I vividly remember the victory celebration at Doak in January 1994.

During my tenure at FSU, I worked in the Cashier's office, starting in June 1990 at the iconic Westcott Building, the entrance to campus. The university would soon begin the largest brick construction project on the planet. "The House that Bobby Built" would soon become a reality and my new workspace. I can remember moving into the first floor, in the corner facing Pensacola and Varsity Drive. I thought I worked in the coolest place in the world! I'd take my lunches out into the stadium and sit in the bleachers eating, marveling, reminiscing...

I immersed myself in college football and FSU, attending the first visit of ESPN's College Gameday in 1993, making sure to get The Pony's (Craig James) autograph for my new wife. She was enamored. :)

I took on an online persona for the ESPN chat boards (a big thing at the time): NOLESROCK

And thus a self-administered nickname was borne and I use it for the title of this blog (in case you were wondering where that came from).

My then wife scored us tickets to the 1999 National Championship Game at the Superdome in New Orleans. We watched Bowden and the Pete Warrick-led Noles beat the Gators, such sweet revenge for a regular season loss! It was our SECOND national championship and tasted just as sweet as the first!

Thus, the Bowden Dynasty would take shape right before my adoring eyes. By the end of the decade, I was an alum of the best university in Florida.

Some of my best memories are attending football and basketball games with my roommates--the former player I mentioned earlier and a goofball named Shawn!

There was a player in the late 80's, who at the time I didn't care for. His nickname was PRIME TIME. In the next blog post, I'll talk more about him and where he is now. I'm a great admirer these days!

Jameis Winston Fallout

I wrote yesterday on my Colts-Noles blog re: the Jameis Winston controversy. My seemingly unpopular opinion--if you look at ESPN.com and a few Nole-related FB pages--has only intensified since last night's knuckleheaded decision by the FSU Administration to extend Jameis' punishment.

In case you weren't watching or listening this week, Jameis' antics in the FSU Oglesby Student Union on Tuesday were tweeted about by fellow students. The next morning, the Heisman quarterback was making national headlines for repeating a vulgar phrase from a viral Internet video. It was a laughable "offense" that got many folks up in arms. It was college high jinks, captured on social media. There was no crime to be punished. There were no cries from students to have him removed from campus, the team OR the game, and yet, in recent NFL fashion, the powers that be decided his suspension from the Clemson game should be complete, reversing course on their earlier decision to only hold him out of the first two quarters.

Let me reiterate that THERE WAS NO CRIME committed. No one was hurt. The students who tweeted the incident were probably laughing at him. No authorities were involved--not the FSU Police Department, not the Tallahassee Police, not FDLE, not even a local crossing guard! So where is the punishment coming from? Perceptions? Do-gooders who have nothing better to complain about? An FSU Admin desperate to make themselves relevant?

So many have chimed in about Jameis Winston's character, his immaturity, his poor judgment and his lack of humility and sense. But let's really look at Jameis' decision-making. First, he CHOSE to come here. He put in brutal two-a-days, grueling workouts for TWO SPORTS (not just football) and has excelled at BOTH! He's brought plenty of attention, good and bad, to the University. The good has come with plenty of purse strings attached. Has the bad caused irreparable damage? Have we lost trophies, sponsorships or dollars from his actions? No. And I'm not saying it's all about those things, but to the Administration, those things should weigh pretty heavy. So in their rush to judgment, rush to appeal to the masses, to the media, to social pressure, did they even consider the fallout of a loss tonight? A loss of a potential championship game? The loss of a portion of their fanbase?

For this tried-and-true Nole, the REAL embarrassment is in A) how this whole situation was handled by the University; and B) in their reversing course like we've seen for two weeks in the NFL. Let's face it, they caved to outside pressures instead of handling this in-house with some tact and grace.

That was my problem from the beginning of this whole mess on Tuesday. Call Jameis in, handle the situation privately, in-house, and get in front of the media circus with a concise, consistent message. Don't let it spin out of control. (Sorry, I worked in PR for a number of years).

