2008 Florida State Seminoles football team

2008 Florida State Seminoles football
ACC Atlantic Division co-champion
Champs Sports Bowl champion
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Division Atlantic Division
Ranking
Coaches No. 23
AP No. 21
2008 record 9–4 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach Bobby Bowden (33rd year)
Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher (2nd year)
Offensive scheme Pro-style
Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews (25th year)
Base defense 4–3
Captain Drew Weatherford
Home stadium Doak Campbell Stadium
(Capacity: 82,300)
2008 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Atlantic Division
Boston College xy   5 3         9 5  
#21 Florida State x   5 3         9 4  
Maryland   4 4         8 5  
Wake Forest   4 4         8 5  
Clemson   4 4         7 6  
NC State   4 4         6 7  
Coastal Division
#15 Virginia Tech xy$   5 3         10 4  
#22 Georgia Tech x   5 3         9 4  
North Carolina   0 4         0 5  
Miami   4 4         7 6  
Virginia   3 5         5 7  
Duke   1 7         4 8  

Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 12
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
  • North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. It was Florida State's 17th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The Seminoles were without as many as 12 scholarship players for the first three games of the season because of suspensions carrying over from the previous season for violating team rules, although it has not been disclosed how many of those were involved with an academic cheating scandal at the school.[1][2] Junior wide receiver Preston Parker was suspended for the first two games of the season, after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges.[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR 24 NR NR NR NR 24 16 24 20 NR 23 NR NR 21 
Coaches' NR NR NR 25 NR NR NR NR 23 16 24 19 NR 24 NR NR 23 
Harris Not released NR NR NR NR 23 18 24 20 RV 23 NR NR Not released 
BCS Not released 25 15 22 19 NR 20 24 NR NR Not released

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 6 6:00 p.m. Western Carolina* Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL SUN PPV W 69–0   73,024
September 13 3:45 p.m. Chattanooga* Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL ESPNU W 46–7   71,596
September 20 7:00 p.m. No. 18 Wake Forest No. 25 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL ESPN2 L 3–12   79,235
September 27 3:30 p.m. vs. Colorado* Jacksonville Municipal StadiumJacksonville, FL (River City Showdown) ABC W 39–21   46,716
October 4 3:30 p.m. at Miami (FL) Dolphin StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Rivalry) ABC/ESPN2 W 41–39   65,786
October 16 7:30 PM at NC State Carter–Finley StadiumRaleigh, NC ESPN W 26–17   56,643
October 25 3:30 PM Virginia Tech No. 23 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL ABC W 30–20   81,876
November 1 3:30 p.m. at Georgia Tech No. 16 Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA ABC L 28–31   53,528
November 8 3:30 p.m. Clemson No. 24 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL (Rivalry) ABC W 41–27   77,013
November 15 8:00 p.m. Boston Collegedagger No. 19 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL ABC L 17–27   79,792
November 22 7:45 p.m. at No. 23 Maryland Byrd StadiumCollege Park, MD ESPN W 37–3   51,620
November 29 3:30 p.m. No. 4 Florida* No. 24 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL (Rivalry) ABC/ESPN2 L 15–45   83,237
December 27 4:30 p.m. vs. Wisconsin* Citrus BowlOrlando, FL (Champs Sports Bowl) ESPN W 42–13   52,692
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

