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The Daily Herald's Jason Franchuk wrote an entertaining piece about the Florida State Seminoles' "Sod Cemetery" tradition, about which you can read some more at at this link, among others.
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The Tallahassee Democrat reports that the 'Noles have appointed their "sod captain" for this week's game at BYU. He is linebacker Dekoda Watson, responsible for 4 1/2 sacks so far this season. "You want to fill up that (sod) cemetery as much as you can," he said.
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Speaking of sod and such, should BYU play well and win the game on Saturday, I really hope fans stay in the stands. My rationale is twofold:
1) the turf is new and more susceptible to wear and tear. A stampede of fans wouldn't be the best thing for it right now.
2) rushing the field should be reserved for landmark wins. Beating an unranked Florida State team to improve to 3-0 does not qualify. If you ask me, there's only one "turf invasion" game on the schedule, and it's the Utah game--and only if a win in that game locks up a BCS bowl berth.
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The FSU equipment staff will be bringing oxygen tanks to Provo, but Bobby Bowden says he will not talk to his team about altitude issues, and doesn't believe they will be a concern at LES.
The Seminoles last played at altitude in 2007, beating Colorado 16-6. That Buffs team finished 6-6, and notably, the 16 points allowed were the second-fewest all season; CU allowed an average of 29 points per game that year. So, were the Seminoles affected by the thinner air? Their 16 points were the second-fewest scored all season, as FSU punted on 8 of 12 possessions, and gained a season-low 221 yards of offense. I'm just sayin'...
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In Florida State's season opener, the 'Noles really should have beaten Miami--the same Miami team that throttled 14th-ranked Georgia Tech last night.
So, what are we to make of FSU and the ACC? On one hand, if the 'Canes are really good, it means the Seminoles are pretty good, too. On the other, the Yellow Jackets were on their way to giving away the Clemson game, and looked terrible in Miami last night--so maybe Tech is overrated.
In short, how BYU performs tomorrow will give us a better idea as to the overall caliber of play at the top of the ACC. TCU's game at Clemson in eight days will be another significant indicator of the ACC's strength, and another good comparison of the level of play at the top of the MWC and the ACC.
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I was down at BYU Wednesday, the same day the ESPN Gameday crew was poking around, doing interviews for a feature I would presume will be be aired on the Worldwide Leader Saturday morning. Tune in to see what pops up...
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When it comes to an offensive line, the Seminoles favor speed and agility over size and strength. The 'Noles offensive line doesn't have a single starter over 288 pounds. BYU's average offensive line averages 325 pounds per man.
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FSU's pass defense has been miserable through two games. They've got some nice athletes in the secondary, and while they play well in stretches, there are times the defensive backs don't appear to have a single clue who it is they are supposed to cover, let alone how. I'll be interested to see if the Noles deviate from their man coverage philosophy at all this week.
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I'm just a little bit concerned that Bronco Mendenhall may be just a little bit concerned about the ACC refs coming to Provo. As noted yesterday, Bronco says BYU coaches are "prepared to handle" the ACC officials' possible "tendencies." My hope is BYU plays so well that a call here or there won't make a difference.
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