With the 2011 season in the books and a top 5 recruiting class signed and sealed, it's time to take a look at what the Florida State Seminoles were able to accomplish. There were some high hopes going into the 2011 season. For some fans, 10-12 regular season wins were expected. While there was reason to hope for something special, injuries and off the field circumstances would have FSU struggling to put together a solid season.

Inside a collection of short game reviews, numbers, player superlatives, and what it means going in to next season.

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Mark Stoops finally signed his contract. $575K ($205K base, $370K additional compensation). That's good news.

Oh, and Clemson hired Oklahoma Brent Venables to be its DC. Shakin will hate the move. I don't think they could have done much better. Their reaction piece is guaranteed to be quite funny.

Feldman's pre-season top ten:

10. FSU: After the underwhelming season the Noles had following all of the hype they had entering 2011, I swore I wouldn't give in and allow myself to rank them in the top 10, so I had them at 11. Yet, here they are. This is something we in the media need to realize: The Noles are your preseason dirty addiction. They are that ex-girlfriend who still can put it together and show up at the other side of the bar and catch your eye. And then you give in, and not long after you feel foolish for it. Anyhow. Jimbo Fisher should have a nasty defense, led by a ferocious D-line. The O-line will be better with much-needed experience. Same for QB E.J. Manuel and a young group of receivers. They do have to go to Va. Tech this year and get WVU at home. Just Missed the Cut: Michigan, South Carolina, Ohio State, K-State, Michigan State.

2012 College Football Do's And Don't's, The Premature Edition - SBNation.com

Do: Expect Florida State to improve from a cursed 2012. Every year someone's roster suffers an injury curse like something out of the Old Testament, and this year's smiting victim was the Florida State roster. The offensive line in particular suffered from injury, inexperience, and youth, and it showed as they sank to 77th in total offense. Don't ever watch their game against Florida. It is best forgotten, and buried so that sports archaeologists of the future can study it once the radiation and toxicity of the images themselves die down a little bit.

Don't: Put them in your top five just yet, unless you enjoy putting your hand in the same bear trap again, and again, and again, and then possibly again just for the hell of it. Jimbo Fisher has thus far followed the profile of a well-heeled but underachieving heir to the Bowden throne, losing three games in conference in each of his first two seasons. Florida State has to have one dominant turn through the conference before any national ambitions can come to fruition, and that is before you even look to their formidable out-of-conference games with West Virginia, USF, and traditional rival Florida. Their eventual landing spot in the polls is as much about schedule as it is anything else, and it starts with mastering the ACC before all else.

2012 ACC Football Schedule Taking Shape, Will Likely Not Include Syracuse, Pittsburgh - BC Interruption
The 2012 ACC football schedule is taking shape, though it's unlikely to include either Syracuse or Pittsburgh. Also, the date of the Miami-USF game could disrupt the ACC conference schedule when it comes out in early February.

Chase Rettig Tweets Out Hints About Next Year's Offense? - BC Interruption
Chase Rettig Leaks Out Hints About Next Year's Offense? I am skeptical here.

Video: Coastal clash on Labor Day? - ACC Blog - ESPN
Heather Dinich says a VT-GT matchup on Labor Day would be great for the league and its fans. Advantage VT, as they'd get all camp to rep the option.

Recurring Offseason Themes: Year of the Tiger, take two | Dr. Saturday - Yahoo! Sports LSU will be loaded.

Is Florida State sophomore safety Karlos Williams moving to offense?