Because this stupid incident is in NO WAY RELATED to alleged sexual abuse, shoplifting or BB gun shooting, and yet they've let the media dredge all of that up, tie it in a bundle and submit it as Jameis' resume. Forget the fact that he's been a stellar student in the classroom, a crazy highlight reel phenom on the baseball and football fields and a funny, charismatic, engaging leader on campus. He's not some thug with a long rap sheet, as ESPN has been touting all week. He did his community service "time" for the crab leg theft. No other charges were ever brought against him. So how does cursing on a college campus rise to this level of ridiculous backlash?

The kid has made some poor choices, no doubt. What kid hasn't? And has social media REALLY raised the bar THAT high? That you have to maintain a level of sainthood in college to appease the rich, white establishment? I say let Jameis be Jameis, and allow this whole situation to fade into obscurity. But IF we lose to Clemson? Guess what, FSU leadership? This discussion is NOT going away and the end result will NOT be good for you...for us, as Nole Nation.

My frustration has now risen to the level of disgust. Interim President Stokes has lost my trust and respect. And for the team's sake, I hope she's ready to suit up...because we need her as 3rd string QB!

Noles ready to knock-off #1

http://colts-noles.blogspot.com/2011/09/countdown-to-fsu-ou-has-begun.html

My COLTS-NOLES blog is all decked out in garnet and gold for this weekend's game.

GO NOLES!!!

First Game Rust?

Let me say right from the start that I'm VERY happy with a shut-out win to start the 2011 season. BUT, the Seminoles didn't quite play up to all the hype or the Top 5 ranking. Shannon J. Owens nails it in the Orlando Sentinel column, "The Seminoles played footsie with the Warhawks when they should have been cutting off their toes."

Courtesy Seminoles.com

The team with national championship aspirations wasn't playing like a contender today. Their first quarter performance was lackluster and uninspired. You'd never know they had a Heisman-caliber quarterback or lightning-fast receivers. As Owens points out quite graphically, they lacked the killer instinct of the Seminole teams of old.

While other top teams were steamrolling their first opponents of twenty-eleven, the Seminoles were settling for punts and field goals. And say what you will about ULM, but they were scheduled to be a cupcake of a home opener. The shutout was nice, but it should have been by 50 points with all the firepower in Jimbo's arsenal.

I don't know if it was the playcalling or the execution, but I was having flashbacks during the the first quarter of the "good ol'" Bowden days...and I'm talking about the infamous Bowden playcaller, Jeff, not Bobby. Some of the vanilla plays early in the game definitely had a hint of Jeffy. Very conservative (as if the Warhawks were just supposed to play dead and grant the Noles 10 yards on every play).

Granted, the Warhawks did put up a fight, but their offense couldn't muster 200 total yards. They laid a golden goose egg on the final scoreboard.

What do we take away from this so-so home opener? Well, a win for one. I am very happy the Seminoles go into Week 2 with a 1-0 record. I was glad to see some flashes of brilliance from EJ Manuel at quarterback. His long, touchdown pass before the half was beautifully thrown and right on the mark! But we're used to seeing those kinds of plays on the first first-and-ten of the game, especially against cupcakes like ULM. So, there's room for improvement. Better playcalling and better execution are a MUST if FSU wants to be taken seriously this season.

Let's go Seminoles!!!

Coach Caldwell

If you suffered through the Colts game last night, then stayed up for WTHR’s post-game coverage, then you heard the blue jersey-clad fan call out the head coach on camera. It was well said, and WAY overdue! Just who is this soft-spoken, even-keeled nobody at the helm of the NFL’s most jeckyl-and-hyde team?

I’ve been complaining to my family about him for two years. He led a dismal Wake Forest Demon Deacon's team into a few games at my alma mater, Florida State. It was typically a Demon Deacon bloodbath. They were the doormats of the ACC, after all, and FSU was at its Bowden Dynasty finest. But don’t let the brilliance of the Bowden era at FSU diminish the complete dullness of the Caldwell era at Wake Forest. I saw how pathetic they were, firsthand! And Jim Caldwell’s expressionless face on the Wake Forest sideline matched the equally vanilla play on the field by his team. It was uninspired football.

