Inside the Seminole Film Room: FSU 41, Clemson 27 Part 1

by Bud Elliott on Nov 11, 2008 6:36 PM EST in FSU Football Comment 16 comments

The 1st half is done. I'll do the 2nd half when I get time. Busy day today. This is really rough right now, so enjoy. Please excuse the typos; I'll clean them up later.

A quick note on Formations

"Chollie" is shotgun, 3 wide, 2 backs, like Charlie Ward ran.
CHOLLIETE= 2 Back Gun with a TE
TE1B is Standard singleback with 1 TE, 1 RB, and TE (under center).
"KGun" is what the Jim Kelly bills teams ran, with 3 WR, a TE, and back.
"BAMA" is Singleback, Twins WR, Twins TE (we sometimes line up in this with the FB acting as an HBack or second TE)
Hawaii is a 4WR GUN Trips Overload look out of Hawaii's playbook. It's Shotgun, with 3 WR and a rb all on the same side. This is great for forcing defenses to show their hand early.
Wendy's is 4 WR, or 4 Standing players, stacked behind each other in groups of 2, on each side of the offensive line. This is usually run with a tight alignment. I named it Wendy's because it's effectively a "DoubleStack"

Clemson's 1st Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Stat crew for today's game: Woody Hayes, Tommy Sabourin, Pat Campbell,
					Stat crew for today's game: Andrew Brady, Steve Heil, Brian Taylor
					FSU Captains: #49-Lampkin, #6-Smith, #4-Carter
					CU Captains: #55-Hutchinson, #22-Clemons, #24-Alexander, #28-Spiller
					Coin toss: FSU wins the toss and defers to the second half.
					Coin toss: FSU will kick and defend the south goal.
1-10	at Cu30				FS ball on FS30.
					Gano, G kickoff 70 yards to the CU0, touchback.
Touchback… sounds so nice.
1-10	at Cu20		CR1	4-3	Davis, J rush right for 5 yards to the CU25, out-of-bounds (Robinson, P.).	NO
Played it okay, Neefy had contain, spun inside to get to Davis as Davis spun outside.
2-5	at Cu25	NPD	CP1	4-3	Harper, C sideline pass complete to Grisham, T for 13 yards to the CU38, 1ST DOWN CU, out-of-bounds.	NO
Neefy does a great job to hold the runner releasing into the route. I am starting to think we teach this technique... and I really like it. Harper runs to the sideline and makes a great play. This isn't on the defense. Every defensive scheme gives the opponent something. We will allow your pocket QB can roll and make a throw while stepping out of bounds. That's a high% play for the Seminole defense.
1-10	at Cu38		CP2	4-3	Harper, C post pass complete to Ford, J for 17 yards to the FS45, 1ST DOWN CU.	NO
We're in 4-3 while Clemson is in 4WR (Spiller split wide). No back. We play zone, as CU checks with bench. Cover 2 Zone. They motion Davis into backfield, block our 4 with 6, and Harper makes a great throw behind the LB.
1-10	at Fs45		CR2	4-3	Davis, J rush over left tackle for 1 yard to the FS44 (Stewart, K).	YES
Run from wildcat formation. QB was #28-Spiller. We're initially confused, but great indiviual plays by Stewart and Moffett.
2-9	at Fs44	PD	CP3	4-3	Harper, C screen pass complete to Spiller, C for 44 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN CU, TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:52.	NO
We play their 4WR Gun look with 4-3 base. The play is a fake bubble right, RB screen left. The problem here is that they catch us in a twist and our guys don't see it. Myron does force him inside (Good call UNFNOLE). Verdell gets blown up. Good play by Clemson. Unlucky playcall by us. NOTE: we ran the same play on the Pick-6... so maybe not so unlucky? Also, PRob might have been held, and Nicholson did not diagnose this very well. He's really not a great player in space. I wanted to see some Nickel.
					Buchholz, M kick attempt good.
					Clemson 7, Florida State 0
					Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:08
Well, a 20% defensive success rate isn't going to cut it. We did get a bit unlucky here on the TD, but sometimes Mickey throws rock and the other guy throws paper. Honestly though, I thought we played well on the the first 1 plays and the Davis 1 yard run. An old chinese proverb goes "Good luck, bad luck, who is to say?" Sometimes you execute a great spin and the other guy spins as well.

