-Yesterday after practice, Jimbo Fisher said that RB Karlos Williams and MLB E.J. Levenberry are in line to start. He also said that QB John Franklin III has been taking more reps at receiver. I have updated the roster to reflect the changes.
-FSU fans are likely traveling further than any other major fanbase to watch home games. For many, every home game is like going to a road game. We look at population w/in certain distances of the 19 major public schools. That's certainly one to share with your fellow Seminoles.
-Brendan Sonnone writes that Nile Lawrence-Stample is excited about being the nose guard. FSU has been very cautious about NLS, and I'll have more on that later in the year.
-ESPN's David Hale says FSU-Miami and FSU-Oklahoma State are the No. 7 and 8 matchups for the ACC this year. Do you agree?
-Nice analytical look at penalties from Hale here. As a whole, penalties have no correlation to winning or losing. Remember that teams flagged for a lot of penalties are often more aggressive and may be getting away with a lot of other illegal plays. Refs won't flag everything. I'd want my team to get his with holding and pass interference penalties. At the same time, some penalties are just dumb and there's no reasonable tradeoff.
-We'll see a lot of Marcus Mariota love in the coming weeks and months for the Heisman. That' smart. Had Mariota not been injured, he may have beaten out Jameis Winston for the Heisman. Given the public perception of Winston, and the difficulty in winning it twice, he cannot be considered a lock to win it again, but rather just one of the players who has a legitimate chance.
Opponents
Seems UF is having some offensive line issues.
Starting unit is good, not great. Pass rush off edge concerning. 2nd team not good. RT @Gatorfan5220: @Goldkamp247 how is the OL looking?
— Thomas Goldkamp (@Goldkamp247) August 14, 2014ESPN's Jeff Barlis seems more concerned.
Just watched #Gators OL/DL pass-rush drills and I'm starting to think there's a pretty significant concern with pass blocking. Not good.
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014Saw LT D.J. Humphries get beat wide a couple of times. Saw Humphries and LG Tyler Moore get destroyed on a simple stunt.
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014These OL are healthy, which was supposed to be reason to expect improvement, but it might continue to be a sore spot. Maybe just a bad day?
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014Get that angle but u don't wanna bury your head either. RT @OurTwoBits: Or they are practicing against 1 of the top defenses in the country?
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014Agree w this. But lets not make excuses for UF O-line. It's a concern. RT @Ssponable: @OurTwoBits Defense is just gonna be nasty like usual.
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014Just wondering if that last assumption is smart. MT @OurTwoBits: Not doubt OL is a HUGE concern. If we stay healthy we do MUCH better though
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014Exactly. RT @SwampBandit: @JeffBarlisESPN@OurTwoBits Even if that's true, what will they do with Bama, LSU and FSU?
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014All of them, and mostly. RT @jacksolano: how many practices have you watched? And is this the OL situation during most practices? @FBWthe4th
— Jeff Barlis (@JeffBarlisESPN) August 14, 2014I am surprised to hear this. I've thought Florida's depth was very suspect, but the starters are supposed to be pretty good. I guess we'll have to see.
Miami
Miami's JUCO defensive tackle hope is still out of shape and looks unlikely to make the immediate contribution you'd want from a JUCO player.
Miami Q: How close was Michael Wyche to making the depth chart? "He's still got a long way to go from a conditioning standpoint. He got a little behind this summer. He had an achilles heel long before he even got to camp. That put him behind a little bit. The other guys were ahead of him physically from a conditioning standpoint. He made some really good plays. He just has to be able to do it for multiple series."
Miami's linebacker depth is horrid.
Freshman WR David Njoku is moving to linebacker. Out here wearing No. 50, hitting the sled. #Canes
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) August 15, 2014By my count, Miami currently has 5 healthy and playable LBs. Armbrister, DP, Grace, Owens, Young. That’s not good.
— Joe Garcia (@JGJr9) August 15, 2014