Just six days and counting before the University of Miami Cane Thugs start sucking 

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SEMINOLES vs um

in our clean and fresh Tallahassee air.  Now their rhetoric includes how great their new coaching staff is, how da u is back (in their typical obnoxious manner), how great their worthless rap video is (when really it's only purpose is to teach their mentally challenged fans the difference between their two school colors), and their delusions of grandeur, all of which have been festering inside them since their last October 4th wet nightmare. 

While some of the rhetoric is coming from the players, most of the scUMery and thugishness is coming from their fickle fans, the majority of whom have never stepped foot on a college campus. As the countdown nears, local authorities are encouraging residents to start hiding their valuables, locking all of your doors, don't carry large amounts of cash, and lock up your daughters. 

*Side Note-While I don't normally like to refer anyone to any other sites, this one article alone is worth the trip.  This is a football blog started a few years back by 2 Gaturd grads, and they and their writers do an excelent job ridiculing all of the programs, even their own.  I have been occasionally reading this blog for a couple of years, but I had never seen this particular article until it was brought to my attention by FSUncensored.  The blog is called EDSBS (Every day should be Saturday) and this piece of work is called Stuff Orange and Green People Like.  If you've ever been to the Orange Dump, or if you want to know what the experience is like, this is a good point of reference.  I highly recommend it. 

These are also the same fine folks who developed the Fulmer Cup Dynasty, (the All Time Ranking), and the yearly Fulmer Cup (these are running rankings of the programs with the most athletes arrested while enrolled in school).  Little did they know at the time they started the Fulmer Cup that their own program would soon be #2 on the all time list.  This is my bible when getting ugly with my lizard friends, and when they have the audacity to bring up Free Shoes U, or criminoles, or Dillards, etc.  I just tell them to go here and that shuts them up real quick.

Ok we're back and our series continues today with the game played on October 7, 1995.  

courtesy of DocHoliday2

The last time we spoke we discussed the 1993 game that paved our way to the National Championship, when we gave our despicable amigos a thorough beat down, how important it was that we win that game, and how great it was seeing 6 or 7 thugs load themselves back into their Camaro to head south to Little Havana and scUM city. 

Once again we've found ourselves in an all too familiar situation. Despite winning the NC in 1993, the following year Miami once again defeated the Noles in a game that was not as close as the final score of 34-20 indicates.  There were no missed field goal or missed conversions that caused FSU to lose this time.

That game was at the Orange Dump where the #13th ranked Miami defense dominanted most of the game and the canes recaptured state bragging rights. The Noles self destructed by giving up five turnovers, including four interceptions, and we were held to 219 total yards with only 47 on the ground. With Miami leading 24-17 late in the third quarter and the Noles getting ready to attempt to tie the score, UM intercepted a Danny Kanell pass and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown to give the 'Canes a 31-17 lead and seal FSU's fate.

At this point, FSU had dropped 8 out of the last 10 games to the convicts from South Florida and the thugs self adulation had really gotten out of control.

After finishing the previous season ranked 4th, the same season that included the Turds classic "Choke at Doak" and our big win in the "5th Quarter in the French Quarter", FSU ended the season with a 10-1-1 record.

  THIS IS FROM ANOTHER YEAR (1992) BUT IT'S STILL FUN TO LOOK AT (courtesy of TRMNole)

In 1995, the Seminoles were once again the preseason #1 team.  One of our biggest concern was to get by Miami, who until our 1993 win, had defeated every #1 team they played since 1979.  We needed to win in order to get to the NC game where we would win our second NC in 3 years.

However Sports Illustrated did not give the Noles the same love that  the sports writers had given us, and SI sarted FSU out at #5.  Here is what they thought of the Noles from their preseason preview edition.

August 28, 1995

5. Florida State 

By the time senior quarterback Danny Kanell takes the snap in Florida State's "fast break" offense, the play's success or failure may already have been sealed, thanks to final adjustments made by a Seminole field general who's far less conspicuous than Kanell. The man in charge during the crucial seconds before the snap—the man who surveys defensive alignments and calls cadence—weighs 280 pounds and wears number 53. Senior center Clay Shiver is the de facto quarterback of the deepest, slickest-operating and best-synchronized offensive line in college football.