FSU's 1st Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Buchholz, M kickoff 36 yards to the FS34, downed.
EXCELLENT job of not turning to run before the ball was kicked.
1-10	at Fs34				FLORIDA STATE drive start at 12:52.
1-10	at Fs34		FP1	KGUN	Ponder, C sideline pass complete to Parker, P for 6 yards to the FS40, out-of-bounds.	YES
Rollout right, Antone GREAT block on the edge blitzer. This play should have been dead. Great block. Ponder gets the ball to Parker on the out and he taps his feet.
2-4	at Fs40	NPD	FP2 SACK	Hawaii	Ponder, C sacked for loss of 6 yards to the FS34 (Sapp, R).	NO
I love this formation. Surrency and Carr opposite sides, Parker and Easterling inside. Clemson shows blitz, then backs out. We're blocking 4 with 6. Antone helps on Spurlock's man, which is fine, but… Zebrie gets housed. Ponder steps up in pocket, never sees it coming, gets Sacked. Nobody open (4 against 7 defenders). CU did a nice job of showing 1 thing and doing another.
3-10	at Fs34	PD	FP3 Throwaway	KGUN	Ponder, C sideline pass incomplete to Piurowski, C, QB hurry by Bowers, D.	NO
Clemson gets tricky. They put a linebacker at DT, and run a twist. Ponder drops, but is flushed almost immediately as both Hudson and Datko looked foolish. Throwaway
4-10	at Fs34				Gano, G punt 51 yards to the CU15, Ford, J return 10 yards to the CU25 (Smith, K).
Greta punt from the man who should win the Groza.
					Drive: 3 plays, 0 yards, TOP 01:33
Jimbo thought Clemson would sell out against the run. They didn't. We opened with 3 pass plays with minimal protection. The young tackles got worked.

Clemson's 2nd Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
1-10	at Cu25				CLEMSON drive start at 11:19.
1-10	at Cu25		CR3	4-3	Davis, J rush over left end for 12 yards to the CU37, 1ST DOWN CU (Robinson, P.;Watson, D).	NO
We were aligned pinched, CU runs off tackle, Brown gets too far inside, Verdell and Nicholson don't react well.
1-10	at Cu37		CR4		Ford, J rush EL for 11 yards to the CU48, 1ST DOWN CU, out-of-bounds (Verdell, T).	NO
End around with good action. Markus White Crashes too flat.
1-10	at Cu48		CP4	4-3	Harper, C deep pass incomplete to Kelly, A.	YES
Same action as above play, but Harper launches deep. Good coverage by Carter. Not in blitz.
2-10	at Cu48	PD	CP5	4-3	Harper, C SS pass complete to Kelly, A for 7 yards to the FS45 (Verdell, T).	NO
5WR. Fake screen right, screen left. Excellent read by Verdell.
3-3	at Fs45	NPD	CP6	4-3	Harper, C sideline pass complete to Ford, J for 18 yards to the FS27, 1ST DOWN CU (Jenije, O;Watson, D).	NO
We struggle with trips formations. Pre-snap confusion. They run an out underneath 2 posts. I think Jenjie fell down. Mangum missed tackle.
1-10	at Fs27		CR5	4-3	Spiller, C rush right for 1 yard to the FS26 (Verdell, T).	YES
Previous play was run from wildcat formation. #28 lined up as QB. Well played by Moffett and Verdell who use good angles and defeat their blockers.
2-9	at Fs26	PD	CP7	4-3	Harper, C crossing pass complete to Grisham, T for 3 yards to the FS23 (Watson, D).	YES
Clemson quickly to the line in trips, no huddle. We defend 4WR wih 4-3. Amazing. What other team has the speed to do that at the linebacker position? Watson is all over their slot guy. Good pressure.
3-6	at Fs23	PD	CP8	Dime.	Harper, C sideline pass incomplete to Davis, J.	YES
We use a 3DE, 1Dt (stewart and Moffett on inside) look here. This is borrowed from the New York Giants. Everette misses the sack but immediate pressure. Watson is disgustingly good in coverage. Excellent play.
4-6	at Fs23				Buchholz, M field goal attempt from 41 GOOD, clock 07:43.
					Clemson 10, Florida State 0
					Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 03:36
Well, Clemson finally ran out of perfect playcalls and we tightened up a bit. I don’t think we changed anything though…