The official Colts/NFL website states, “Caldwell spent 1993-2000 as head coach at Wake Forest. In 1999, Caldwell led the school to its first winning season and bowl game since 1992.” Granted, that bowl game pitted a 6-5 Demon Deacons team against a very average Arizona State team, also 6-5.

Here is Jim Caldwell’s record as the Wake Forest head coach, by year:

1993 Record, 2-9
1994 Record, 3-8
1995 Record, 1-10
1996 Record, 3-8
1997 Record, 5-6
1998 Record, 3-8
1999 Record, 6-5
2000 Record, 2-9

Let me do the math for you—that adds up to a total of 25 wins in 8 seasons as head coach, an average of 3 wins per season. THREE WINS! WOOT!!!

So Tony Dungy helps him get to the next level, hiring him while still at Tampa Bay. The Feb. 2001 headline from the official Buccaneers/NFL website reads, “Tony Dungy dips into the college ranks once again to flesh out his coaching staff with Jim Caldwell, Joe Barry and Mike Tomlin.” Now, I’m not knocking Dungy for pushing diversity on the NFL (Lord knows they needed it!), but what exactly did Caldwell bring to the table? A losing record as a college head coach?

And now we have the politically-correct Mr. Irsay to thank for promoting from within, someone who is even MORE mild mannered than Dungy. Thank you, Tony, and thank you, Mr. Irsay. I hope Coach Caldwell enjoys the extended off-season, and the unearned accolades for an over-achieving, MASH unit (aka the 2010 Indianapolis Colts).

Bowl Mania

Are you kidding me, NCAA???

Just when the crescendo of public dissent was reaching its peak, you go and ADD bowl games?? I know that's your idea of an answer to the call for a playoff to crown a legitimate national champion, but it's a huge step in the WRONG direction. We don't need more MEANINGLESS games! I mean, seriously! The Pinstripe Bowl? The Car Parts Bowl? The TicketCity Bowl? Where do you come up with these ridiculous names and sponsors? What's next, the Extenze Bowl hosted by Jimmy Johnson???

Am I the only one tuning out these lackluster, mismatched, over-commercialized bowls? Are there really football fans out there SO hard-up that they'll watch a pair of teams barely over .500 kick a bevy of field goals? COUNT ME OUT!!!

I watched my alma mater in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, and I'll probably watch the BCS National Championship, but the Throw-Mama-From-The-Train Bowl and the Overhyped-Pair-of-7-and-5-Nobody-Team-Bowls...NO THANK YOU!!!

Get real and give the people what they want, you greedy, money-grubbing bastards!!! (Imagine the voice of Jim Mora) PLAY-OFFS!

Noles Bowl

It's practically an annual tradition, FSU's football team going to a bowl game, but after a few meager seasons in the twilight of Bobby Bowden's career, I no longer take the invitations for granted. Last Sunday, the Noles, now under the leadership of Jimbo Fisher, were invited to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl where they will face South Carolina, led by former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier...a familiar nemesis to be certain.

It looks to be a great game pitting the 19th and 23rd ranked teams in the nation, each runners-up in their conference championship. Spurrier always brings a high-flying offense to the field, and Fisher will place a Charlie Ward-like quarterback at the helm. I'm talking, of course, about the red-shirt sophomore E.J. Manuel who is a dual threat. He went toe-to-toe with Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor in the ACC Championship Game and held his own against the ACC's Player of the Year, posting almost 300 yards of passing offense and 33 points on the board. Not too shabby for a guy that's only started a few games. But he's no stranger to the bright lights of the college bowl season, as he started in last year's Gator Bowl for the Noles and was named game MVP. I'm hopeful he'll be as impressive in this year's Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

During the news conference last Sunday, Jimbo Fisher was successful in convincing the Chick-Fil-A mascot to do the tomahawk chop (see pic below).