On national TV this group is referred to indirectly as "Big hole for Warrick Dunn" and directly as "Excellent protection for Kanell." Coach Bobby Bowden, in his 20th year in Tallahassee, has always had teams loaded with skill players who can make big plays. "Yet when it comes down to it," says Bowden, "the offensive line is still the most valuable area of your darn football team."

Florida State runs its fast-break offense from the shotgun formation, and when Kanell makes that slight kick with his right leg before the snap, he is not setting the fast break in motion but simply signaling Shiver to take charge. "Danny kicks his leg to let me know he's ready," says Shiver. "Then I look up. A lot of defensive teams will try to disguise or change what they're doing."

"You can see linebackers ready to tee off on somebody, getting a running start toward the line of scrimmage," says split-side guard Lewis Tyre. "They come up at 90 miles an hour, and Clay will just hold the ball—so they have to stop. That makes it easier on all the linemen."

Up and down the depth chart, FSU's offensive line is experienced and savvy. Shiver says that when he spots last-second changes in defenses, "These guys pick it up like that." He snaps his fingers. "The play clock is ticking," says Shiver, "and it's up to me to snap the ball. If a younger guy were beside me, I'd have to stop and say, 'Listen, they've walked that safety up; he's really not the linebacker, he's the safety.' But these guys know. They see it happening."

"Our linemen have been supremely tested," says Bowden. "They've gone up against the Notre Dames, the Floridas, the Miamis. We've played the big boys."

It is difficult to designate the Seminoles' interior-line starters, because seven players rotate at the five positions. Five of them are fifth-year seniors: Shiver, Tyre (6'5", 272 pounds), split-side tackle Juan Laureano (6'5", 283), tight-side tackle Forrest Conoly (6'6", 325) and swingman Jesus Hernandez (6'2", 288). Two juniors, tight guard Chad Bates (6'3", 269) and tight tackle Todd Fordham (6'5", 292), complete the rotation.

Conoly is trying to come back after sitting out all but two games last year. He was hit with a four-game suspension for taking merchandise from agents, and then he missed six games with a knee injury. Hernandez, meanwhile, "has the bad luck or good luck of being the best athlete on the line," Bowden says. He can play any of the four positions other than center.

Most of the linemen were around for Bowden's crash course in sophisticated pass protection in 1992, when he designed the fast break around quarterback Charlie Ward, the Seminole quarterback at the time who would win the Heisman Trophy the next year. "It was," says Bowden, 'like saying to the linemen, 'Son, when you come here, we're not going to get into algebra; we're going to jump into trigonometry right away.' They had to learn more, quicker."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006998/index.htm

Once again in 1995, the roster had the talent level every Div IA college envied.  At the end of the season, the following 8 FSU players received All-American recognition: they were Daryl Bush, Andre Cooper, Warrick Dunn, Danny Kanell, Sean Liss, Clay Shiver, Lewis Tyre, and Reinard Wilson.

Other offensive contributors included Rock Preston, Dee Feaster, Khalid Abdullah, Pooh Bear Williams (great name huh?), E.G. Green, Phillip Riley, Wayne Messam, Chad Bates, Juan Laureano, Jesus Hernandez, Forest Conoly, Tra Thomas, and Greg Frey.

Other defensive contributors included Sam Cowart, Andre Wadsworth, Orpheus Roye, Robert Hammond, Todd Rebol, Byron Capers, Sean Hamlet, Samari Rolle, Peter Boulware, Julian Pittman, and Connell Spain,

Our punter was Sean Liss, and our kicker was Scott Bentley.

Some of the incoming freshmen included Ron Dugans, Mario Edwards, Dexter Jackson, Walter Jones, Dan Kendra, Eric Thomas, Jason Whitaker, and Peter Warrick among others. 

Top: Todd Rebol and Warrick Dunn
Bottom: Clay Shiver and Danny Kanell

We started the season in Orlando with an offensive explosion, racking up 797 yards of total offense in a 70-26 victory over Duke in the Citrus Bowl.

Next up we traveled to South Carolina to face Clemson.  It was SI's game of the week.

