Colleges

FSU defense toils late to carry sleepy offense

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 16, 2007

The Seminoles march down the field with helmets raised Saturday night in Boulder, Colo. The 'Noles were ineffective on offense, but escaped with a win.
	[Getty Images]

BOULDER, Colo. -- Florida State junior linebacker Geno Hayes and the rest of his defensive mates had grown weary of hearing about missed tackles, blown assignments and foolish penalties.

Colorado would be different, the Seminoles pledged.

Very different from what they showed against Clemson and UAB.

"It took us just to go out and have fun and you see what happens when we have fun," Hayes said.

The Seminoles defense looked like prime-time players even if the game didn't kick off until 10:15 p.m. in their 16-6 win Saturday at Folsom Field, holding the Buffaloes to minus-27 yards rushing and 279 total yards, and flirting with their first shutout since Nov. 4 against Virginia.

If FSU's D earned an A on this night, it had to.

FSU's offense wouldn't even rate a D on this night, amassing just 221 yards and squandering field position against one of the nation's least imposing defenses.

"That's the most inept, ridiculous demonstration of football I've been around in my life," new offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said. "I'm going to tell you what. If I'm an offensive player, I'm embarrassed to say I was part of this the way our defense played tonight. They won that football game. They played their tails off.

"It's ridiculous the way we walked out on the field. It's ridiculous the mistakes we keep making and it's my fault, it starts with me. If you're not coaching it, you're letting in happen, and I'm not letting it happen any more. We're going to find a way to fix it and we're going to find 11 guys who want to do it."

No job is safe, he promised.

"If we would have played like this against Alabama, we probably wouldn't have come out of here with a win," quarterback Drew Weatherford said. "Our defense played great and we're going to have to step it up and we're going to have to make some changes and be more focused."

It's a different story on the other side of the ball for the Seminoles (2-1), who are now off until a ballyhooed showdown against Alabama (3-0) on Sept. 29 in Jacksonville and are riding their first two-game winning streak since beginning last year with wins against Miami and Troy.

"Maybe we grew up a little bit tonight," said defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who missed the UAB game with pneumonia, returned to work on Wednesday and coached from the booth. "We played pretty good most of the game. (There were) a lot of positive things."

The Seminoles missed the shutout when Colorado (1-2) scored with 3:39 left -- a challenge coaches set for the players as the game progressed. FSU had allowed at least 20 points in 10 of their last 11 games, including both this season.

Not only did the Seminoles have to contend with a late start and thin air at the mile-high elevation, but star defensive tackle Andre Fluellen (hyperextended left elbow) didn't play, giving the Seminoles just three interior linemen.

Not exactly ideal situations.

Yet the Seminoles were, for the most part, sure-handed tacklers in the open field. They came up with their first two interceptions of the season, both by cornerback Tony Carter. The first one set up tailback Antone Smith's 36-yard touchdown run; the second ended a Colorado drive in the end zone.

They also made big plays, especially early in the third quarter when the Buffaloes, down 10-0, drove to the FSU 13.

Defensive end Everette Brown then sacked redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Hawkins for a 7-yard loss.

Fellow end Neefy Moffett followed by tackling tailback Hugh Charles for a 2-yard loss, and then linebacker Geno Hayes caught tailback Brian Lockridge in the backfield for a 5-yard loss. A 46-yard field goal sailed wide to the left.

"It showed if we play smart and play together as a defense, we can be one of the top defenses in the country," Carter said. "It hurt us not to get the shutout. The last couple of minutes all we were saying was, "Shutout. Shutout. Shutout.'"

"I'm kind of upset about (losing the shutout)," added defensive tackle Budd Thacker. "We need to finish. ... I think a lot of guys kind of laid back and got relaxed, but you can't do that."

Still, Colorado had scored in 224 consecutive games and FSU's defense had struggled in the first half against both Clemson and UAB, allowing 318.5 yards a game (45th nationally) and 24.0 points (tied for 62nd in the nation).

So what was not to like?

"We've got to get better," coach Bobby Bowden said. "We've got two weeks to get better.

"If we don't, we'll get killed."

Brian Landman can be reached at landman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3347.

[Last modified September 16, 2007, 03:55:06]