Recruits

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40 Commit date
A.J. Alexander
ATH
Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 4.4 Jan 28, 2008 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Travis Arnold
DB
Madison, Florida Madison HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 4.6 Jul 20, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Nigel Bradham
LB
Crawfordville, Florida Wakulla HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 4.6 Apr 15, 2007 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Nigel Carr
LB
Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 4.5 Apr 15, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Avis Commack
WR
Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 4.5 May 24, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Andrew Datko
OL
Fort Lauderdale, Florida St. Thomas Aquinas HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 5.3 Oct 29, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Everett Dawkins
DE
Duncan, South Carolina Byrnes HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 142 lb (64 kg) 4.7 Nov 17, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Garrett Faircloth
OL
Jacksonville, Florida Bolles HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 260 lb (120 kg) N/A Jan 24, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Jarmon Fortson
ATH
Columbus, Georgia Carver HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 4.6 Feb 6, 2008 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Josh Gehres
WR
Tallahassee, Florida Lincoln HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.5 Jan 28, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Anthony Hill
DT
Pensacola, Florida Pensacola HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 300 lb (140 kg) 4.9 Feb 16, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Ed Imeokparia
ATH
Blairstown, New Jersey Blair Academy HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 4.4 Feb 6, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Carlton Jones
RB
Tampa, Florida Middleton HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 215 lb (98 kg) N/A Feb 6, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Jabaris Little
TE
Tallahassee, Florida Lincoln HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 240 lb (110 kg) 4.6 May 23, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Kyle Long
OL
Charlottesville, Virginia St. Anne's-Belfield HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 280 lb (130 kg) 5.0 May 5, 2008 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 81
E.J. Manuel
QB
Virginia Beach, Virginia Bayside HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.6 Jun 27, 2007 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 82
Anthony McCloud
DT
Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 295 lb (134 kg) N/A Feb 6, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Moses McCray
DT
Tampa, Florida Hillsborough HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 268 lb (122 kg) 4.9 May 2, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Nick Moody
LB
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Roman Catholic HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 4.5 Apr 17, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Terrance Parks
DB
Fairburn, Georgia Creekside HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 4.4 Jul 19, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Tavares Pressley
RB
Torrance, California El Camino College 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.4 Nov 27, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Bo Reliford
TE
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Dillard HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 4.8 May 30, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Zebrie Sanders
OL
Clayton, Ohio Northmont HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 273 lb (124 kg) 5.3 Jan 20, 2008 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Rhonne Sanderson
OL
Tampa, Florida Plant HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 280 lb (130 kg) N/A Jan 29, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 75
Debrale Smiley
RB
Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 4.7 Feb 6, 2008 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Blake Snider
OL
Heflin, AL Cleburne County HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 282 lb (128 kg) N/A Feb 4, 2008 
Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
David Spurlock
OL
Murfreesboro, Tennessee Riverdale HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 280 lb (130 kg) N/A Dec 9, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Toshmon Stevens
DE
Crescent City, Florida Crescent City HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 4.6 Jul 31, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Corey Surrency
WR
Torrance, California El Camino College 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 4.5 Oct 21, 2007 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Jermaine Thomas
RB
Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.4 Apr 23, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Joe Tonga
OL
Walnut, California Mt. San Antonio College 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 304 lb (138 kg) 5.4 Aug 4, 2008 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Markus White
DE
El Dorado, Kansas Butler Community College 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 4.5 Dec 10, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Vincent Williams
LB
Davenport, Florida Ridge HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 4.8 Apr 18, 2007 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Game Capsules

Please Note

Western Carolina (1–0)

Pregame Line: Lines are not released when an FCS team plays an FBS team.

1 2 3 4 Total
Western Carolina 0 0 0 0 0
Florida State 7 21 27 14 69

The start of the game was delayed almost an hour and a half due to lightning in the area, and then almost another hour during the 1st quarter. The first player to touch the ball for FSU, to start the 2008 season, was Tony Carter who promptly returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and the game's first score. Sophomore Christian Ponder started his first game at quarterback. Ponder completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns. At the start of the second drive in the second half (when FSU was up 35–0), sophomore D'Vontrey Richardson came into the game. Richardson went 5 for 6 through the air with one touchdown and also had two rushing touchdowns, one for over 50 yards. With several players serving suspensions due to the school wide "academic scandal" (several students and athletes were caught sharing answers in an online music class), the Seminoles had 28 freshman play in the game. Two of those freshman had touchdowns in the victory over the Catamounts.[4]

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (1–1)

Pregame Line: Lines are not released when an FCS team plays an FBS team.

1 2 3 4 Total
Tennessee-Ch 7 0 0 0 7
Florida State 21 9 9 7 46

In his second start as a collegiate athlete, Christian Ponder threw for 183 yards and three first-half touchdowns before being relieved by D'vontrey Richardson in the 3rd quarter. Richardson threw for 117 yards with one touchdown. Richardson also had a 55-yard rushing touchdown, the longest scoring run for a quarterback in the school's history. The previous record was held by Richardson himself, set in the previous week with a 52-yard touchdown run. Junior Wide Receiver, Corey Surrency, led Florida State in receiving with 87 yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions. Florida State's defense allowed their first score of the season after a 62-yard passing touchdown thrown by Chattanooga quarterback Tony Pastore. This was also the first score by Chattanooga against Florida State all-time, dating back to 1984, the only previous meeting between the two schools in which the Seminoles won in a shutout by 37 points.[5]

#18 Wake Forest (2–1)

Pregame Line: Florida State −4

1 2 3 4 Total
#18 Wake Forest 3 0 6 3 12
#25 Florida State 0 0 3 0 3

Defense, kicking game help No. 18 Wake Forest clip No. 24 (AP Poll) Florida State

Colorado (3–0)

Pregame Line: Florida State −6

1 2 3 4 Total
Colorado 7 0 0 14 21
Florida State 7 12 6 14 39

This game was played in Jacksonville, Florida with Florida State as the home team. This was Bobby Bowden's 500th Career Game.

