5 Thoughts ...
2008 Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State 42 ... Wisconsin 13
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1. One could live for many
decades and not see the punting
display put on by Florida State
stud Graham Gano in the first
quarter of this game. Three
punts, two coffin corners, and
one Tiger Woods wedge shot
knocked stiff at the Wisconsin
1. All told, Gano deposited
three straight punts inside the
3, and back-to-back punts at the
1. Most amazing was the fact
that none of the three punts
needed to be downed (though one
of them technically was). It's
rare that a punter causes a
surge of excitement in a
football game; Gano did the
deed. While teams spend a good
chunk of their recruiting time
on the next great quarterback or
a top linebacker, Gano showed
just how important a top-shelf
punter is. Wisconsin was pinned
deep early and never got in the
game.-
Matthew
Zemek
2. Don't fall for the lazy trap.
Don't fall for the idea that
Wisconsin lost because it's
slower than Florida State,
because it isn't. The Badgers
appear to be slower because of
their big, plodding offensive
linemen, big backs, and immobile
quarterback, but the defense was
more than fast enough to deal
with the Seminole offense that
only averaged 3.5 yards per
carry and succeeded in the
passing game only because its
receivers are really, really
tall. Wisconsin lost this game
because of two very simple
reasons. 1. Punter Graham Gano.
Wisconsin's average starting
field position in the first
quarter was it's own 1.
The Badgers were never able to
get into an early groove, and
2. Wisconsin needs a wide
receiver and a quarterback.
Yeah, it's all cute to talk
about playing "Wisconsin
football" by powering the rock
even when the defense has eight
and nine men in the box, but
when the Badgers were good, they
had receivers like Chris
Chambers, Lee Evans, and Tony
Simmons, and they had a
quarterback who could get them
the ball. If the opposing
defense is going to bring up
everyone to stop the run, yeah,
once in a while you might be
able to get some big gains with
the ground game, but an offense
needs to be able to make teams
pay through the air. Once UW got
down, it was over because there
wasn't any passing game to get
back in it. Now it's time to see
if head coach Bret Bielema has
the ability to fix the glitches
with this year's recruiting
class. -
Pete
Fiutak
3. Outside Doak Campbell
Stadium, there’s a
well-deserved, nine-foot bronze
statue of Bobby Bowden. It might
be time to fire up the kiln in
commemoration of Bowden’s
long-time defensive coordinator,
Mickey Andrews. Maybe it’s not
nine feet and maybe it’s not
made of bronze, but it needs to
be erected. Where would Florida
State be without the work of
Andrews’ kids, who’ve propped up
an inconsistent offense over the
last couple of years? The ‘Noles
were at it again in the Champs
Sports Bowl, abusing
one-dimensional Wisconsin with
its superior speed, and scoring
more touchdowns than the entire
Badger offense. If not for the
excellence of Andrews and his
assistants, Florida State might
be North Carolina State in the
ACC pecking order.
-
Richard Cirminiello
4. A 42-13 Wisconsin loss to
Florida State was the last thing
the Big Ten needed to kick off
its portion of the 2008 bowl
schedule. All of the stereotypes
looked spot on in Orlando. The
Badgers were slow, predictable
on offense, and unable to keep
pace with a team from the south.
Was it a Wisky thing or a
league-wide issue? That’ll be
answered and closely scrutinized
over the next seven days. The
Big Ten, its national reputation
already on life-support, can
ill-afford another poor
performance in the postseason.
Wisconsin’s lackluster effort
puts added pressure on the six
remaining participants, namely
Ohio State, Penn State, and
Michigan State, to do something
positive in order to prevent
another Big Ten feeding frenzy.
-
Richard Cirminiello
5. A few hours after the Meineke
Car Care Bowl turned on a fumble
by North Carolina running back
Shaun Draughn, this contest in
Orlando pivoted when a fumble by
Florida State receiver Bert Reed
was overturned by replay. Before
the play, FSU's offense was
stuck in second gear. After the
play, the Noles--seemingly
refreshed and relieved--roared
to life and demolished the
bewildered Badgers.
The significance of the
overturned fumble--not to
mention its connection to North
Carolina's costly fumble earlier
in the day--lies in the fact
that it revealed the death of a
concept that is still supposed
to matter in the world of
football officiating: forward
progress (or the cessation
thereof).
On both plays, the
ballcarriers--Draughn and
Reed--had clearly stopped moving
forward. Defenders had thrown
them backwards, meaning that
neither man would have been able
to advance the ball past the
initial point of contact. This
is precisely when an official is
supposed to blow the whistle
based on the cessation of
forward progress. Yes, it was
true that Draughn did fumble the
ball before his knee (or any
other relevant body part--elbow,
butt, shoulder, etc.) hit the
ground, meaning that it was
legally allowable for West
Virginia to gain possession of a
fairly-determined fumble.
Nevertheless, the fairest ruling
of all would have been for
Carolina to keep the ball due to
the stoppage of forward
progress, in clear evidence on
that play.
In Wisconsin-Florida State,
Reed's fumble was overturned,
but not because officials ruled
that forward progress had
been stopped. The only reason
this crucial fumble got wiped
away was that Reed's knee hit
the turf before the Badger
defender swiped the pigskin. Had
Reed's knee remained in the air,
Wisconsin would have gained the
ball at the FSU 25, trailing
just 14-6 at the time. The
second-half runaway that emerged
would likely have been averted,
and a fierce fight to the finish
might have ensued instead. FSU
received justice, but not
because officials enforced the
stoppage of forward progress.
Bobby Bowden won his
twenty-first bowl game only
because Bert Reed's knee
fortuitously hit the green grass
before a fumble switched hands.
Let's be clear: In each of
Saturday's first two games, the
replay booth made a
legally acceptable ruling, given
that both officiating crews
failed to blow the whistle. But
if the cessation of forward
progress is to remain a part of
football--at any level, not just
the college game--the concept
needs to receive a substantial
new degree of emphasis from
officiating supervisors and the
on-field crews charged with
enforcing it. -
Matthew
Zemek