September 11, 1995

Game Of The Week

Florida State at Clemson

When the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992, the Tigers seemed to be their most natural intraleague rivals: Clemson's brutal defense-first style figured to be a perfect foil for sleek, finesse-oriented Florida State. The Tigers were also supposed to be the Seminoles' perfect partners in elevating the ACC to something close to the lofty status enjoyed by the neighboring SEC. But while Florida State has won its first 24 games in conference play, Clemson has fallen so far that last season the Seminoles scheduled the Tigers as their homecoming opponent. "Let's face it," says Tommy West, Clemson's second-year coach, "when we went down to Tallahassee last year [a 17-0 Seminole victory], we weren't expecting to win. All we were looking for was a little respect."

The Tigers' 5-6 finish last fall marked just their second losing season since 1977. The program had declined so much that West took only 58 scholarship players, including five true-freshman starters, into last year's game against Florida State. Clemson has more depth this year, but West will nonetheless start one true freshman on Saturday. Before last season West had last glimpsed Florida State in 1989, when he was a Clemson linebacker coach. That season the Tigers defeated the Seminoles 34-23 in Tallahassee. "Back then we were almost on an equal footing," says West, "and there was nothing that told me this wasn't going to be a great rivalry for a long, long time."

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007095/index.htm

On this day Warrick Dunn led the way on the ground with a spectacular day as we defeated Clemson 45-26 in Death Valley. Dunn rushed for a then career high 180 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries to lead the Seminoles to 455 yards of total offense.

The following week Florida State rewrote its record book with a resounding 77-17 victory over N.C. State in front of 72,800 fans in the first home game of the season at the newly expanded Doak.  Danny Kanell led the offensive explosion as he was nearly perfect in completing 28 of 32 passes for 310 yards and a career high five touchdowns. Kanell set the FSU pass completion record with an 87.5 percent performance against the Wolfpack.

Then Central Florida came to Doak to watch Pooh Bear Williams score three touchdowns and Danny Kanell pass for two more as we fought through a sluggish first half to defeat a determined Central Florida team 46-14. Williams ran seven times for 11 yards, including two 3 yard touchdown dives, and caught a 16 yard touchdown strike from Kanell, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

 Finally it's showtime. 

October 09, 1995

College Football     

Line of the Week
Miami (-17�) at Florida State
With the Hurricanes an unexpectedly subpar 1-2, this Saturday's clash, in recent seasons a battle with national implications, might not leave the potent Seminoles (4-0) much even in the way of Sunshine State bragging rights. But Florida State may have begun winning this game almost two years ago. On Jan. 1, 1994, the Seminoles gained their first national title with a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, while the Hurricanes were bludgeoned by Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl. The day after the national title game, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden walked out of South Florida with several of that region's top schoolboy prospects; ever since, Miami has failed to regain control of recruiting in its own backyard.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007233/2/index.htm

Our high powered offense got revenge for #20 Miami's recent success with a 41-17 rout in front of a record Doak crowd of 80,000. Warrick Dunn led the ground attack with a career high 184 yards on 20 carries, setting the FSU record with his fifth straight game with over 100 yards.

Danny Kanell completed 17 of 27 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Kanell did not throw an interception, as the Seminole offensive line provided perfect pass protection for the Tribe quarterback.

Pooh Bear Williams dove over from just a yard out to start the scoring with 6:12 left in the first quarter. For FSU fans, Miami's only first half score brought back nightmares as the Hurricanes blocked an FSU punt and fell on it in the endzone to tie the score at seven at the end of the first quarter.

After a 34 yard Scott Bentley field goal, Kanell hit Andre Cooper with two touchdown passes over the last four minutes of the second quarter to stretch the Seminoles' lead to 24-7.

Dunn and Phillip Riley scored second half touchdowns and Bentley nailed a 33 yard field goal to give the Seminoles the win.

In its best performance of the season, Florida State's defense, bolstered by the return of starting linebackers Todd Rebol and Daryl Bush, held the Hurricanes to just 223 yards of total offense.

