Written by Shawn Davison
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL: Take it from someone who just finished off a Masters Degree: Final Exam week is the WORST. You’re worn down, both physically and mentally, you’ve made it through all of your previous assignments and tests - perhaps enduring the occasional setback, and yet, you have to bear down one more time for the most important test of the semester. The final exam can alter how you look back on your entire body of work. And now, for the Florida State Seminoles, their final exam has arrived in the form of the Capital One Orange Bowl.
For the Seminoles, the roller coaster ride that has been their 2016 campaign has nonetheless led them to yet a fifth consecutive New Years Six bowl, a streak that began with an appearance and victory in the Orange Bowl following the 2012 season. They’ve soared as highly as #2, they’ve dropped as low as 23rd, and now, they sit 11th. Along the way, however, something has changed. Through all the dips, the flips, and the turns, they became battle-tested, and as Jimbo Fisher said after a resounding 31-13 victory over in-state rival Florida to close the regular season, one of the hottest teams in the country.
The final exam is usually the toughest, and that is especially true for the ‘Noles Offense, who will undoubtedly encounter their toughest test of the season in the Wolverines’ Defense, which is ranked as the second-best in the nation. The centerpiece of that defense is their star who has seen playing time in a variety of roles, notably linebacker, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Jabrill Peppers.
“He’s a great player,” said FSU running back Dalvin Cook. “We know that he’s going to come to play in that game, so we’ve just got to match that intensity.”
Randy Sanders, FSU’s co-offensive coordinator, added, “His versatility is one of the things that jumps out at you on tape. He’s not a real big guy, but he’s not small, plays close to the ball, plays a fairly physical position, and really plays linebacker.”
Peppers was not made available to the media this morning. Like Peppers at the linebacker spot, the Wolverines’ secondary, led by senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis, has also been impressive.
“Jourdan Lewis is an awesome player,” said Travis Rudolph - who will likely match up against him on Friday night. “He makes a lot of plays on the ball, and his stats speaks for itself…They're (the UM secondary) very physical. They're going to put your hands on you, and you've just got to play strong.”
Their coordinator is Don Brown, a former head coach at UMass, and most recently, a former Defensive Coordinator at Boston College. When asked how much his experience against FSU will carry over to their matchup on Friday, Brown said, “I think there's a lot you can take. I'll tell you what now; playing against Jameis Winston was always a challenge, and we knew we had our hands full, and you had to go about your business in different ways. I just was talking about it, I think Coach Fisher does an unbelievable job getting those guys to throw the ball to the right guy based on what coverage you're in and based on what the quarterback is getting. You're not going to fool him.”
“Well, I think obviously he has a really good scheme,” said Sanders. “He understands the scheme. He understands how you're going to attack the things he does, and then he's been doing it long enough he knows the answers to what you're going to counter with…You look at them statistically and they're top one or two or three at almost everything, and the ones they aren't, they're like 12th or something. It's ridiculous what they've been able to accomplish.”
“The whole defense is really good. You look at the front, the linebackers, we spent more time watching the secondary, but they've got NFL guys,” added FSU’s other co-offensive coordinator, Lawrence Dawsey. “No doubt about it. They've got guys that will be playing on Sunday if they stay healthy… You've got to be able to mix it up with their guys because this is going to be a physical football game.”
To do that, the Seminoles will need the best performance of the season out of their O-Line, continued poise on behalf of Deondre Francois, continued growth in their young receivers like Auden Tate and Nyqwan Murray, and for Dalvin Cook to be…Dalvin Cook.
When these two marquee programs meet on the gridiron on Friday for the first time since 1991, it would seem that this will certainly be the most intriguing and most important matchup of the night.
For the Seminoles, the roller coaster ride that has been their 2016 campaign has nonetheless led them to yet a fifth consecutive New Years Six bowl, a streak that began with an appearance and victory in the Orange Bowl following the 2012 season. They’ve soared as highly as #2, they’ve dropped as low as 23rd, and now, they sit 11th. Along the way, however, something has changed. Through all the dips, the flips, and the turns, they became battle-tested, and as Jimbo Fisher said after a resounding 31-13 victory over in-state rival Florida to close the regular season, one of the hottest teams in the country.
The final exam is usually the toughest, and that is especially true for the ‘Noles Offense, who will undoubtedly encounter their toughest test of the season in the Wolverines’ Defense, which is ranked as the second-best in the nation. The centerpiece of that defense is their star who has seen playing time in a variety of roles, notably linebacker, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Jabrill Peppers.
“He’s a great player,” said FSU running back Dalvin Cook. “We know that he’s going to come to play in that game, so we’ve just got to match that intensity.”
Randy Sanders, FSU’s co-offensive coordinator, added, “His versatility is one of the things that jumps out at you on tape. He’s not a real big guy, but he’s not small, plays close to the ball, plays a fairly physical position, and really plays linebacker.”
Peppers was not made available to the media this morning. Like Peppers at the linebacker spot, the Wolverines’ secondary, led by senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis, has also been impressive.
“Jourdan Lewis is an awesome player,” said Travis Rudolph - who will likely match up against him on Friday night. “He makes a lot of plays on the ball, and his stats speaks for itself…They're (the UM secondary) very physical. They're going to put your hands on you, and you've just got to play strong.”
Their coordinator is Don Brown, a former head coach at UMass, and most recently, a former Defensive Coordinator at Boston College. When asked how much his experience against FSU will carry over to their matchup on Friday, Brown said, “I think there's a lot you can take. I'll tell you what now; playing against Jameis Winston was always a challenge, and we knew we had our hands full, and you had to go about your business in different ways. I just was talking about it, I think Coach Fisher does an unbelievable job getting those guys to throw the ball to the right guy based on what coverage you're in and based on what the quarterback is getting. You're not going to fool him.”
“Well, I think obviously he has a really good scheme,” said Sanders. “He understands the scheme. He understands how you're going to attack the things he does, and then he's been doing it long enough he knows the answers to what you're going to counter with…You look at them statistically and they're top one or two or three at almost everything, and the ones they aren't, they're like 12th or something. It's ridiculous what they've been able to accomplish.”
“The whole defense is really good. You look at the front, the linebackers, we spent more time watching the secondary, but they've got NFL guys,” added FSU’s other co-offensive coordinator, Lawrence Dawsey. “No doubt about it. They've got guys that will be playing on Sunday if they stay healthy… You've got to be able to mix it up with their guys because this is going to be a physical football game.”
To do that, the Seminoles will need the best performance of the season out of their O-Line, continued poise on behalf of Deondre Francois, continued growth in their young receivers like Auden Tate and Nyqwan Murray, and for Dalvin Cook to be…Dalvin Cook.
When these two marquee programs meet on the gridiron on Friday for the first time since 1991, it would seem that this will certainly be the most intriguing and most important matchup of the night.