FSU's 2nd Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Buchholz, M kickoff 64 yards to the FS6, Parker, P return 22 yards to the FS28 (Chancellor, C).
Nigel and Holloway doubleteam a man while the other guy makes the tackle…
1-10	at Fs28				FLORIDA STATE drive start at 07:38.
1-10	at Fs28		FR1	ChollieTE	Parker, P rush reverse for 40 yards to the CU32, 1ST DOWN FS (Butler, C).	YES
Reverse. Clemson overpursues like crazy. Zebrie blocks wrong guy. If Zebrie blocks the right guy I think Parker cuts this upfield tighter and it is gone. Also of note… Hudson is RUNNING STEP FOR STEP WITH PARKER 30 YARDS DOWNFIELD! SO IS PONDER!
1-10	at Cu32		FP4	Hawaii.	Ponder, C middle pass incomplete to Easterling, T (Thompson, B).	NO
What a cool play!! We fake the bubble to Givens. CU pays no attention to Givens. Off the fake bubble, we run a middle screen to Easterling. Only problem? It gets batted down. This is a sick playcall and one that we will hit against someone. Maybe some team with lots of speed?...
2-10	at Cu32	PD	FR2	TESB	Smith, A rush over right end for 3 yards to the CU29 (Bowers, D).	NO
No hole opens up here really. This would be Zebrie's last series for a while…
3-7	at Cu29	PD		TEMPTY	PENALTY FS false start (Datko, A.) 5 yards to the CU34.
3-12	at Cu34	PD	FP5	TEMPTY	Ponder, C deep in pass incomplete to Carr, G (Conner, K).	NO
Zebrie gets beat again and Ponder has to rush the throw. Not a good day for Zebrie. Tough to tell if this was the right read. Trickett pulled Zebs after this. Ponde rmaybe should have thrown this even a bit quicker. Couldn't tell on the read… bad Camera angle.
4-12	at Cu34				Gano, G field goal attempt from 52 GOOD, clock 05:56.
					Clemson 10, Florida State 3
					Field Goal attempt bounced off right upright and through.
					Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, TOP 01:42
5 passes 2 runs in the first 2 series… After this, Jimbo adjusted.

Clemson's 3rd Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Gano, G kickoff 70 yards to the CU0, touchback.
1-10	at Cu20			4-3	CLEMSON drive start at 05:56.
1-10	at Cu20				Spiller, C rush over right end for loss of 1 yard to the CU19 (Watson, D).	YES
How in the heck did we get Broderick Bunkley back in the… oh, wait, that's Marcus McCray. McCray and Moffett being pure beasts.
2-11	at Cu19	PD		4-3	Harper, C screen pass complete to Grisham, T for 7 yards to the CU26 (Mangum, K).	YES
Very creative lil screen pass. Almost an overhand lateral shovel…
3-4	at Cu26	NPD		4-3	Harper, C pass intercepted by Moffett, N at the CU18, Moffett, N return 18 yards to the CU0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:16.	YES
We're in that Speed look again (3 DE's.) Press coverage across the board. Everette and Moffett run a twist/ stunt. Nobody touches Everette who screws up the timing of the screen. Moffett loops around, reads the ball, picks it, and rumbles 18 yards for the score. GREAT JOB MICKEY. Note: we also ran a twist/ stunt on the Spiller TD.
					Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards, TOP 01:40
					Gano, G kick attempt good.
					Clemson 10, Florida State 10
Not much to say here… we killed them on this series. I like to see Everette Brown changing spots.