In his first collegiate start, Miami quarterback Ryan Clement was held to 96 yards passing and was sacked three times by the Seminole defense. He completed 10 of 23 passes and was intercepted by FSU cornerbacks Samari Rolle and James Colzie.   

1st   7- 0  Pooh Bear Williams, 1, run (Scott Bentley, kick), 6:12 
      7- 7  Opp, 0, punt return/blocked punt (kick), 2:52 
2nd   7- 7  Scott Bentley, 32, field goal failed, 13:22
     10- 7  Scott Bentley, 34, field goal, 9:19 
     17- 7  Andre Cooper, 8, pass from Danny Kanell (Scott Bentley, kick), 3:49 
     24- 7  Andre Cooper, 26, pass from Danny Kanell (Scott Bentley, kick), 0:33 
3rd  31- 7  Warrick Dunn, 1, run (Scott Bentley, kick), 13:02
     31-10  Opp, 20, field goal, 7:12 
     31-10  Scott Bentley, 39, field goal failed, 4:04 
4th  38-10  Phillip Riley, 23, pass from Danny Kanell (Scott Bentley, kick), 12:47
     41-10  Scott Bentley, 33, field goal, 8:46 
     41-17  Opp, 42, pass (kick), 1:13 



TEAM STATISTICS


                       FSU     OPP
First downs             25      16
Rushes-yards        49-273  32- 53
Passing                222     170
Att-Comp-Int       30-19-0 32-16-2
Total Yards         79-495  64-223
Punt Returns          3-26    2-24
Kickoff Returns       2-40   7-139
Interception Ret.     2-56     0-0
Fumble Returns         0-0     0-0
Punts               5-37.2  9-33.1
Sacks By-Yds          5-43    2-22
Fumbles-Lost           2-0     1-0
Penalties-Yds       12-118    9-52
3rd Down Conversions  4-13    2-15
4th Down Conversions   0-0     1-2
Time of Posession    30:03   29:57
Attendance                  80,350

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
Warrick Dunn                20- 184
Rock Preston                 9-  43
Pooh Bear Williams          10-  42
Dee Feaster                  4-  15
Khalid Abdullah              2-   5
Danny Kanell                 1-   2
Thad Busby                   3- -18

Receiving
Ron Dugans                   1-  42
Wayne Messam                 3-  41
E.G. Green                   4-  37
Phillip Riley                2-  28
Andre Cooper                 2-  26
Warrick Dunn                 4-  17
Rock Preston                 2-  13
Dee Feaster                  1-  10

Passing
Danny Kanell                27-17-0-170
Thad Busby                   2- 2-0- 52
Warrick Dunn                 1- 0-0-  0

Punt Return
Dee Feaster                  3-  26

Kickoff Return
Rock Preston                 1-  26
E.G. Green                   1-  14

Punting
Sean Liss                    4- 200
 Team                        1- -14

                        |---------Tackles---------| |---Sacks---| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS     UT   AT  Total   ForLoss     No - Yards  Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds  FF Kick Saf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Cowart                4    3     7   1.0-  4.0       .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Reinard Wilson            3    2     5   3.0- 19.0    2.0- 15.0      .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Andre Wadsworth           4    1     5   2.0- 12.0    1.0-  9.0      .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Robert Hammond            1    4     5      .            .           .      2    .    .      .   .   .
Sean Hamlet               2    3     5      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Shevin Smith              2    3     5   1.0- 10.0    1.0- 10.0      .      1    .    .      .   .   .
Todd Rebol                .    4     4      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Daryl Bush                1    2     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Byron Capers              1    2     3      .            .           .      2    .    .      .   .   .
Peter Boulware            1    2     3   1.0-  9.0    1.0-  9.0      .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Harold Battles            2    1     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Connell Spain             1    1     2   1.0-  1.0       .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Vernon Crawford           1    1     2      .            .           .      1    .    .      .   .   .
Demetro Stephens          1    1     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Marlin Green              1    1     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
James Colzie              1    .     1      .            .          1- 16   .    .    .      .   .   .
Tyrant Marion             .    1     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Julian Pittman            .    1     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Lamont Green              .    1     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Henri Crockett            .    1     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Deon Humphrey             1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Troy Saunders             1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Dennis Andrews            .    1     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
James D'Amico             1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Samari Rolle              .    .     .      .            .          1- 40   1    .    .      .   .   .

