2010 Florida State Seminoles: Florida State vs Samford

Saturday's game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Samford Bulldogs is more than just an homage to Bobby Bowden's alma mater. It's more than a reminder of Coach Jimbo Fisher's first coaching job. It's more than the beginning of a new season. Saturday's game is the beginning of a new era for Florida State.

No more Bobby Bowden. No more dadgummits. No more southern drawl-filled press conferences. Florida State has retired a legend and has moved on with new direction. With that transition has come the whispers of "Heisman winner", "ACC championship", and "the good 'ol days." But before Fisher can be crowned the new savior of Florida State, he must prove himself to the world. And that begins on Saturday.

Florida State is pitted against FCS opponent Samford University, a program that is closely tied to Florida State. As mentioned before, Coach Bowden led the (then-Howard College) Bulldogs as quarterback for three years, including a 20–6 loss at Doak Campbell Stadium. Bowden then started his coaching career as the offensive coordinator of the Bulldogs during the 1954 season.

Ironically, current FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher also attended Samford University in 1987 and played quarterback for the Bulldogs, earning the NCAA Division III National Player of the Year award his senior season. After graduating, Fisher stayed as the offensive coordinator at Samford from 1991–1992 before eventually finding his way to Florida State.

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More than the history behind the two teams, fans will be watching closely the performance of the Seminoles. For a team that excelled offensively (averaging 30.1 points per game), the defense ranked as the 99th-worst in Division I college football, giving up 30.0 points per game. One of Coach Fisher's first moves was to rectify that disparity.

Florida State brought in a lot of top-name talent on the defensive side last recruiting cycle, but some people questioned the young players' readiness for the role they would be required to play. Practices exposed weaknesses and left Fisher often frustrated. But as he and his new staff of coaches continued daily repetition of basic drills, the players began responding. After the last practice of the offseason, Coach Fisher said of his team, "I'm anxious to see how they'll play on Saturday. I'm hoping they'll play like they've been practicing."

Granted, an FCS opponent shouldn't give Florida State much trouble in bagging their first win of the season (but we all remember the 2007 Appalachian State–Michigan game). Look for Fisher's Noles to make a point, to showcase to the nation that the Seminoles of the 2000s are long gone. As senior defensive end Markus White stated, "We're not going to go off last year. We're just going to prove what we have now... It's all about us right now."

Florida State Seminoles vs Samford Bulldogs Football Preview