SBNation.com User Blog: onebarrelrum

Tomahawk Nation Pick'em Winners!

onebarrelrum — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 01:47:18 -0000

FTC disclosure: This contest is sponsored by Gameday Depot and SB Nation.

Exclusive offer for Tomahawk Nation readers! Free standard shipping on all orders over $25 all the way through Christmas. Use coupon code SBNSHIP. Shop now!

First, thanks to everyone who participated in the 2012 Tomahawk Nation College Football Pick 'Em Pool this year. And congratulations to both xnole95, who won this week's $10 gift certificate and to elchuque, who finished first for the entire season and wins the $50 gift certificate.

Winners, look for a confirmation email with instructions on how to claim your prizes. If you don't respond within three business days, the rules require us to award the prize to the next person on the list.

Congrats again and look for the pick'em contest against next year.You can view the full standings at Fun Office Pools.

Tomahawk Nation BlogPoll: Week 14

onebarrelrum — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 01:08:56 -0000

This is not a power poll. I don't attempt to rank teams based on how good I think they are. I only rank teams based on their resume. What have they done? Not how talented are their players or what other polls project them to do, but what have they done? The poll is designed to be dynamic. I try to start from scratch every week.

Notes: Sadly, last ranking of the season. However, hoozah! Last ranking of the season! Notre Dame and Alabama with the top spots. The 13th game for Bama and win over Georgia is a enough for them to jump two spots to second. Florida State's win over Georgia Tech doesn't move them up. Perhaps if the 'Noles doubled the first half score and squashed the Jackets, they move up a spot or two. As for Ohio State, I think next year we will exclude teams that are disqualified from being ranked in the BCS.

Tomahawk Nation Ballot - Week 14

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	2
3	Florida Gators	-1
4	Oregon Ducks	1
5	Ohio St. Buckeyes	1
6	Georgia Bulldogs	-3
7	Kansas St. Wildcats	--
8	Stanford Cardinal	2
9	LSU Tigers	-1
10	Texas A&M Aggies	-1
11	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
12	Oklahoma Sooners	--
13	Florida St. Seminoles	--
14	Clemson Tigers	--
15	Oregon St. Beavers	1
16	Northwestern Wildcats	4
17	Louisville Cardinals	--
18	UCLA Bruins	-1
19	Nebraska Cornhuskers	-4
20	Michigan Wolverines	-1
21	Vanderbilt Commodores	--
22	Northern Illinois Huskies	--
23	San Jose St. Spartans	2
24	Utah State Aggies	--
25	Kent St. Golden Flashes	-2
Dropouts: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma St. Cowboys, Rutgers Scarlet Knights

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

Orange Bowl: Florida State vs Northern Illinois

onebarrelrum — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:58:59 -0000

The Orange Bowl match-up got interesting after NIU received high rankings in the Coaches Poll Sunday. Once believed to be an ACC/Big East lock, it will be the Northern Illinois Huskies playing the Florida State Seminoles in Miami.

The Huskies needed some help to get there. For a non-AQ team to earn an automatic berth to the BCS, two conditions must be met. First, the team must be ranked in the top 16. Second, that team must be ranked higher than any of the AQ conference champions. Louisville, despite being the Big East champions at 10-2, did not finish in the top 16 of the BCS.

To make the jump from 21 in last week's BCS rankings, NIU needed space in the top 16, help from the human polls, and a boost in the computers.They got all three. Sunday, the Huskies jumped two spots in the Coaches Poll to 16. Saturday, Nebraska got absolutely demolished in the B1G Championship (70 points allowed), bouncing them out. NIU got a boost from the computers by beating 11-1 Kent State in their conference championship. Thus, an automatic BCS bid for the MAC was born.

Louisville, the previous front runner for the Orange, became the best choice for the Sugar. Oklahoma gets knocked from a BCS at large bid for the Sugar. They don't call them BCS busters for nothing. That means a UF-Louisville match-up in the Sugar Bowl.

Both schools will be dealing with coaching turnover. Florida State assistant coaches are deciding to stay or go following the departure of defensive coordinator Mark Stoops. Northern Illinois' now former head coach, Dave Doeren, has accepted the head coaching job at NC State.