Bowden gets Florida State past Colorado in 500th game

@ Miami (2–2)

Pregame Line: Miami −2.5

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida State 7 17 10 7 41
Miami 0 3 19 17 39

FSU dumps Miami behind Smith's career-best four TDs

@ N.C. State (2–4)

Pregame Line: Pick 'em

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida State 0 6 7 13 26
N.C. State 3 7 0 7 17

Florida State rides Ponder, Smith past N.C. State

Virginia Tech (5–2)

Pregame Line: Florida State −6

1 2 3 4 Total
Virginia Tech 10 3 0 7 20
#25 Florida State 0 10 14 6 30

Carr sets up two TDs in third quarter as No. 25 FSU rallies

@ Georgia Tech (6–2)

Pregame Line: Georgia Tech −1.5

1 2 3 4 Total
#15 Florida State 10 10 0 8 28
Georgia Tech 3 21 7 0 31

Georgia Tech snaps 0–12 skid against Florida State

Clemson (4–4)

Pregame Line: Florida State −7

1 2 3 4 Total
Clemson 10 7 3 7 27
#22 Florida State 10 10 7 14 41

FSU bowl eligible for 27th straight season on Bowden's birthday

Boston College (6–3)

Pregame Line: Florida State −7

1 2 3 4 Total
Boston College 14 0 10 3 27
#19 Florida State 0 10 0 7 17

One day prior to the game, Florida State suspended Wide Receivers Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Cameron Wade and Richard Goodman for their roles in an on-campus altercation with members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Florida State's student union.[6][7]

Boston College upends No. 19 Florida State day after five wideouts suspended

@ #25 Maryland (7–3)

Pregame Line: Maryland −1

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida State 0 21 3 13 37
#25 Maryland 0 0 3 0 3

Myron Rolle, Florida State's starting safety, was interviewed in Birmingham, Alabama at noon for the Rhodes Scholarship. At 5:00, he received the call that he was accepted. He flew in a private jet to Washington, D.C. and had a police escort take him to the game in College Park, Maryland. He arrived at the stadium around 8:30pm (with 11:55 left in the 2nd quarter). He dressed out in the locker room and walked onto the field to the roar of the Florida State visitor section with 6:23 left in the 2nd quarter. After stretching out, he made his game debut with 1:30 left in the 1st half. At the end of the game, his teammates showered him with a bucket of ice water in 26 degree weather, an act usually reserved for the head coach. He is the first Florida State player to ever have the "ice water shower".

Maryland picked apart by unranked Florida State

#4 Florida (10–1)

Pregame Line: Florida −16.5

1 2 3 4 Total
#4 Florida 14 14 10 7 45
#20 Florida State 3 6 6 0 15

Florida wins 8th straight while continuing dominance in intrastate rivalry

Wisconsin (7–5)

Pregame Line:

1 2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin 0 3 3 7 13
Florida State 0 14 14 14 42

Ponder powers Seminoles' offense, defense routs Badgers

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final
AP 31 30 28 24 41 35 34 29 24 16 24 20 31 23 29 28 21
Coaches 30 31 28 25 NR 32 30 28 23 16 24 19 29 24 29 28 23
Harris Not released 30 30 29 23 18 24 20 28 23 29 28
BCS Not released 25 15 22 19 NR 20 24 NR

Statistics

Team

Team Opp
Scoring  157  40
  Points per Game  39.25  10
First Downs  24  12
  Rushing  11  3
  Passing  12  6
  Penalty  1  3
Total Offense  561  176
  Avg per Play  9.8  3.0
  Avg per Game  561  176
Fumbles-Lost  2–0  3–1
Penalties-Yards  8–58  6–37
  Avg per Game  58  37
Team Opp
Punts-Yards  2–93  8–272
  Avg per Punt  46.5  34
Time of Possession/Game  27:44  32:16
3rd Down Conversions  3  3
4th Down Conversions  0  0
Touchdowns Scored  10  0
Field Goals-Attempts-Long  0–1–0  0–1–0
PAT-Attempts  9–10  0–0
Attendance  73024  0
  Games/Avg per Game  1/73024  0/0

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida State 62 95 83 83 323
Opponents 43 41 35 55 174

Projected 2008 Depth Chart

Offensive
Defense
Special Teams

References

External links

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