Clemson's 4th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Gano, G kickoff 70 yards to the CU0, touchback.
1-10	at Cu20				CLEMSON drive start at 04:16.
					QB for CU is #3-Korn.
1-10	at Cu20			4-3	Korn, W deep pass incomplete, PENALTY FS personal foul (Watson, D) 15 yards to the CU35, 1ST DOWN CU, NO PLAY.	NO
Since Harper was knocked out by Brown on the previous play, Watson went for a killshot on the backup. Korn hadn't stepped OOB yet and this was a marginal call.
1-10	at Cu35			4-3	Ford, J rush EL for loss of 10 yards to the CU25, out-of-bounds (McClure, D).	YES
Previous play was run from wildcat formation. #28 was lined up as QB. Play was a reverse. Harper tries for a questionable cutblock on Everette Brown… and misses. Great pursuit by everyone, Kendrick Stewart +1
2-20	at Cu25	PD		Nickel	Korn, W screen pass complete to Grisham, T for loss of 3 yards to the CU22 (Mangum, K).	YES
We are so athletic. Kenny Ingram comes out and covers the far receiver. Great job by Mangum to fight through the block and make the tackle. Crazy pressure from the DE's.
3-23	at Cu22	PD		Nickel	Korn, W deep pass incomplete to Ford, J, QB hurry by White, M.,.	YES
3 Man line. Roll left. Nobody open.
4-23	at Cu22				Maners, J punt 53 yards to the FS25, Carter, T return 0 yards to the FS25, out-of-bounds.
					Drive: 3 plays, 2 yards, TOP 01:48
This was one of the most physically dominant series of plays I've seen any unit have in a while. Way too much speed. You know you're fast when you almost sack a screen play!

FSU's 3rd Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
1-10	at Fs25				FLORIDA STATE drive start at 02:28.
1-10	at Fs25		FR3	4WRGUN	Ponder, C rush quarterback draw for 11 yards to the FS36, 1ST DOWN FS (Alexander, K;Hamlin, M).	YES
This is QB off tackle. 10 blockers. Greenlee subbed in for Zebrie and played very well. On the OLine Trickett Said (from Seminoles.com): "On the Clemson game: “We looked pretty good. I took 77 (Zebrie Sanders) out and went with an older kid, a redshirt freshman, over a true freshman. Antwane [Greenlee] really did a good job. I was proud of him. He went in there and had six knock-downs and did a good job on pass-run stuff. So we’ve got a pretty good battle going over there right now to see if Zebrie wants to try to get that spot back. Rodney Hudson again had another great day; he was the ACC lineman of the week for the third time.” Spurlock looked bad on the 1st 2 drives but he looked okay here. Oh, and OH MY GOSH. Watch the block Rodney Hudson throws about 8 yards downfield! ACC linemen of the week for the 3rd time and should be an All American.
1-10	at Fs36		FR4	2TEGUN	Parker, P rush EL for 9 yards to the FS45 (Hamlin, M).	YES
Sweep right/ end around. Great blocking by Hudson and decent block by Caz. Good commit step from Datko. These linemen are quick.
2-1	at Fs45	NPD	FR5	EYE	Thomas, J. rush left for 22 yards to the CU33, 1ST DOWN FS (Clemons, C).	YES
Great end around motion and the backside handoff is sweet. Cutback running? Yes please. Great job by Marcus Simms. Greg Carr loafed this.
1-10	at Cu33		FR6	CHOLLIETE	Sims, M rush right for 7 yards to the CU26 (McDaniel, D).	YES
Hell of a job by Greenlee to stick with his block. If he is back from this neck surgery… oh man we could be special.
2-3	at Cu26	NPD	FR7	4WRGUN	Ponder, C rush left for loss of 1 yard to the CU27 (Hamlin, M).	NO
Wouldn't believe me if I told you, but… designed QB sweep, we run into a slant, Hudson and Datko don't hold their blocks. Lucky playcall for Clemson.
					Drive: 5 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:25
					Clemson 10, Florida State 10
					Start of 2nd quarter, clock 15:00.
3-4	at Cu27	NPD	FP6	CHOLLIETE	Ponder, C slant pass complete to Parker, P for 7 yards to the CU20, 1ST DOWN FS (Maye, B).	YES
Damn camera angle sucks here. This is a simple slant and sit. Ponder didn't read this fast enough, but it did get there.
1-10	at Cu20		FR8	PISTOL	Thomas, J. rush over right tackle for loss of 1 yard to the CU21 (Sapp, R;Jenkins, J).	NO
For as good as Greenlee played… he really whiffed here. Lose on 1st down. (Greenlee had head down).
2-11	at Cu21	PD	FP7	TEMPTYGUN	Ponder, C sideline pass incomplete to Carr, G, QB hurry by Scott, D.	NO
No idea what the routes were, but… Datko beaten badly inside, Greenlee beaten, McMahon beaten, Spurlock questionable. Ponder drifts and throws it away. Also on this: delayed blitz. Again, can't tell if he had an open man b/c Doak's camera's are so close.
3-11	at Cu21	PD	FP8	TEMPTYGUN	Ponder, C screen pass complete to Piurowski, C for 2 yards to the CU19 (McDaniel, D).	NO
A TE screen. Maybe this worked in practice, but Clemson killed it. Maybe Caz needed to cut hard inside immediately?
4-9	at Cu19				Gano, G field goal attempt from 37 GOOD, clock 13:03.
					Florida State 13, Clemson 10
					Drive: 10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 04:25
At this point, we had 8 pass plays and 8 runs. The run game was working much better. The passing would improve, but it was clear Clemson was playing pass first. Also, we stayed in favorable leverage downs until the 7th play of the drive.