"As far as Parks’ replacement, the Seminoles look like they may be OK in that area. Safeties Nick Moody and Karlos Williams were listed at the position all season behind Parks. Battling through nagging injuries all year, Moody had relatively few chances to really alternate plays with Parks as he had been expected to do when the season began. Williams probably won’t be playing the position in the fall, after coach Jimbo Fisher has hinted about moving him to offense at the start of spring practice. The speedy freshman didn’t play a snap at safety this season, but was the Seminoles’ prolific, agile kick returner on special teams. As a result of the way Williams returned kicks, Fisher wants to see what he looks like running in space on offense." (Emphasis mine) -- Coley Harvey, Orlando Sentinel

Harvey is the first of the beat writers to officially put on paper what's been known for a while (and hinted at by me numerous times): there's a decent chance Karlos Williams will move to offense this spring. Don't think the timing here with the mention coming after Mario Pender has enrolled is coincidental, either. Karlos was not going to beat out Terrence Brooks (or Nick Moody for that matter, assuming Moody doesn't move to linebacker for depth purposes) at safety, as I said. In fact, I had always maintained that I liked him better on offense. I thought he could be a good safety because of his physical skills, but I never thought his reactions/instincts were that of a defensive star. And he never played much pass coverage in high school because his team was so poor, and all opponents needed to do was run on them. Of course, I could still be proven totally wrong on this. He could turn out to be a fantastic safety, but I doubt it.

Where will Williams play if he does move to offense? Harvey says running back. Harvey said "running in space", not running back. Apologies to Coley for my misread. I like him better at receiver. In any case, it doesn't matter all that much.

I think FSU sees it like this: he's not on pace to help the team at safety in 2012. He's the best athlete on the team. He has shown a special ability with the ball in his hands on kick returns the likes of which we've not seen since Vanover. He didn't wow anyone in practice with his play at safety, and didn't play any meaningful snaps there all season. If he gets an average of three offensive touches per game, that works out to ~40 opportunities on the year for a special athlete to change the game. And that's not including his kickoff returns.

If this works out, it could provide depth at the running back position. There's no guarantee that Chris Thompson ever takes another snap for Florida State after he literally broke his back against Wake Forest. And if the move indeed happens and Williams flourishes, well then you might see a different physical freak move from running back to linebacker.

Let's take a look at what Florida State's skill position players might look like if Williams does indeed move:

! = Not sure if Thompson ever takes another snap for FSU, if he redshirts to get stronger after breaking his back, or if he will be totally fine.
@ = Believe he has his degree and may be moving on.
# = Haulstead's status is still a bit uncertain as he has had two major concussions and has not faced contact in over a year.
$ = If Williams moves to offense and plays very well immediately, and Wilder doesn't improve, he could move to linebacker.
% = Not an FSU commitment, but many in the know believe the Auburn commitment will flip to Florida State on signing day. He may, however, end up on the defensive side of the ball.

That would be 23, though Louis is far from a lock and there is no guarantee that Smiley or Gehres are done. If Louis comes (and plays offense and not defensive back) and Smiley and Gehres are indeed done, that would be 21, which is a good number.

Another note: Look at how young most of FSU's skill talent is!

Inside, look at this awesome kick return by Williams. He has some serious physical ability.

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FSU goes back to the basics, upsets Virginia Tech 63-59 - Tomahawk Nation
A much, much needed win.

The Fun In Funeral: 2011 College Football's Dark New Orleans Sendoff - SBNation.com
Spencer Hall attends a funeral in New Orleans, the only possible final resting place for the 2011 college football season.

WATCH THE THROWN - Every Day Should Be Saturday
Just read it, haha.

ESPN's 2012 College Football Pre-Season Top 25: Five Boston College Opponents Ranked In Top 25 - BC Interruption Alabama might lose 16 starters. That''s a ton.

A reminder: Today's post is brought to you by Kevin Willson. Please help out my cousin in his quest to have his commercial shown on the Super Bowl by voting! It's very funny. He's a young Christian filmmaker who devotes much of his time to filming missionary work all over the world. In the past years he has filmed missionary workers in very dangerous parts of Afghanistan and remote locations in China. Kevin also done documentary filmwork in South America highlighting groups who bring wheelchairs to some of the remote villages in the mountains of Peru. The Doritos Crash the Superbowl Contest goes along way in supporting his other filmmaking endeavors throughout the year! Thanks and spread the word and vote as often as you can! Remember, you can vote multiple times!