This is not a sure win for Florida State, though perhaps much more so than other possible opponents. NIU finishes the year 12-1. Their only loss, a 18-17 game against Iowa, on the road. Their only AQ victory was a 30-23 win over Kansas. They did, however, improve a lot throughout the season.

Update: It's official. Florida State finishes ranked 12th in the Final BCS rankings. Northern Illinois finishes ranked 15th.

FSU Avoids Epic Collapse in Charlotte, Beats GT 21-15

onebarrelrum — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 04:18:22 -0000

Florida State wins the ACC Championship in the ugliest fashion possible. After racing to a 21-6 first half lead, the 'Noles were shut out in the remaining two quarters. Turnovers on offense, two by senior QB EJ Manuel and one from RS freshman Kelvin Benjamin, gave life to a Georgia Tech team that otherwise would have been put away early. One of those turnovers, a fumble by Manuel, took away one of the few opportunities to put points on the board via a field goal.

The defense, in Mark Stoops' final game, saved the game by forcing field goals and only allowing one touchdown drive by a good Georgia Tech offense. The game wasn't over until Karlos Williams made an excellent play on a ball to seal the game with an interception. An improbable win for Tech and an equally horrible loss by FSU was averted.

Player of the game went to James Wilder. However, Mario Edwards Jr should earn, at minimum, honorable mention. He wasn't perfect but did a very good job with starting reps against a good offense. It was an ugly, ugly half of football for Florida State, not putting away another inferior opponent. But this time, against the option, the 'Noles held off Georgia Tech for a trip to the Orange Bowl. The 'Noles will likely face Teddy Bridgewater and the Louisville Cardinals.

Numbers:

Florida State racked up just over 200 yards in the first half. They ended the game with 328.

Florida State was 3 of 8 on 3rd down. Georgia Tech was 4 of 15 however 4 of 4 on 4th down.

Florida State only WR of note: Rashad Greene, 9 receptions for 81 yards.

Wilder ran 69 yards on 10 carries and Freeman added 59 on 13 carries.

Florida State Seminoles vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Gameday Central

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 02:56:27 -0000

Losing hurts. Losing at home on senior night hurts more. Losing at home on senior night to a hated rival? Yeah, painful. The 'Noles need to put all of that behind them. There are still goals left to be achieved. The season is not over and Paul Johnson doesn't give a flying flexbone about your feelings.

The Yellow Jackets limp into the ACC Championship game with a 6-6 record and got shellacked by rival Georgia last week. UNC was ineligible and Miami thought it was best to bow out. So there you have it, 6-6 Coastal representative, winner, if you will. That doesn't make them any less dangerous. If the Florida State football team, like the Florida State fan base, is unable to put last week behind them, GT has a good shot at the win. They have the offense to chew clock and play keep away which helps hide limitations of a poor defense.

This isn't just a must win for the fans. This is a must win for a coaching staff and program. One more ACC win and the 2012 'Noles will have done what no FSU team has done since 2005: WIN THE DADGUM CONFERENCE. GO NOLES!

There's a couple other decent games on Saturday. Probably worth watching.

Noon/Afternoon Game Thread*

12:00 Oklahoma at TCU ESPN

12:00 Oklahoma State at Baylor FX

4:00 Alabama vs Georgia CBS

8:00 PM ACC Championship Game: FSU vs GT ESPN

*Last weekend of football. Then all we have is bowl games. Football season 2012, we hardly knew ya.

Noon/Afternoon Game Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:42:27 -0000

Please follow the site rules. No pictures in the game threads.

FSU vs GT: 1st Quarter Game Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:42:00 -0000

Please follow the site rules. No pictures in the game threads. At the end of the quarter please go the 2nd quarter/halftime game thread.

FSU vs GT: 2nd Quarter/Halftime Game Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:41:31 -0000

Please follow the site rules. No pictures in the game threads. At the end of the half please go the 3rd quarter game thread.

FSU vs GT: 3rd Quarter Game Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:41:03 -0000

Please follow the site rules. No pictures in the game threads. At the end of the quarter please go the 4th quarter game thread.

