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FSU-Wake Forest impressions
September 21st, 2008, 12:49 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Brad Milner
Well, this could have been worse. As in, FSU could have been shut out for the second time in Tallahassee against Wake Forest and the Demon Deacons should have scored more than just 12 points.
The Seminoles had seven turnovers, including five interceptions. Three came from starting quarterback Christian Ponder, who was reinserted in the fourth quarter after Richardson struggled in the second half. All the while, Drew Weatherford was there with a headset and never got his chance (more on my theory for that in a second).
Ponder looked uneasy. He threw without planting his foot several times and often appeared shellshocked in his first career Atlantic Coast Conference start.
FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said the Seminoles must run the ball better to be successful. Starting running back Antone Smith was a non-factor (eight rushes, 24 yards) and a young offensive line had a rough day.
Returning wide receiver Preston Parker also was a non-factor, with only three receptions and a fumble. In fact, most of the FSU lineup was so-so, with the team managing only 220 total yards.
Wake Forest didn’t help itself, either. Reliable place-kicker Sam Swank missed three field goal attempts, and a penalty in the early going took away a touchdown that would have given the Demon Deacons a 10-0 lead.
The silver lining was an FSU defense missing several starters due to the academic cheating scandal played pretty well. The unit will be at full strength in next week’s game against Colorado, but it really won’t matter if the offense plays like it did on Saturday.
One note about Weatherford. I said at the beginning of the season that he wasn’t given much respect. He’s fallen out of favor with Fisher and wasn’t even given a chance to make something happen. I think the reason for this is Fisher didn’t want want Weatherford to lead a scoring drive and then have all the questions about the starting QB come up again.
This way he can say both of “his guys” had terrible games and they just need to turn it around. If Weatherford did well then he’d have a problem.
Standout player: Not one to be found.
Inside the boxscore: FSU was penalized 12 times for 139 yards. … Wake Forest had 70 yards in penalties. … Bert Reed had only two rushes. He took a reverse right and appeared as if it was a designed throw. He wisely pulled the ball down and made a minimal gain. … Also of note on Reed, he was open early and Ponder skipped the ball to him. Ponder raised his hands as if to say the wide open Reed did something wrong.
Next up: Watch out for Colorado in Jacksonville. The Buffaloes are 3-0 and could spring an “upset.”
Here’s the final stats for the FSU-Wake Forest game.
From a fans point of view, that game had to be the most annoying game to watch in years due to the referees stopping the game every other play by throwing penalty flags. They must have been right out of referee school and hot to get their faces on TV, because some of that laundry was highly questionable.
Both of Jimbo Fisher’s new quarterbacks, Ponder and Richardson, can’t throw worth a flip. If FSU’s receiving corps wasn’t so good, Ponder would have been good for at least six interceptions with the rainbows that he was throwing. And Richardson is a veer option wishbone quarterback in a dropback system. All this with Weatherford, an experienced senior, holding the clipboard.
I also have a theory about FSU’s offensive woes: Jimbo Fisher is not the sharpest blade in the drawer, and never should have been handed the OC job. And this guy is going to be the next head coach at FSU after Bowden? Lord help the Seminoles.