Big BCS change likely coming in wake of all SEC championship game - Andy Staples - SI.com
Conference commissioners met Tuesday in wake of controversial BCS title game / Existing deal runs through 2013 season, but we could hear new plan this summer / Current system won't survive; move to plus-one and away from AQ status is likely.

LSU The Clear Favorite For 2012?

Early 2012 ACC power rankings - ACC Blog - ESPN
FSU finished 2011 as the ACC's best team, and loses the least, so it makes sense the the 'Noles to start at the top.

College Football Top 25 For 2012: An Early Look Toward Next Fall - SBNation.com

5. Florida St. Seminoles. Today's freshmen are tomorrow's sophomores, and while FSU will still be young enough to take a couple of accidental steps backwards, it is impossible to ignore the number of intriguing players they will have: ends Brandon Jenkins and Bjoern Wener, quarterback E.J. Manuel, young receivers Rashad Greene, Kenny Shaw, etc., a deep (and still young) offensive line, corners Greg Reid and Xavier Rhodes, etc. The Seminoles become bigger, faster and deeper each year.

18. Clemson Tigers. Oh, that defense. Andre Ellington is returning alongside quarterback Tajh Boyd and receiver Sammy Watkins, so Clemson should absolutely be a top-25 team because of the offense alone, but to say the least, they have a lot to prove on the defensive side of the ball. ESPN's Matt Millen and Robert Smith both named the Tigers a top-five team for 2012, and ... yeah. Can't agree with that.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State's defense landed one of its most important recruits Monday without leaving campus when redshirt sophomore cornerback Xavier Rhodes informed football coach Jimbo Fisher that he would be returning for his junior season.

A two-year starter, the tall and talented draft-eligible corner weighed his options carefully before coming to his decision.

"I could have gone and been a second or third round (draft choice) or possibly first round, but that was a risk," Rhodes said. "Why take that risk when if I come back and have the kind of season I can, improve my stock and be a first-rounder?"

Rhodes, whose knee sprain suffered in the Champs Sports Bowl is improving, consulted with his family before opting to rejoin the defense that will return nine starters from one of the nation's top units.

"I talked to my family, including my grandmother [Maudrina Johnson] and they told me I should come back and get my school and improve stock," said Rhodes, who is equally excited about the prospect of playing on a team that will have high hopes after a 9-4 season.

Rhodes' decision comes days after fellow draft-eligible Seminole defenders, defensive end Brandon Jenkins and cornerback Greg Reid, announced they would also be back for the 2012 season.

"I think it's a very mature decision, as far as individual responsibility," Fisher said. "It's huge for our program and gives us continuity in the secondary. .... We'll benefit from having he, Greg (Reid) and Brandon (Jenkins) back and they'll benefit from playing on a very good team - a very good defense - while improving their stock. We're very fortunate."

Rhodes finished the season seventh on the team with 43 tackles, including 36 solo stops, to go along with five passes defended and an interception. That performance came on the heels of the 2010 season when Rhodes earned Freshman All-American honors and was named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Miami native was also selected National Defensive Freshman of the Year by Collegefootballnews.com after racking up 59 tackles and 16 passes defended - including four interceptions - which led all freshmen nationally.

Join us tonight as the top-ranked LSU Tigers (13-0) and the No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1) will meet for the second time in just over two months in the New Orleans Mercedes-Benz.Superdome for the BCS Championship.

LSU won the first encounter 9-6 in overtime, in the battle of field goals made and field goals missed. Alabama's two kickers missed 3 out of 6 attempts and had another blocked, while LSU was 3 for 3 in their FG attempts.