Clemson's 5th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Gano, G kickoff 67 yards to the CU3, Spiller, C return 16 yards to the CU19 (Givens, L.;Smith, K).
Very high kick… our guys reached the 20 before Spiller caught it.
1-10	at Cu19				CLEMSON drive start at 12:58.
QB for CU is #10-Harper.
1-10	at Cu19				Davis, J rush up middle for 24 yards to the CU43, 1ST DOWN CU, out-of-bounds (Robinson, P.).	NO
Moses McCray got off balanced and pancakes, Neefy got turned around, and our defense got gashed. Good use of end around fake action by Clemson.
1-10	at Cu43				Spiller, C rush up middle for 3 yards to the CU46 (Robinson, J).	YES
Neefy Redeems himself with a great play as he blows up the tackle and kills their angle.
2-7	at Cu46	NPD			Spiller, C rush left for 4 yards to the 50 yardline, out-of-bounds (Robinson, P.).	YES
We don't line up correctly, too bunched up in the middle, and as a result, we get pinned. WILDCAT.
3-3	at Cu50	NPD			Spiller, C rush right for 7 yards to the FS43, 1ST DOWN CU, out-of-bounds (Lawson, R).	NO
Chop block on Marcus McNiel not called.
1-10	at Fs43				Davis, J rush over left guard for 6 yards to the FS37 (Lawson, R;Nicholson, D).	NO
Mincey got pancaked here… nice hole… wonder if he is 100% healthy?
2-4	at Fs37	NPD			Davis, J rush TL for no gain to the FS37 (Nicholson, D).	YES
Amazing individual play by Nicholson to fight through traffic and find the ballcarrier.
3-4	at Fs37	NPD			Davis, J rush TR for loss of 6 yards to the FS43 (Moffett, N).	YES
Neefy Moffett with an incredible individual effort here to destroy the tackle and make the tackle. He often seems hit or miss but today he was hit.
4-10	at Fs43				Maners, J punt 32 yards to the FS11, Carter, T return 0 yards to the FS11, fumble by Carter, T recovered by CU Roediger, C at FS9.
					Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, TOP 04:03
					Punt was muffed by receiving team.
Insert obligatory "why the heck is a starting corner returning punts when we have no depth at the position" argument [here]. Carter's techinque is horrible. Anytime you fall to the ground while trying to catch the football, you change your eye level. Stand and catch the ball. Bend your knees if you must. I have separated the following 2 plays into their own drive because FSU's DEFENSE did obtain a stop. Funny that our 2 biggest mental errors arguably came on special teams.

Clemson's 6th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
1-G	at Fs09				CLEMSON drive start at 08:55.
1-G	at Fs09			4-3	Davis, J rush up middle for no gain to the FS9 (Stewart, K).	YES
Stewart and Griffin at DT. Both do a nice job to quickly shed their blockers and make the stop.
2-G	at Fs09	PD			Harper, C TR pass complete to Palmer, M for 9 yards to the FS0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:17.	NO
Watson and Ingram at LB. We get pressure on the rollout throwback and I am not going to blame the defense on this. Great throw. We give him this if he can hit it, and he happened to hit the throw. Ingram on the coverage, which wasn't bad.
					Buchholz, M kick attempt good.
					Clemson 17, Florida State 13
					Drive: 2 plays, 9 yards, TOP 00:38
This TD is on Tony Carter for the bigtime special teams Gaffe.