5 Things I've Learned About the Colts This Season

1. Peyton Manning is NOT Superman.

His kryptonite in college came in the form of the Florida defense. In the NFL, Belichick and Turner are his two-headed evil nemesis...call them the Luthor twins.

2. The defense will NEVER be able to stop the run.

3. Ryan Diem is ALWAYS good for about 10 yards in false start penalties.

4. Jim Irsay has crippled his franchise by continuing to make emotional, rather than heady, decisions...

...like promoting an enigmatic, uninspiring coach from within; sticking
with Sanders through a litany of season-ending injuries; and promising the moon
to Manning in the early twilight of his career.

5. The roster is NOT very deep.

-----------------------------

But as they say in Monty Python's "The Life of Brian," always look on the bri-i-ight si-ide of life...

My collegiate and high school alma maters played superbly over the weekend!

The Seminoles trounced the hated, archrival Gators and will play for another ACC Championship.

Chatard's football team won it's 10th state championship...way to go Trojans!!!

Back to mediocrity

Well, that was fun while it lasted. After three weeks in the Top 20, the Seminoles are back to mediocrity, losing this week to North Carolina State. Not that the Wolfpack isn't a team to be reckoned with, especially at home, but Seminole Nation has come to expect a lot more since joining the basketball conference (aka ACC).

Let me couch my complaining in historical terms. Those of us who attended FSU in the glory days, and cheered the team onto two national championships, are not content to watch the team barely eek out a winning season, or lose at home to the Wake Forest's of the college football world (that 30-0 game was an all-time low for the team, the program and the legendary coach). After all, we're not a lowly Big Ten school (or Notre Dame).

I was there for the building of Bowden's Dynasty. I watched the erector-set stadium of the early Bowden Era morph like a Transformer into the castle it is today. I saw them dedicate the larger-than-life bronze statue of Bobby. I cheered the 'Noles to victory under the Superdome in 1999.

Then the end came.

The end of an era. The end of a dynasty. The downward spiral of the program from greatness to mediocrity. So you think I'd be used to the idea of underachievement by the Noles. After all, this has been the decade of lowered expectations. Still, every year, by some great miracle from on high, I believe that things will be different. With the passing of the torch from Bobby Bowden to Jimbo Fisher, my hopes were revived. Then, with the hype that preceeded the 2010 College Football Season, I actually allowed myself to dream once again. But those dreams were short lived. They came crashing down the second week of the season, when FSU got drubbed by Oklahoma, only to be revived once again by six straight wins, the fifth of which came against hated rival Miami.

It was mid-season. The Noles were 6-1. They had vanquished the Ibis, and sat atop all Florida schools as the lone Top 20 team, ranked #16 in the AP Poll. I was beginning to believe once again that FSU was on the mend, that the program had turned the corner (which it actually has, I'm just being dramatic). So going into this weeks game, in hostile territory, mind you, I had the Seminole flag waving in the wind on the front of the house. I turned on the big screen TV and settled in to watch the annual NC State-FSU shootout. Senior Quarterback for the Noles, Christian Ponder, seemed to overcome some early game jitters and miscues and had the offense poised to strike the death-blow with under a minute remaining. Then, he drops back to pass, fakes to the fullback....and FUMBLES the DADGUM ball!!!

Game over.

Not only does the Wolfpack win, they virtually eliminate FSU's chance at the first ACC title in five years. Goodbye BCS bid. Goodbye Top 20 ranking. It was nice while it lasted. I guess I'll wait to see what the Noles can put together next year, but I'm not too hopeful. They lose a veteran offensive line and their QB. It'll be a couple years before the highly touted 2010 recruiting class is able to make a big difference. So, again, I wait. Slowly acclimating to the new dynasty of mediocrity, I wait. :/

Noles Improving, Set Sites on Boston College

After dominating in-state rival Miami, the Seminoles are 5-1 and ranked #16 in the Associated Press Poll. Their next victim, Boston College, has to play in front of a sold-out Doak Campbell crowd in the midday, Florida sun. If the noise and the heat doesn't get 'em, the swarming Seminole defense will!

