Organized Chaos

It’s been a busy few months for the Florida State football team, with lots of news. And not much of it, save a mighty Champs Sports Bowl win over Wisconsin, has been good.

The latest bad news revolves around the wide receiving corps … the same group that decided to stage an Ultimate Fighting contest in the student union in November. Preston Parker was kicked off the team on Monday after being arrested for driving under the influence on Saturday.

He had the munchies, you know, and was found passed out in a McDonald’s drive-thru lane. He was driving a Dodge Charger, according to reports, and I would be interested to know if it was his. I’d hope not, as the last time I saw a new Charger on a showroom floor it had a list price of around $52,000.

Parker, Bert Reed and Cameron Wade are three players who have been arrested since November. Parker also was arrested in 2008 and 2006. Another wide receiver, Corey Surrency, also had a scrape with the law of the felony variety. Surrency, by the way, is petitioning the NCAA for another year of eligiblity.

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Florida State wrapped up the 2008 football season on Saturday with a 42-13 win against Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Seminoles finished the season 9-4, winning at least nine games for the first time since 2004.

Early on it was another case of a sluggish FSU offense taking the field. Had it not been for game MVP Graham Gano pinning the Badgers inside their 2-yard line three times then this game could have turned out differently.

Bobby Bowden noted how this was a flashback to the past and it appeared so as the defense gave the Seminoles its first score on a 75-yard fumble return for a TD by Derek Nicholson. Dekoda Watson also had a fumble return for a score.

But those big plays masked a defense that was torched on the ground again. FSU gave up 201 yards rushing, but a steadily growing lead helped the Seminoles avoid a disaster. The run defense was terrible down the stretch.

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The 2008 season isn’t officially over, but for all intents and purposes, the Florida State Seminoles are gazing toward next year after falling short yet again.

Florida State will lose a lot of talent on defense, which is not a good thing.

FSU is 8-4 heading into another lesser bowl game. The Seminoles improved, based on record alone.

They also were better on offense in the second year of Jimbo Fisher’s system. However, an experienced defense that was expected to carry the team was a liability in some games and was never as dominant as needed to truly turn the program around.

FSU will lose at least four starters and another top backup along the defensive line. The list includes top cover corner Tony Carter and linebackers Toddrick Verdell and Derek Nicholson.

You might be able to add Everette Brown and Myron Rolle to the list of departed stars. Though they are both juniors, I could see Brown bolting for the NFL.

As for Rolle, he has already wrapped up studies at FSU and may go to Oxford next fall. He’s already made it clear that academics are more important than football.

That’s not a bad thing, but it might not bode well for FSU next season.

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The investigation into last week’s fight at the Oglesby Union between members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and Florida State football players is winding down.

As of this writing, the FSU Police Department was nearing the end of more than 20 interviews of people who provided statements. It’s no surprise that many of the accounts differed wildly. The key is finding a common thread.

Maj. Jim Russell said the last of the interviews willl be complete Thursday morning.

On the proactive front, the fraternity issued a statement saying that when all was said and done it would be cleared in the matter. That’s still yet to be seen.

The FSUPD investigator may meet with state prosecutors on Thursday to discuss whether there’s enough evidence to bring charges. Whomever threw the chair that struck the female bystander could face felony aggravated battery charges. A player charged with a felony is out of action indefinately until the case is resolved or plead down to a lesser degree.

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Update, Nov. 14, 3:10 p.m.: Just got done writing my story. Five players were suspended for the BC game, including Bert Reed, Taiwan Easterling and Corey Surrency. Also, little used Cameron Wade was suspended, as was Richard Goodman, who has been out with a knee injury for weeks, anyway. The investigation is ongoing, but could be finished by early next week.

Update, Nov. 14, 11:25 a.m.: I received a release from FSU PD, but there could be another later in the day. A key note here is that members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and the football team, along with representatives from FSU athletics, the dean of students, student affairs, FSU PD and Greek affairs, met late Thursday to discuss the importance of being kind and resolving differences without fists. Shame this meeting didn’t take place PRIOR to Wednesday.

Original post follows. I also included the FSU PD statement after the jump:

A news release is expected Friday from FSU police on the status of the investigation into a fight involving football players and members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Maj. Jim Russell is currently in a meeting until 11 a.m. CST, no doubt about the case.

Criminal charges could be forthcoming and/or suspensions or dismissals for football players. FSU police said they have more than 25 written statements and have had five face-to-face interviews. The number of witnesses are what caused the delay in action.

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Florida State is bowl-eligible after defeating Clemson 41-27 on Saturday. The script played out the same as past weeks, and this is like a broken record.

Here’s the rundown:

1) FSU’s offense and defense came out flat, allowing Clemson to go ahead 10-0.

2) The team finally woke up and produced points to tie the game 10-10 at the end of the first quarter.

3) The Seminoles were in control for most of the remainder of the game, but never seemed to be out of sorts, even when Clemson made it a one-score game.

4) They had a killer instinct and left no doubt.

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Florida State wide receiver Bert Reed was suspended for missing classes, Coach Bobby Bowden said late Wednesday. Bowden declined to give a reason for the suspension during his weekly teleconference, which is why my story went in that direction.

Bowden opened his practice comments about Reed, who drew widl speculation as to the reasons for the one-game suspension. We surmised in the sports department that he missed a meeting, or as Executive Sports Editor Pat McCann guessed, that he missed a class or classes.

Bowden’s comments were odd if you didn’t know the track record of discipline at FSU.

The statement after the jump:

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Update, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 6:50 p.m.: Jimbo Fisher named Christian Ponder the starter for Saturday’s opener. It’s a small surprise, though I read somewhere that an “insider” said the job was set up for him to win unless he totally fell on his face. He didn’t and he’s the starter for now. Will he be the starter against Wake Forest is the question.

You can read my story by clicking here.

Original post follows— 

Update, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 3:18 p.m.: Word has been released that Jimbo Fisher will indeed name his starting quarterback after Wednesday’s practice, which is scheduled to end at around 5 p.m. CDT.

Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden said on Wednesday that Jimbo Fisher has made a decision as to who will start Saturday’s season opener against mighty Western Carolina. Bowden said he agreed with the choice, but declined to comment on who the starter was until Fisher spoke to the three QBs in the running.

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Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden took some time with the media after a round of golf in a tournament bearing his name Friday at Panama Country Club in Lynn Haven.

You can read my story about the visit by clicking here. This entry features items I couldn’t squeeze into the story.

Let’s get started.

—– Bowden was asked about Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s quest to unseat him as the winningest coach in Division I history. Paterno trails Bowden by one win.

“He and I are together every year and we don’t talk about it. The funny thing is nobody is (close) behind us. If he wins more games I won’t lose sleep over it. There’s nothing you can do about it because you’re trying to win games, too.”

—– Friday marked the second of 25 booster club functions for Bowden this year, but he said it’s an important part of being the head coach.

“I’ve been doing these for 31 years, ever since I got here. I enjoy it because I get to know people and it’s been great in that regard.”

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