After beating UM we felt invincible, and maybe we were looking ahead to the FSU/Gaturd game, where we felt that the winner of this game would play for the NC.

This is how the rest of the season played itself out.

Still top ranked, the Noles scored on six consecutive drives in the first half en route to a 72-13 win over Wake Forest at Doak.  FSU's 28th straight conference win was highlighted by Danny Kanell who completed 28 of 36 passes for 342 yards and five touchdowns, one TD short of the school record held by Peter Tom Willis. Tailback Warrick Dunn ran for his sixth consecutive 100 yard game with 112 yards on just 11 carries.

Then GT came to Tally when  Danny Kanell completed 41 of 51 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns to lead us to a win over the Yellow Jackets 42-10. His 41 completions broke his own FSU single game record of 40 set against Florida last year.

Then the wheels came off in Charlottesville when Warrick Dunn came just inches away from the goal line on the final play costing FSU the victory against #16 Virginia, which was the first time any ACC team beat the Noles.

The loss dropped us to #6 and we headed back to the Carolinas, wheren our special teams, along with Warrick Dunn's seventh 100 yard rushing performance of the season, led the way to a 28-12 Seminole victory over North Carolina in a driving rain storm in Chapel Hill. Freshman Mario Edwards set the tone when he blocked North Carolina's first punt of the game and returned it 24 yards for an FSU touchdown. It was the first of two blocked punts for the Seminoles in the game. The second, blocked by Peter Boulware, came late in the fourth quarter.

We remained at  #6, when our receiving tandem of Andre Cooper and E.G. Green combined for 348 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 59-17 victory over Maryland in Doak. With the win, the Seminoles clinched their fourth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, which set a new league record.

Next we travel to the putrid stagnant swamp where any chance of a sneaking into the NC game was lost when Danny Wuerffel threw for 443 yards and the #6 Seminoles could not quite overcome #2 Florida's 28-6 halftime lead as FSU lost to Florida 35-24 for only the second time in nine years.

With 2 losses, we fell to #8 and  we accepted our bid to play in the Orange Bowl game against #6 ranked Notre Dame on New Years Day 1996.  I went to this game also, and again it could be another story for another day.  

In this game Danny Kanell threw two fourth quarter touchdown passes to lead our Noles to a 31-26 come from behind win over #6 Notre Darne in the final Orange Bowl game played in the historic stadium rat infested dump where you had to be careful of the urine and feces overflow that came down from the toilets and would drip on your head if you sat under the overhang.  But I digress.

Kanell hit E.G. Green with an 11 yard scoring strike, then flipped a 3 yard touchdown pass to Andre Cooper with 6:09 left in the game to give our Seminoles an NCAA record 11th straight bowl win and a top four finish in the AP poll for a record ninth straight season.

Our offense tested the "Chosen Ones" through the air and on the ground. Kanell completed 20 of 32 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, while Warrick Dunn rushed for 151 yards on 22 carries. However, it took a dramatic fourth quarter comeback to give the Noles the win.

Notre Dame opened the scoring in the first quarter with a  39 yard reception for a touchdown.  Then FSU tied the score when Cooper collected a 15 yard scoring pass from Kanell with 6:08 left in the quarter.

Trailing 10-7 after a ND field goal, Kanell found Cooper in the endzone from 10 yards out to give the Seminoles a 14-10 lead at halftime.

The Irish regained the lead on an lucky catch in the endzone over Samari Rolle halfway through the third quarter.

That gave ND the momentum and it didn't look good and got worse when Kanell stepped on the back line of the endzone while trying to throw for a safety. ND then scored again just two minutes later on a five yard pass to give the them a 10 point lead. FSU did not score in the third quarter and would not score again until under 10 minutes left in the game, but the Seminoles came on strong with 17 points over the final few minutes of the game, FTW. 

 1995 FSU RECORD   10- 2
       AGAINST ACC     7- 1
       AGAINST TOP 25  1- 2
       FINAL  AP  -  4
       FINAL CNN  -  5