The Tailgate Blog: Live from Doak Campbell Stadium
Florida State's Dan Hicks, right and Bjoern Werner sack Samford's Dustin Taliaferro in the third quarter of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 in Tallahassee, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon)
TALLY, Fla. — I almost typed Campus Corner. But that’s not where I am. Quick, whirlwind kind of trip here, but it’s been good. Great atmosphere this afternoon on a hot North Florida day. Lot of Sooners fans here, though I noticed some missed the memo to wear white. So differentiating the shades of red might be a bit tricky tonight.
Man, I am excited to see this game. We’ve talked and talked about it, for two weeks because of the bye. I’m hopeful this will be one to live up to the hype, and I suspect it might. Two really good teams. Two teams that very well could wind up in the BCS, assuming FSU could get by Virginia Tech in the ACC title game.
Keys to the game, and some of this stuff is purely a re-run …
** Landry Jones has to have time. If he does not, and FSU hits him early, it could get interesting. I want to see, very much, how Landry handles this game and this environment. I suspect most of the time he will have time, but he will see some heat from this front four. The Seminoles specialize in coverage sacks, so let’s see how FSU is covering early in the game.
Keep an eye, in particular, on Bjoern Werner vs. either Lane Johnson or Daryl Williams. (I still sort of doubt Williams plays, saw him in boot Thursday. But we’ll see.) Donald Stephenson vs. Brandon Jenkins is also vital. How much time will Landry have? I like OU’s guards and Ben Habern protecting up the gut, but the tackles have to be a concern.
** Furthering the point, how will the Seminoles cover OU’s fleet-footed fleet of receivers – and, of course, Ryan Broyles in particular. Will the speed at which OU plays affect FSU the same way it did a year ago? I suspect not as much, but there’s a lot to account for. I thought FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said it well this week when he said it’s not just OU’s speed of running a play — it’s how well the Sooners do once they run it. It’s about execution, as well.
