cheap seats 40 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=417513 I'm waiting for the e-mail. Get it every year around this time from a buddy of mine who can't, for the life of him, understand my fascination with Florida State. Every year I jump into the deep end. Every year he laughs at me while I tread water and the Seminoles sink further into the muck of mediocrity. The most overrated team in the country, he says. You don't know what the hell you're talking about, I say. And now, the painful revelation: He's right. Five overrated teams -- Florida State isn't in anyone's preseason top 25 but makes the list based on reputation -- waiting to be exposed this fall: Florida State. All you need to know about the 'Noles: They lost badly to Wake Forest the past two seasons. Granted, the Deacs are now among the ACC's elite, but these programs don't recruit in the same hemisphere. Yet if you line up the two teams and we choose for a pickup game, I'm taking Wake players at just about every position. FSU teams of late play with no heart -- just bravado that's gone by the second quarter. You can have the high school All-Americans who talk big and play small. I'll take the guys no one wanted who have everything to prove. FSU had one player -- one -- last season who played hard every down: wideout Preston Parker. And he went and left a loaded gun under the dashboard of his car. Hello, mediocrity. Texas. First, a disclaimer: Considering the depleted numbers on defense last fall, Mack Brown did the best coaching job of his career getting 10 wins out of the Longhorns. A year later, what do we have? Essentially the same defense and an offense that has no legitimate tailback and no deep threat at wide receiver. And you thought quarterback Colt McCoy regressed last season. It's a testament to Brown and what he has built that Texas is ranked in the top 10 of nearly every preseason poll. But this team isn't close to top 10-caliber; it'll be lucky to stumble into the Cotton Bowl. The culprits: Recruits who haven't panned out. Players such as all-world linebacker Sergio Kindle and five-star defensive end Eddie Jones. Arizona State. Here's an interesting factoid: ASU was Pac-10 co-champion last fall -- and didn't beat a team with a pulse. I'm all for reclamation stories, but ASU's turnaround under coach Dennis Erickson was nothing more than a team playing in a watered-down league and still losing its three toughest games of the season (USC, Oregon, Texas). Now this ASU team must deal with key losses on both sides of the ball. It does have quarterback Rudy Carpenter -- but it also has his enigmatic ways. Factor the pluses and minuses and it's not a good combination for a team that is in most everyone's top 15 this spring. The road map to a meltdown: a little nonconference tilt the third weekend of September against SEC heavyweight Georgia, followed by conference road games against California and USC. Everyone on the train to 6-6ville. Clemson. The Tigers a top 10 team? I've seen this before. Plug and play, everyone: Woody Dantzler, Charlie Whitehurst, Cullen Harper. Start fast, finish slow; stumble at the start, sprint to the finish. What's the difference? It washes out to seven or so wins and coach Tommy Bowden feeling heat. The only change this time: Bowden's recent contract extension all but guarantees his safety. I'm not buying Clemson until someone on that staff realizes C.J. Spiller actually plays for the Tigers. One of the game's most dynamic running backs somehow touched the ball just 16.5 times a game (that includes punt and kickoff returns) last season -- a monumental increase from the 13.2 in 2006. Absolutely dumbfounding. Texas Tech. Kid you not: Heard a television bobblehead the other day say the Red Raiders are his sleeper pick to make it to a BCS game -- and maybe even more. Tech will score on everyone this fall. There's quarterback Graham Harrell and wideout Michael Crabtree, plus a few other guys who will get 60-70 catches, too. To this, I say: So? It's the other side of the ball that has kept Tech from resembling anything close to a Big 12 contender. The defense played well the second half of last season after Ruffin McNeill took over as coordinator but still gave up 127 points to Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. Those aren't BCS numbers. Those are the numbers of a team waiting to be exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopie 6 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Notre Shame has to be on the list. They produce less on the field per the amount of press coverage than anyone. I understand that Clemson has definitely underchieved in the past. My gut says they will win the very weak ACC this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopie 6 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I like the article, but shouldn't this be in the "Rivals Forum"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolltoomer 0 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Re: FSU "You can have the high school All-Americans who talk big and play small. I'll take the guys no one wanted who have everything to prove." Like that sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subterranean_jack 113 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 By the end of the season, we're going to look back and wonder why Florida wasn't on this list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUesquire 1 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Amazing how far FSU has fallen, given their incredible run through the late 80's and 90's. They used to cherry pick super athletes from the State but they became average very quickly and stayed average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoic-one 1,588 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Amazing how far FSU has fallen, given their incredible run through the late 80's and 90's. They used to cherry pick super athletes from the State but they became average very quickly and stayed average. Don't suppose that may have coincided with Richt leaving? Just seems to have begun around that time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I agree 100% about Texas Will they be good? Yes Will Muschamp make their D vastly improved? Absolutely But, I still am not as big of a fan of Greg Davis as others and I have never thought Colt McCoy was that great. 10-2 non-BigXIICG season for them as usual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwagoner 214 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 By the end of the season, we're going to look back and wonder why Florida wasn't on this list. and why Clemson was on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I agree with CU being on there as they are being looked upon as a sleeper NC team and the favorite for the ACCCG Only problem is Tommy ALWAYS seems to choke under the pressure and has yet to get to the ACCCG one time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarTiger 4,014 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Doesn't suprise me at all how FSU has dropped so quickly. Sto, it absolutely had everything to do with Richt leaving. The game passed ole overrated bowden by a long time ago. It couldn't have happened to a better program. I detest FSU and bowden and how he runs his program. It was obvious that FSU joined the acc to give themselves a shoe in chance at the MNC every year. Once some of the teams in the conference made some adjustments, fsu sank to the middle of the pack. Now those cream puff conferences are really the PAC 10 and Big 10 and that's why we see USC and overrated OSU in the top 5 every year and in a bcs bowl... This year will likely be another 4-5 loss season for fsu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUBURNJAC 53 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 My top 5 over-hyped list would be as follows. 1. OHIO STATE!!!!! (weak ass conference.......has proven that the last 2 years) 2. ALABAMA (all this attention.....we're back, blah blah blah......Ok, someone tell me how they LOST to ULM just last year, lost some good player like DJ Hall and are in ANYONE'S top 25 list???) 3. FLORIDA STATE (Bobby Bowden should hang it up) 4. NOTRE DAME (the joke of college football) 5. CLEMSON (like father, like son) I have never in my life seen a coach on the hot seat for SO LONG, win a couple of games, get off, then get back on. It's just a matter of time Tommy boy! But hey, GO TIGERS! BEAT BAMA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 7,167 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 He's spot on about Clemson and C.J. Spiller. I have been very vocal to my Clemson family members about this kid and the sorry excuses the Tiger staff have given for not using him more. It cost them their only loss to USuCk in the last 8 years via 2006. GO TIGERS is right! IF they get the ball to Spiller 20+ times in that game, they will beat the Turds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 It is weird to watch CU the last 2 years They have maybe the best 1-2 RB combo in the country yet either under-use them or over-use them. They can never seem to find the right combo in big, title-clinching games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUslug 1 Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 It is weird to watch CU the last 2 years They have maybe the best 1-2 RB combo in the country yet either under-use them or over-use them. They can never seem to find the right combo in big, title-clinching games Coaching, simple enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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