Yes, it is still early in the season, but this Seminole is already dreaming about the postseason possibilities. A loss to Oklahoma early in the season served as a wake-up call. And now that the defense is getting comfortable in new coordinator Mark Stoops' scheme, they are tearing up the opposition. As the bleacher report aptly noted,

The Seminole defense laid gruesome hits on the Canes all night. It seemed every time a receiver came across the middle or a running back tried to gain any yardage between the tackles, a Seminole or two were there to crush Miami’s skill position players. The physical beating took its toll. UM players needed extra breathers on the sideline throughout the contest, especially in the second half.

FSU Tops Florida in Poll
After the mighty Gators fell to LSU, at home no less, they dropped to #22 in the national poll. Miami fell out of the Top 25, thanks to the drubbing they took from the 'Noles. That leaves FSU as the highest ranked, and only Top 20, team from the Sunshine State. Of course, everyone in Seminole nation has the last game of the season circled every year as THE ONE to win. Fortunately, the Gators have to travel to Tallahassee this year to face the surging 'Noles.

But first things first, the Seminoles have to take care of the Eagles this Saturday, and continue building on the momentum. Since spotting Oklahoma 47 points earlier this season, the 'Nole defense has only given up a total of 47 points to their other 5 opponents, an average of just slightly more than a touchdown per game. Not too shabby. Maybe they can hold BC to a field goal...and then block it! :)

Well, this Seminole is happy to revel in the moment, and dream of a BCS bowl bid.

GO NOLES!!! >>>--------,,,->

Mickey Andrews Tribute

With all the fanfare surrounding Bobby Bowden’s bittersweet exit from the college football landscape, I’d be remiss not to recognize his long-time defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews. The 2010 Gator Bowl was also Andrews’ last game as a Florida State coach. And no defensive coordinator made a bigger impact on the game than Mickey.

His lightning-quick, ball-hawking, gang-tackling defenses are stuff of legend. Mickey didn’t care how big a player was, as long as he played fast, smart and explosive. Experts have attributed the dominating speed of Mickey Andrews-style defense to the rise in the spread offense in college football. Just ask Steve Spurrier, who in 1996 had to put Heisman-winner Danny Wuerrfel in the shotgun just to give him a fraction of a second to complete any passes. Sports Illustrated columnist Andy Staples says, “Spurrier, at the height of his offensive genius, had to radically renovate his offense because of Andrews.” And Mickey’s defenses were the main reason FSU held an 8-5-1 advantage over Spurrier’s mighty Gators.

Andrews was the master of halftime adjustments. You could spot just about any FSU opponent a sizeable lead or statistical advantage in the first half because you KNEW that Mickey’s defense would completely and totally shut them down after halftime. It happened more times than I can remember. Take the infamous "Choke at Doak" game vs. the Gators. The FSU defense shut the high-flying Gator offense down in the fourth quarter, allowing no points and just 40 yards of offense, and paving the way for one of the greatest comebacks in college football history. Or what of the classic goal line stands? Take the 1993 Kickoff Classic, for instance. In the 42-0 drubbing of overmatched Kansas, the Seminole defense held a goal line stance thwarting 11 Jayhawk attempts to score from inside the 10-yardline in one series.

Mickey's impact was felt beyond the college level. NFL talent scouts always knew that Andrews’ players were well-prepared to make the leap to that next level. The Associated Press reports, “Since 1985, NFL teams have picked 73 defensive players developed by Andrews at Florida State. That list includes Peter Boulware, Derrick Brooks, Terrell Buckley, LeRoy Butler, Sam Cowart and Marvin Jones, who like Sanders all went on to star in the NFL.” Eighteen of those players were first-rounders, and half went in the first ten picks.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Mickey Andrews, “the longest tenured and most successful assistant coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference,” coordinated defenses for 26 seasons at Florida State. He was named the nation's top assistant coach in 2000 by the All-American Football Foundation, the national defensive coordinator of the year in 1998 by the American Football Coach's Magazine and the national assistant coach of the year by Athlon's Magazine in 1991_[1]. And during the ‘Noles two National Championship campaigns in ’93 and ’99, Andrews deserves as much credit as anyone for architecting near perfect seasons. Some of his best recruits will one day reside in the NFL Hall of Fame.

