The Numbers Have Not Counted The Seminoles Out Yet

By Maria del Pilar Langman on November 5, 2015

As the numbers do not count us out yet, I will never lose hope in my Florida State Seminoles. As you may already know, the Noles are far from being at Top 4 in the NCAA college football ranking, putting playoffs and even the ACC Championship game out of the picture at the moment. But… (I love it when there are “if’s” and “but’s” in a story cause they sort of give out that vibe that anything could happen) THE NUMBERS HAVE NOT COUNTED THEM OUT YET.

The Seminoles have a chance to redeem themselves this upcoming Saturday when they travel to the Death Valley to try to beat the (currently) Nº1 ranked Clemson Tigers. Great team, explosive offense, fearless defense, but not unbeatable.

Truth to be told, the Seminoles are not the same team they were two years ago when they went undefeated to win the National Championship. Certainly, Everett Golson nor Sean McGuire are James Winston, but who says battles and wars are won by a single individual? More so, I think they are conquered by a group of them. Sure, the Noles are not the same team, but they are coached by the same coaches, drawn in the same beliefs, and driven by the same spirit: the SEMINOLE spirit.

As a Senior at Florida State, I have witness only four losses in a period of four years; a pretty good record, I would say. The Seminoles lost two regular season games in 2012 with Quarterback EJ Manuel under center (against NC State Wolfpacks and the Florida Gators), one playoff game last year (2014) with James Winston under center to give away the pass to the National Championship against Oregon, and one regular season game this year (2015) against Georgia Tech with Everett Golson as starting Quarterback… Only four losses, and I do not think I am up for a 5th one.

Among the Seminoles’s most prominent historical rival teams there are: the University of Florida Gators, the University of Miami Hurricanes, and surprisingly to some people, the Clemson Tigers. This Saturday, the Florida State football team will play one of, if not THE most important game of their season. A game that will define rankings,championship passes, the playoff picture and more. So, for all those people out there who still believe in the Seminoles and what they can do, I will leave you with five quick facts that will fuel your spirit, strengthen your hopes, and get you hyped for this upcoming Saturday:

1. At this time last year, when the first official prediction of the 2014 playoffs was released, you know who was ranked 16th? Ohio State, OHIO DAMN STATE, the team that ended up bringing home the 2014 National Champions title. You know who is ranked 16th this year? THE NOLES… let’s just say that anything can happen; I am trying to be optimistic over here you know.

2. Under Jimbo Fisher’s time at FSU, the Tigers and the Noles have faced each other seven times. Out of which the Seminoles have won five, leaving the tigers with only two wins.

3. “Clemson is 0-3 against Florida State and 25-1 against the rest of the ACC” (http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/87814/acc-upset-watch-can-clemson-ace-its-florida-state-test). In other words, I think the Tigers FEAR THE SPEAR.

4. We may not have James Winston, or Rashad Green, or Nick O’Leary, but we have to look at what we DO have, and to consider that sometimes we overestimate the ability of our current warriors. Travis Rudolph’s stats are very close to Rashad’s stats when he was a player at FSU… “Rudolph has a slightly better reception percentage (68.6 percent to Greene’s 66.7 percent), is close in yards-per-catch (14.7 for Greene, 14.3 for Rudolph), has a higher rate of catches going for first downs (65.7 percent compared with Greene’s 58.6 percent) and has a 6 to 4 advantage in touchdown grabs” (http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/87653/acc-week-9-stats-wrap-deshaun-watson-states-heisman-case). So yeah, add to that: Dalvin Cook and Jacques Patrick on the ground, and I do not know about you, but I think the Noles are set to go.

5. “The winner of this game has taken the division in each of the past six years” (http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/87751/acc-playoff-tracker-nov-4-2015). This game will much likely define who will attend the ACC Championship from the Atlantic side. Both teams are playing their biggest opponent left in their season schedules; they both have something to lose, and they both have a desire to win.

So mark my words, it is going to be hell of a great game… with Everett Golson and Dalvin Cook back in practice, a team that is probably more focused than ever after that terrible loss against the Yellow Jackets, and over 40,000 students, over 10,000 staff members, and quite a few fans here and there that want them to be successful, I feel that the Seminoles are ready to bring the Tigers down.

But since I can not predict the future, I will just sit here with my fingers crossed, and I will send my heart over to Death Valley, so I can feel I am there with the Seminoles.

#BeatClemson

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