FSU vs GT: 4th Quarter Game Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 05:40:04 -0000

Please follow the site rules. No pictures in the game threads.

Tomahawk Nation BlogPoll: Week 13

onebarrelrum — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 02:29:47 -0000

Notes: Go Irish, I guess. Hard to argue that UF belongs in the second spot at this point. Yes they have the head to head with Georgia but overall, much better list of wins. Easy to argue that Bama or Georgia would belong above UF after the SEC Championship game. Increasing the season by a game, against such a quality opponent should get weighted accordingly. Ranking 17-25 is a mess. They could easily be flipped around, some less or more so. Do Kent State and Northern Illinois even belong? Ranking San Jose State 25 pretty much sums up the season?

Tomahawk Nation Ballot - Week 13

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
2	Florida Gators	3
3	Georgia Bulldogs	1
4	Alabama Crimson Tide	2
5	Oregon Ducks	-2
6	Ohio St. Buckeyes	-4
7	Kansas St. Wildcats	--
8	LSU Tigers	2
9	Texas A&M Aggies	3
10	Stanford Cardinal	1
11	South Carolina Gamecocks	2
12	Oklahoma Sooners	3
13	Florida St. Seminoles	-5
14	Clemson Tigers	-5
15	Nebraska Cornhuskers	1
16	Oregon St. Beavers	-2
17	UCLA Bruins	--
18	Texas Longhorns	1
19	Michigan Wolverines	2
20	Northwestern Wildcats	4
21	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	1
22	Northern Illinois Huskies	--
23	Kent St. Golden Flashes	2
24	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	-4
25	San Jose St. Spartans	--
Dropouts: Louisville Cardinals, Mississippi St. Bulldogs

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

Tomahawk Nation Pick'em: lawdy15 WINS!

onebarrelrum — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:31:55 -0000

FTC disclosure: This contest is sponsored by Gameday Depot and SB Nation.

Cyber Monday, 24 hours only! All Florida State Seminoles apparel 30% off PLUS free shipping on orders over $35!

Only one more week left in the 2012 Tomahawk Nation College Football Pick 'Em Pool! lawdy15 wins this week's $10 gift certificate, which he or she can spend on either (1) officially licensed Florida State Seminoles hoodies, jackets, t-shirts and more at the Tomahawk Nation licensed store, or (2) custom tees at the Tomahawk Nation custom store.

lawdy15, look for a confirmation email with instructions on how to claim your prize. If you don't respond within three business days, the rules require us to award the prize to the next person on the list.

We'll pick one more week, and then whoever is in first place overall after next week will win the $50 gift certificate. Finish. The. Drill.

You can view the full standings at Fun Office Pools. Last week for picks. All games have been selected. Good luck.

Florida State Seminoles vs Florida Gators: Gameday Central

onebarrelrum — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:10:19 -0000

As I type this, the clock says 4:50 AM. Tallahassee....things got a bit out of control. So, for the most important gameday ever, this edition will be quite possibly the worst. Can the 'Noles compete with the mighty SEC? 'Nole fans are confident going into the annual rivalry with FSU as a 7 point favorite. To leap frog the 2 loss BCS teams, FSU must beat 10-1 Florida. A loss won't keep FSU out of a BCS game, but a loss for UF certainly will close the door on any outside BCS shot. Bowl placement be damned, this is FSU vs UF. This is state of Florida supremacy. This is Florida State vs Florida, a high stakes rivalry renewed. GO NOLES! (seriously, that's all I got).

For all games, times, and network information, SB Nation has you covered.

Noon Games

19 Michigan 8-3 at Ohio State 11-0 ABC

Virginia 4-7 at Virginia Tech 5-6 ESPNU

Miami-Florida 6-5 at Duke 6-5 ACC Network

3:30 PM FSU vs UF

6:30 PM 8 Stanford 9-2 at 17 UCLA 9-2 FOX

7:00 PM 12 S. Carolina 9-2 at 11 Clemson 10-1 ESPN

8:00 PM 1 Notre Dame 11-0 at USC 7-4 ABC

Noon/Afternoon Thread

onebarrelrum — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:39:52 -0000