FAVORITE ALL-TIME LINEBACKERS






Two of my all-time favorite linebackers, groomed under Mickey Andrews’ tutelage, are Derrick Brooks and his predecessor Marvin “Shade Tree” Jones. About Jones, Sports Illustrated says, “Few college linebackers were more dominant than 'Shade Tree,' a three-time All-America who won the Butkus and Lombardi awards in 1992.” He was followed by the legendary #10 who dominated and intimidated opponents beginning his freshman year. Early in the 1993 Season, Derrick Brooks had already scored three touchdowns from his middle linebacker position, to which Sports Illustrated commented on September 27th of that year, “Brooks has outscored his team's four opponents 18-14. By himself.” Without a doubt, these two brute forces will go down in history as some of Mickey’s best and toughest defenders.

FSU or DBU?
And who can forget the legendary defensive backs churned out by FSU? Mickey Andrews was their position coach for much of his 26-year tenure. He prepped stars like Deion Sanders, Terrell Buckley and Antonio Cromartie for the NFL, all of them first round picks. Let’s not forget Superbowl MVP Dexter Jackson, either. Some might go so far to say that FSU was Defensive Backs U for a number of years. With a portfolio of future NFL hall-of-famers like that, who can argue?

Of all the coaches who’ve come and gone at Florida State, I’ll miss Mickey’s sunflower seed-spittin’, butt-chewin’, sideline antics the most. His defenses’ were legendary, game changing. Mike Stoops has some incredibly large shoes to fill. I hope he’s worthy of the honor.

-------

LINKS:
Seminoles.com page
http://www.seminoles.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/andrews_mickey00.html

Orlando Sentinel Remembers Mickey Andrews
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_fsu/2009/11/remembering-mickey-andrews.html

Redemption and the possibility of a perfect football weekend

After humiliation by an arch-rival and near humiliation by a nobody team last week, this week was football redemption! I'm speaking about Chatard's redemption after a 31-7 defeat at the hands of arch-rival Cathedral, and Florida State's redemption after nearly choking at Doak against underdog Jacksonville State. If you didn't see the highlights, the Seminoles went into Provo, Utah, and put a hurting on then #7 BYU in front of a sold-out crowd, 54-28. It was like the Seminoles of old reborn and scoring from both sides of the ball. It was a sorely needed win against a top-10 ranked opponent.

Chatard, my high school alma mater, drubbed a team from Anderson 42-13 on Friday. The Trojans were no doubt still feeling the sting of embarassment from the previous Saturday. The offense stuggled to put a single drive together against top-ranked Cathedral, scoring only once as time was about to expire. This week, they scored early and often. Way to go Trojans!

Now, if only the Colts can win tonight at Dolphins' Stadium in front of a national TV audience, it will be a football weekend trifecta! I have no doubt about the Colts' ability to score. Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne for at least one 50-yard bomb and a touchdown is nearly a foregone conclusion. What waits to be seen is if the defense can play as hard for four quarters like they did in Week 1 against Jacksonville. I remain hopeful. The new defensive coordinator stands head and shoulders above his predecessor Meeks. He's aggressive. Just when you think you've stopped the bookends-with-burners Freeney and Mathis, he'll unleash the linebackers on an all-out blitz! Love that kind of defensive playcalling....missed it the last several years.

I'd be even happier if my Samsung TV weren't on the fritz. I may just have to watch tonight's game at a bar. If the Colts make this my perfect football weekend, you'll hear me hollaring and honking my horn all the way through Fishers.

Seminole Saturday...er...Monday Night!

I lived in Tallahassee during the peak of Bobby Bowden's career at Florida State University. I count myself very lucky to have witnessed, either in person or on live tv, some of the historic Seminole victories over teams like Nebraska ('93 title game), Notre Dame, Ohio State, Virginia Tech ('99 title game), Auburn, Miami... But the game that "did it" for me was the 1991 Michigan game that silenced more than 106,000 maize-and-blue-clad fans in the Big House (Michigan's 4th largest home crowd).