If you are expecting a shootout like what we have seen many times so far during this bowl season, you will probably be disappointed. Both coaches believe tonight's game will be another defensive slug-fest, which is not hard to imagine considering they are the top two defenses in nation. LSU is ranked second allowing only 10.5 points a game and Alabama leads the nation allowing under 9 points a game.

"I expect it to be big-boy football,'' LSU's goofy coach Les Miles said.

"I would like for them to focus on the opportunity, not the pressure part, so that they really are zeroed into the mental practice and the things that when they go out there and play, they're going to be confident in doing their job the way they need to do it to have success,'' said Saban in his best monotone and robotic voice.

So far LSU has shown why they deserve the number one ranking, with wins against two other major bowl winners in Oregon (Rose) and West Virginia (Orange), as well as the win against Alabama. This season LSU beat eight teams ranked in the AP Top 25.

"I thought it was beautiful," Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said of the first game. "That was grown men out there battling. It was the most physical game since I've been at Alabama. It was brutal - the pounding, all the big hits."

Needless to say, both sides are expecting the same defensive type rematch for all the marbles.

Three ways both LSU, Alabama can score in BCS championship rematch by Andy Staples

Kickoff is set for 8:30 PM ET on ESPN.

CLICK DA LINKS BELOW AND JOIN US WHILE WE FOLLOW THE FIRST AND SECOND HALF ACTION.

FIRST HALF THREAD

SECOND HALF THREAD (IF NEEDED)

Welcome back to another edition of 'Noles News. Today's batch is mostly about catching up on the happenings of FSU's opponents, as most of the 'Noles news has been previously reported by us. I also want to remind you to use the recruiting discussion threads. They've been rocking lately.

No front-runner for 2012 ACC race -- yet - ACC Blog - ESPN
I disagree with this, because I think FSU was the best team in the ACC this year. And FSU loses the least important pieces of any top team. Granted, the article is four days old.

NFL luring ACC's top talent - ACC Blog - ESPN
Lots of guys leaving early, but not from FSU. Interesting. I'll have a piece on this later this month.

A reminder: Today's post is brought to you by Kevin Willson. Please help out my cousin in his quest to have his commercial shown on the Super Bowl by voting! It's very funny. He's a young Christian filmmaker who devotes much of his time to filming missionary work all over the world. In the past years he has filmed missionary workers in very dangerous parts of Afghanistan and remote locations in China. Kevin also done documentary filmwork in South America highlighting groups who bring wheelchairs to some of the remote villages in the mountains of Peru. The Doritos Crash the Superbowl Contest goes along way in supporting his other filmmaking endeavors throughout the year! Thanks and spread the word and vote as often as you can! Remember, you can vote multiple times!

Friday mailblog - ACC Blog - ESPN
HD owns idiot VT fan who says FSU's defense sucks because VT scored 40 on them in 2010. Idiot also says Clemson has way more talent than FSU. Basically, full of fail.

Chris in Arlington, Va., by way of Blacksburg writes: Heather, Why do you keep talking of FSU's D? As if it is the measuring stick of great D's? After FSu lost to VT in the ACC champ game in 2010, and 40 dropped on the beloved D, i have no idea why they got so much hype. The same goes for next yr. Yes they have talent, but why would things be different? That talent obviously hasn't gelled? Clemson and VT will have much better D's in my opinion.. Jesus, VT had three starters injured and held Michigan to 189 yards all game. Next yr, they will be even better.... Its not just consistency with VT its player development (play calling is our downfall) and Clemson has WAY more talent than FSU. Why does ESPN love FSU soo much?

Top 5 2011 Florida State moments: No. 1 — Beating the rivals – Chopping Block – Seminoles Blog – Orlando Sentinel

2011 Defensive Alignments - Football Study Hall Defensive base alignments for each FBS football team in 2011.

Clemson tight end Dwayne Allen declares for NFL draft | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Would You Rather Be Clemson'd Or Not? And The Big Finish - BC Interruption
If it meant getting throttled in your program's first BCS bowl game, would you want to see your program win the conference championship?