FSU's 4th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					Buchholz, M kickoff 59 yards to the FS11, Parker, P return 19 yards to the FS30 (Chancellor, C).
					FLORIDA STATE drive start at 08:12.
1-10	at Fs30			CHOLLITTE	Smith, A rush over right tackle for 3 yards to the FS33 (Scott, D).	NO
Zone right. Greenlee good 2nd level block, but maybe needs to doubleteam with Spurlock here? Caz okay, Spurlock gets beat.
2-7	at Fs33			I form	Smith, A rush over left guard for loss of 3 yards to the FS30 (Jenkins, J).	NO
Both safetys 12 yards off the ball. Spurlock gets crushed, which causes McMahon to miss his. TFL.
3-10	at Fs30			5GUN	Ponder, C deep in pass incomplete to Owens, R (Hamlin, M).	NO
The middle of the field won't be open. CU in a cover 5 zone shell. Ponder stays in the pocket and makes a really good throw over the linebackers. The throw is a bit high for Easterling, who couldn't hold onto it. It WAS high, but there isn't another place to put this ball. 3-10 is tough and sometimes the D calls the right coverage.
4-10	at Fs30				Gano, G punt 33 yards to the CU37, fair catch by Spiller, C.
Gano with the rare short one, but this was close to being blocked.
					Drive: 3 plays, 0 yards, TOP 01:19
We started this drive with 7:45 in possession time compared to 22 minutes for Clemson.

Clemson's 7th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					CLEMSON drive start at 06:53.
1-10	at Cu37			4-3	Harper, C sideline pass incomplete to Kelly, A, PENALTY FS pass interference (Robinson, P.) 13 yards to the 50 yardline, 1ST DOWN CU, NO PLAY.
This was complete garbage. Patrick Robinson had great coverage. Kelly pushed off if anything. Andrews was still griping about this in Monday's presser.
1-10	at Cu50			4-3	Harper, C screen pass incomplete to Davis, J.	YES
Play Action on the screen. Watson is all over Davis. He'd be sent home from the 8th grade dance for being in his pocket so much. Great coverage.
2-10	at Cu50	PD		4-3	Davis, J rush over left guard for 3 yards to the FS47 (Watson, D).	YES
3DE line with Kstew. Very quick formation. Watson makes this tackle but Kstew and others was blowing up the center of the LOS. Great hit by Watson. Total beast who we need to stay another year.
3-7	at Fs47	PD		4-3	Harper, C sacked for loss of 11 yards to the CU42 (Brown, E).	YES
"I knew I could beat those guys with speed," Brown said. "And speed kills." Everette Brown with incredible balance here.
4-18	at Cu42				Maners, J punt 28 yards to the FS30, out-of-bounds.
					Drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, TOP 01:38
We played perfectly on this drive. Perfect.