You see, I had grown up in Indiana my whole life until 1986. I thought that Notre Dame was the standard in college football. I didn't even know who Bobby Bowden was before moving south. Even after arriving in Tallahassee the summer of '86, I proudly wore my navy and gold and scoffed at those who thought FSU was the new standard. To be honest, I really wasn't that much of a college football fan. That didn't last long.

For those of you who've never lived in the south, especially in a small college town, let me frame it in terms my Hoosier friends would understand. Think small town Indiana basketball on a wintry Friday night. That was how football crazed Tallahassee was in the late 80's when I arrived. So a healthy dose of Seminole Saturday Nights--the golden helmets sparkling under the lights, the flaming spear thrust into the turf by Chief Osceola accompanied by an eruption of adulation, causing the big replica spear to light up in the south end zone--was enough to make me shed my Irish garb FOREVER!

I still remember that Saturday, September 28, 1991. My friend Ronnie Byrom, once a lineman for Bowden's team, had invited me over to his fraternity to watch the historic FSU-Michigan match-up. By the end of that game, I had become a true believer. Apparently, so had the nation. Never again would I settle for the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust football I had grown up with in the midwest. I wanted to see high-arcing, 50-yard bombs to Lawrence Dawsey! I needed a weekly dose of wiley Bowden trickery, like a drugatic needs his fix!

Needless to say, after attending the university and working there for a number of years, I became a die-hard FSU fanatic. Yes, my blood runs garnet and gold. I proudly hang my Seminole flag on the porch every weekend in the fall. I am ready for this "dadgum" season to start! What about you? Are you ready for some football???

BCS--a lot of BS if you ask me!

Yes, I'm a bonafide BCS-basher. For my non-sports-watching friends, that's the Bowl Championship Series wrongly condoned by the NCAA...er...the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Sheesh, would one Sportscenter a week kill ya???

I've been on the playoff bandwagon ever since the ill-conceived BCS was launched back in the 90's. I say, what's good for the basketball court is good for the gridiron. What would we call March Madness if college basketball had a corrupt system to determine the national champion? March Moolah?

College football needs a playoff system and it needs one NOW! This is actually an Obama policy I can stand behind. In fact, I'm thinking of writing my representatives on the matter.

I know it's just a game, people, but tell that to Utah. Tell that to the money-grubbing university presidents, the boosters, the conference execs and the TV networks. There are millions of dollars, dare I say BILLIONS, at stake here! So, really, it's more than just the game of football. It is college scholarships, capital improvements for campuses, research funding and so much more for higher education.

And on a point of principle, it's about fairness.

How fair is it that a dominant Utah team wins out, going undefeated and doesn't even get a nod for the national championship? Oh sorry, they received ONE vote for it in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. Are you kidding me???

Think of all the great March Madness moments over the years, where you've cheered on a Gonzaga or Western Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Cinderella stories like their's are what make the month of March, and college basketball in general, so fun to watch. Why wouldn't the TV networks want that for the month of January in college football? I know I do.

And I also want what's fair. Excluding the majority of Division I schools from the BCS is ridiculously unfair! It is what forced schools like my alma mater (FSU) to join a stupid conference (the ACC) back in the 90's. I liked our independence just fine, thank you! Notre Dame is the only independent included in the BCS' supercomputer formula.

Why the heck are computers figuring who's best in college football anyway? I've never seen a PC OR a Mac score a collegiate touchdown! Have you?

We need a playoff in college football worse than Brittany needs a lifecoach or the Jonas' Brothers need a haircut (or some real talent)! We need college presidents who are supposed to be the forebearer's of morality and higher education to do what's right and fair. Quit being such greedy, elitist bast***s and open the competition (and the hugenormous booty to boot) to everyone in Division I!

I agree with Rick Reilly of ESPN.com. Utah IS the national champion. No two ways about it!