Western Carolina Game 1

You see her. She is gorgeous, and for no apparent reason from across the bar you are getting the vibe that she wants you to come talk to her. You know you are out kicking your coverage with this one, but you saunter over there to talk. The conversation starts out like a house afire w/ instant chemistry. You offer to buy a drink – reach for your wallet – and it is not there. You left it in the car, delay of game penalty – ballgame over.

It is still early and you head home to get some yard work done. Heck, you need to sweat and get something positive accomplished on this Saturday. You change clothes, get the oil-stained power equipment out and retrieve your self-propelled Toro for some good old fashioned grunt work. No gas in the tank, and none in the garage – ballgame over.

Thus was our Seminole Saturday Night experience this week as we got all jacked up twice only to have the pretty girl head home and the lawn still growing. Fortunately, things turned around after that and Marisa Miller showed up at your house wearing nothing but overalls with a six pack asking if she could help with the edging. Our boys in garnet ate them up some Catamount on Saturday night. However, what made this win most enjoyable was not the score, but the minutiae behind the score…

Two first time quarterbacks and not a single delay of game penalty. Heck, we even ran some plays so fast that our own guys were not set. No turnovers. No silly timeouts. Three freshman O-lineman and no holding calls – with ACC refs on the field! Zaniness.

I know that we talked about how this receiving corps was stronger than morning breath after a nightfight with the whiskey truck, and nothing I saw Saturday dissuaded me on this opinion. Corey Surrency is a man! Simply the best blocker since Lawrence Dawsey, “Smurf” put AT LEAST four different defensive backs on their derriere while newly minted and fleet footed Bert Reed, Taiwan Easterling and rejuvenated Rod Owens bolted by. Coaches comments hint that Surrency may be the most talented WR at FSU since Randy Moss stopped by campus before embarking on a career as an Amy Winehouse groupie. And apparently Greg Carr ate some food this offseason. Nice to see he put down the Jennie Craig and might become a complete player.

It is clear to us now that the only real decision Jimbo has to make at QB does not involve Drew. Both these kids can move with Devo being flat out electric. After this game, I am a bit of a Devo believer. He is magic, escaped twice on pressures a la #17 of old and his passes are all perfect bullet spirals. I mean pretty footballs. I would guess that Christian – being a sophomore graduate student probably has a better grasp on the offense than anyone not named after an elephant on the team, but he better keep that rearview mirror in focus.

My biggest disappointment – considering the competition – was the complete lack of pass rush from the Defensive line. We knew the interior would be manned by two scholarships, a walk-on and the caterer. But, I thought that we would get a little push. I loved the hustle from newcomer Marcus White and I know that Everette Brown was a double stuff oreo, but unless we blitzed (against 1 win last year in 1-AA WCU) we did not get near the QB. Worrisome. I think giving former walkon Lampkin a scholarship was a nice story, but starting and playing that many meaningful snaps might be something we address by game 3.

Linebacker play was very good. Love the new kids. Our three freshman playing together – granted against a tired and outmanned team – outplayed our starters. And, I thought that Derek Nicholson and Toddrick Verdell were terrific and hit with some newfound punch.

The pass breakup in the endzone that Jamie Robinson made justified what we had been saying about the potential of our safeties. They all run and can hit. I expect Rolle, McClure and Robinson to be the strength of our team early.

Well, let’s learn a little more this week. One more day in diapers before we skip the pull-ups and go straight to potty-trained (if you have kids raise your hands!).

Go Noles!!