FSU's 5th Drive

Dwn	Yard	Situation	Label	Formation	Play Description	Success?
					FLORIDA STATE drive start at 05:15.
1-10	at Fs30			KGUN	Ponder, C pass incomplete to Parker, P (McDaniel, D).	NO
Batted Down. Rollout. Blitzer comes, nice Playcall from CU, blitzer jumps and bats it down. Parker was open on the 7 yard stop.
2-10	at Fs30	PD		Hawaii	Thomas, J. rush left for 11 yards to the FS41, 1ST DOWN FS (Cooper, S).	YES
This is classic FSU. Bubble action right, Zone read left. Datko and McMahon good joob, Hudson is so quick he actually doesn't block anyone! This seems to be a base tri-set of ours (bubble, zone read give, zone read keep, both wit bubble action).
1-10	at Fs41			Hawaii	Ponder, C rush QX for 8 yards to the FS49 (Bowers, D).	YES
We always look comfortable from this set. This is a fake bubble, and we try to go deep off it. CU playing press, rushes 5. I was so pissed here. We had them if we could block it. We didn't get it blocked. Ponder literally is sandwiched by 3 defenders, jukes out of it, then jukes a DT, and gets out of the grasp of a LB, then SPINS to have 2 CU defenders hit each other while he falls forward for 8. Why do we use CP7? This right here. Last year, we're in 2nd and 20.
2-2	at Fs49	NPD		Singleback	Thomas, J. rush up middle for 3 yards to the CU48, 1ST DOWN FS (Conner, K).	YES
This is a chanegup play. We do a straight hand to the tailback and man-block it. Interesting.
1-10	at Cu48			KGUN	Ponder, C sideline pass complete to Parker, P for 3 yards to the CU45 (McDaniel, D;Chancellor, C).	NO
Draw Action, clemson doesn't buy it. Greenlee beaten, Ponder is flushed and somehow gets it to Parker all the way across the field. Nice moves by Parker. NOTE: With the draw action and the Clemson great coverage at first, Greenlee had to hold his block forever. Can't fault him too bad, except he was beaten INSIDE (and Ponder was trying to step-up.) In 2007, we would have had 2 sacks in 3 plays. In 2008, we have an 8 yard run and a 3 yard pass.
2-7	at Cu45	NPD		KGUN	Ponder, C deep pass incomplete to Easterling, T (Hamlin, M).	NO
Rollout. Hudson misses the blitzer. CP7 good job to dodge him, square his shoulders running full speed to sideline and launch downfield for Easterling. Jump ball battle is a draw. I didn't love the IDEA of the throw, but it wasn't a crippling decision. If this is Carr, it's a 40 yard gainer. I think we had something big if Hudson picks up the blitzer. Not sure how he missed him. Ponder's houdini act on this drive was astonishing. He literally just sidestepped a blitzer who had a great angle.
3-7	at Cu45	PD		Hawaii.	Ponder, C sideline pass complete to Easterling, T for 14 yards to the CU31, 1ST DOWN FS (Conner, K).	YES
GREAT PLAY. SPECIAL PLAY. Moving inside the pocket, going through the progressions. We were 1/5 on 3rd downa t this point. We'd go 4/5 the rest of the game. CU in Dime. Zone coverage. We run a zone buster with Parker on the curl and Eatserling on the in. Parker falls down as Ponder goes to throw. He pulls it down and somehow resets. Oline capably handles 4 rushers with 6 blockers. Ponder re-scans the field, knows his progressions, and hits Easterling (the other part of the zone buster) on the shallow IN (call if a cross if you like). Easterling picks up 7 more. Really nice job there. Not sure how he pulled it down when Parker slips.
1-10	at Cu31				Ponder, C screen pass complete to Givens, L. for 3 yards to the CU28 (Hamlin, M).	NO
Bubble screen. DE ignores the run action and almost tips this ball. Surrency with the rare missed block (he played great). Givens gets 3. Credit: Givens' effort and Ponder's quick release and McMahon's good snap.
2-7	at Cu28				Timeout Clemson, clock 01:54.
2-7	at Cu28	NPD			Givens, L. rush reverse for 27 yards to the CU1, 1ST DOWN FS (Clemons, C).	YES
Who in their right mind would call a reverse to a walk on out of a timeout? Jimbo. Rodney Hudson runs 30 yards in this play and Ponder blocks 2 men. Greenlee nice block. Givens shows great speed.
1-G	at Cu01				Ponder, C rush quarterback sneak for 1 yard to the CU0, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:25.	YES
					Gano, G kick attempt good.
					Florida State 20, Clemson 17
					Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 03:50
Great drive here, and we only faced 3rd down one time.

Here is Part 2

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I'm not seeing it

I think this post may have messed up. I’m not seeing the breakdown.

by NolenRyan on Nov 11, 2008 3:16 PM EST reply actions

I know you talk about the two guys keeping up with Parker as a testament to their speed, but when I watched that run I thought to myself — an NFL scout is going to watch that run and two words are going to come to mind: Peter Warrick.

In other words, I thought Parker looked slow.

by Fsued on Nov 11, 2008 5:56 PM EST reply actions

I think you're right FSUed. He needs another year, because

his speed is not going to get him his payday. If he wants to be a first day pick (rounds 1-3), he’ll need to return and become a great route runner. Right now, I think is’d probably jude good.