Post Orange Bowl Sunday Thoughts - Shakin The Southland Shakin wonders what happened to Steele's defense this year, and stresses that Tajh Boyd is not improving.

Jonathan Bullard Commits To Florida Gators - SBNation.com Jonathan Bullard, one of the top defensive ends in the country, has committed to the Florida Gators.

Chomping At Bits: Could Florida Gators Land No. 1 Recruiting Class? - Alligator Army
It's possible given all the room UF has.

Weekend Recruiting Roundup: Canes Add Four More Commitments - The 7th Floor
7th Floor takes a look at the four new commitments Miami landed this weekend. Two of these guys are definitely good (McCord and Bush), while the other two might be good). Depending on the recruiting service, Miami is still bringing in between 61% and 78% of Miami's recruits are rated three-stars or less. That's a great recipe to stay bowl eligible in 2014 or 2015 when the NCAA sanctions are lifted. It's not a way to compete with FSU or UF in state.

Luke Kuechly Declares For NFL Draft - BC Interruption
Buh bye

Frank Spaziani Names Jim Bollman Offensive Line Coach/Running Game Coordinator - BC Interruption
Frank Spaziani has named former Ohio State offensive line and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman to the Boston College football staff to serve as offensive line coach / running game coordinator.

Maryland's Continuing Search for a Defensive Coordinator - Testudo Times
Updating Maryland's turtle-paced defensive coordinator action. Will Todd Bradford be fired? Is anyone in line to replace him?

Penn State fans should not be angry over Bill O'Brien hiring - Andy Staples - SI.com
Penn State is going to be down for a long while. Ohio State and even Pitt will dominate the Pennsylvania recruiting trail.

Mike Dyer has run for his last yard at Auburn. The school is giving its All-SEC runner, 1,000-yard... - Roll 'Bama Roll

Why LSU should be national champs even if they lose...

In 1964, Alabama and LSU met in Birmingham, Alabama as undefeated teams vying for the conference... - Football Study Hall

Over at the SB Nation mothership, The Historical takes a look at this matchup which followed a six-year break in the series between the two storied programs.

The game prior, in 1958, was notable as the first for Paul W. Bryant as head coach of Alabama and the debut of LSU's famed "Chinese Bandits" defense. The Historical examined this game last November.

Interestingly, the 1958 contest was held at Mobile's Ladd Stadium, marking the last time the teams met at a neutral site prior to tonight's BCS National Championship Game.

West Virginia is scheduled to play Florida State on September 8th in Doak Cambell Stadium next season. But according to Jim Lamar of the Tallahassee Democrat, that might not happen:

"Florida State athletics director Randy Spetman told the Democrat on Thursday that West Virginia officials have contacted FSU about the possibility of cancelling the game because of conference realignment. The Mountaineers are trying to make their switch to the Big 12 in time for this fall, and if they do, they might have to buy their way out of the FSU deal because of scheduling conflicts."

Tomahawk Nation had previously reported that many inside the FSU program were not keen on playing the game.

The game was originally a result of a settlement as the ACC raided the Big East of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in 2004. It's unknown how West Virginia's leaving the Big East would impact the settlement.

And for good reason. The BCS system does not reward strong scheduling teams. A prime example is Virginia Tech, which started with a 4-0 record against a non-conference slate of Appalachian State, East Carolina, Arkansas State and Marshall, before finishing 7-2 down the stretch. That performance earned Virginia Tech a bid to the Sugar Bowl.

In 2012, Florida State is already playing Florida, at Virginia Tech, Clemson, at South Florida, at North Carolina State, at Miami, Boston College, at Maryland and Wake Forest. Those nine schools have combined for 40 bowl appearances over the last five years, and are plenty enough schedule strength for Florida State to make a BCS bowl as an at-large bid, should the 'Noles fail to win the ACC.