Sugar Bowl national championship game:
Virginia Tech vs. Florida State, Tues., Jan. 4 at New Orleans, La.
Florida State has finished with a top-four ranking every year this decade and currently
owns the best talent in all of college football. Last year the Seminoles made it to the
national championship game with a third-string quarterback. Nobody has better team speed
than FSU, which played a tougher schedule than Virginia Tech and went undefeated. Florida
State starts an experienced 27-year-old quarterback, while Virginia Tech’s starter is
a redshirt freshman. So on paper, picking this game should be a no-brainer. Give the
Seminoles the trophy and congratulate the Hokies for coming this far.
Not so fast.
Despite the Seminoles’ perfect record, they have underachieved this season. They
were sloppy and undisciplined at times, never really established a consistent running game
and have a less-than-mobile quarterback playing behind a shaky offensive line.
Although the Seminoles have finished in the top four in 12 consecutive seasons and had
the most talent in college football in at least half of those, they have just one national
title. While the Hokies may have been a well-kept secret going into this year, scouts who
saw them last season and this spring raved about their talent and team speed.
In second-year freshman QB Michael Vick, the Hokies’ have a left-handed cross
between Donovan McNabb and Major Harris. Frank Beamer is a great college football coach
who has really grown with his job. The Hokies’ special teams have always been special
under Beamer, and they do all the little and big things to win.
The Hokies also have the half-dozen or so difference-makers a team needs to win the
championship, with Vick, WR André Davis and RB Shyrone Stith on offense and DE Corey
Moore, CB Ike Charlton and DE-DT John Engelberger on defense. Unlike Florida State, which
often underachieves, the Hokies rarely let up and have a take-no-prisoners approach to the
game. If you don’t think they will go for the throat, just ask Miami and Syracuse.
Quarterbacks — Vick is really, really special. He is a terrific
runner, operates the option well and is a talented passer with a powerful left arm. He
throws balls 55 yards totally flat-footed and does things that can’t be coached.
Plus, he can consistently turn busted and bad plays into big plays with his athleticism
and ability to improvise. FSU’s Chris Weinke is a former pro baseball player with
ideal size and an NFL arm, but he tends to try to force the ball to WR Peter Warrick too
much, is not nearly as accurate as you would think and has very limited mobility. The
"X" factor could be how Vick handles the long buildup to this game and going
over a month without playing a game. Edge: Virginia Tech.
Running backs — The Seminoles have a group of talented runners
headed by Travis Minor, but they really have not made much of a commitment to the running
game. FB Dan Kendra is a former quarterback who is just an average blocker and runner, but
he does catch the ball well and can be useful on trick plays. For Virginia Tech, Stith is
a Robert Newhouse, bowling-ball type of runner with power and acceleration who goes
north-south most of the time. Jarrett Ferguson is an underrated and undersized fullback.
The backups are talented and can fill in without much drop-off. Edge: Virginia Tech.
Receivers — The things that put FSU’s Warrick in a class by
himself are his unreal ability to run after the catch and his versatility. Warrick is the
best runner, receiver and running quarterback the Seminoles have and will line up under
center from time to time. Ron Dugans is a solid possession receiver and one of six
Seminoles receivers with NFL potential. Davis, a sophomore for the Hokies, is a top deep
threat with nice size and sprinter’s speed. Senior Ricky Hall and sophomore Emmett
Johnson split time at split end, and both are big targets with good speed and ability.
Hall is probably the better runner after the catch. Edge: Florida State.
Offensive linemen — If FSU has an Achilles’ heel,
this is it. The Seminoles’ big tackles lack consistency, and while OG Jason Whitaker
has won a lot of honors because he is such a good, hard-working overachiever, better
athletes can expose him. The center position has been a problem too. For Tech, C Keith
Short is a little undersized and may need help with the FSU defensive tackles, but he is a
good player and the leader of the line. Most of the players around Short are also a little
undersized, but they are pretty athletic and fit the offense well. Edge: Even.
Defensive linemen — FSU has a great All-America defensive tackle
in Corey Simon and a very good one in Jerry Johnson. Simon plays with unusual strength and
power, yet he moves around like a linebacker. Johnson has even better weight-room figures
than Simon but does not play as strong or as well. Johnson can still can be a force,
though. On the outside, DRE Jamal Reynolds has rare speed, and DLE Roland Seymour is
generally solid. Virginia Tech’s Moore may be the best college football player in the
country. He has rare quickness, speed and a feel for the pass rush, and although he is
just 5-11 and 220 pounds, he knows how to play with leverage and power. Engleberger is a
true tough guy with execeptional speed who will play tackle and end. DTs Carl Bradley and
Nathaniel Williams are solid players, and the Hokies have good depth with Chris Cyrus
playing end when Engelberger moves inside. Edge: Even.
Linebackers — Tech’s inside ’backers, Jamel Smith and
Michael Hawkes, do not have great height or athleticism, and Smith may not run a good
40-yard-dash time, but they are both lights-out hitters who make plays and like the
physical part of the game. OLB Ben Taylor is more athletic and may have the most upside,
but he lacks the experience the others have. For FSU, Tommy Polley is starting to turn
into an impact player and has the size the pros like on the outside. Edge: Even.
Defensive backs — FSU has six or seven defensive backs who could
end up in the NFL, and at least one scouting combine rated CB Mario Edwards as the best
player at his position and gave him a first-round grade. However, Edwards sort of
symbolizes this group in the fact that he has all the tools (size, speed, athleticism and
man-on-man cover ability) and can look and play like an All-American but also suffers
numerous lapses and gives up way too many big plays. Both safeties, Sean Key and Derrick
Gibson, have CB speed, and junior CB Tay Cody has started since he was a freshman. The
Hokies’ Charlton has made an incredible number of big plays this year and is very
physical. So is Tech’s other corner, Anthony Midget, who at times will move inside.
The safeties, Nick Sorensen and Cory Bird, have had their problems at times and must have
steady games for the Hokies to succeed. Edge: Florida State.
Special teams — Nobody puts more into or gets more out of
special teams than the Hokies, who have blocked more kicks than any team in America under
Beamer. They also have a fine kicker in Shayne Graham, a solid punter in Jimmy Kibble and
a group of good return men. FSU has the best placekicker in the college game in Sebastian
Janikowski, who has incredible range and specializes in non-returnable kickoffs. Warrick
is as dangerous as any return man in the country. However, the Seminoles are not always
that disciplined when it comes to covering kicks. Edge: Virginia Tech.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Florida State 26 (if Vick can handle the
hype) |