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 11, 2008 6:30 PM EST up reply actions

Wow

I have to say you do a great job with your articles. I live on this website during the workday. I never usually sign up to post on these kind of websites, but I’m impressed.

by NolenRyan on Nov 11, 2008 6:14 PM EST reply actions

Thanks Nolenryan! Spread the word.

When i started this, I was anxious to see if I was the only Nole fan out there who was interested in content that consistently rose above the “gators suck, noles rock” type banter seen on the TC.

Does this thing have formatting errors again?

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 11, 2008 6:31 PM EST up reply actions

Nope!

you fixed it.

by NolenRyan on Nov 12, 2008 7:57 PM EST up reply actions

Neefey

Played really well this game. It was a pleasent surprise to see him step up as well as our DT’s.

Also, we keep posting that Nigel is going into “Beast Mode.” I think this is too early in his career for him to be doing that. I think he has a TON of talent and even more potential, but he has to play a little bit smarter on special teams and defense. He is going to be a BEAST but just not yet.

by UNFNOLE on Nov 11, 2008 6:53 PM EST reply actions

Its even more promising...

that our 2009 recruiting class already has a 5 star tackle, 2 4 star DE and 4 star DT. Take it for what its worth as well all know that high school rankings don’t always pan out. But we are already on the road to have a ferocious defensive line for the next few years. I hope that with the continued development of our offensive line that everyone will be talking about how well FSU plays on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

by TrueCubbie on Nov 11, 2008 7:19 PM EST up reply actions

Oh...

So definitely take that with a grain of salt…these guys are highly ranked high school players but..I wonder how a 6-2 218 DE would do his freshman year….fortunately we have a little bit of time on that one.

by TrueCubbie on Nov 11, 2008 7:25 PM EST up reply actions

I don't think Stinson is a lock by any means. Not sure if you included him in your original.

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 12, 2008 1:12 AM EST up reply actions

Note about the wildcat:
If I remember correctly Clemson actually did use the wildcat formation. Most of the stuff in the pros is really just wildcat imitation (tastes like chicken!!!) as the line is not over balanced. Why don’t we do this with D’Vo instead of just zone reads, draws, and sweeps(besides the fact that the team would be able to send in correct personel for it)?

Has your opinion of McMahon changed at all? I think he’s gotten better, but I missed the 4th quarter. I also don’t see him showing up as much on your play-by-play.

I find it funny that our change-up play is a straight run old school style out of the Ace formation.

White has been playing better. Playing with a better head, which has been his problem in the past. He gets where he’s going but hasn’t always known where to go. Now he has an inkling.

You mentioned Jenije last week and didn’t seem all that confident in him (understandable from his production or lack there-of). I thought he did pretty good this game considering TC was sidelined for most of the second half. Hopefully Jenije can keep it up.

by evenflow58 on Nov 12, 2008 10:27 AM EST reply actions

That should be over-loaded not over balanced.

Side note: Anyway to get this site to include an edit function on posts?

by evenflow58 on Nov 12, 2008 10:28 AM EST up reply actions

There isn't, it sucks. You could just copy paste into a new one and say "delete previous please."

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 12, 2008 10:50 AM EST up reply actions

And Gano made the cover of Football Outsiders!!! They have a special on special teams in their FEI index report this week.

by evenflow58 on Nov 12, 2008 10:34 AM EST up reply actions

I am pumped about that!

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 12, 2008 10:50 AM EST up reply actions

Good thoughts

McMahon did play better in this game. I usually highlight special blocks or obvious blocking screwups. If I don’t mention a lineman, he’s probably doing well, but not spectacularly.

I assume you mean over-loaded by using 2 tackles on one side, correct? I’m not sure why we don’t do this. Maybe we don’t want to take practice time to install D’vo specific packages when he is capable of running some of the regular offense with slight variation?

I hope White can become consistently dominant.

I did notice Jenjie on a few plays and will make a point to highlight him in tomorrow’s 2nd half piece.

Tomahawk Nation: No-Holds-Barred Nole Analysis

by Bud Elliott on Nov 12, 2008 10:50 AM EST up reply actions