National Football League

FSU seeks return to relevance

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:11 p.m. ET

foxsports

If Florida State wants to do something about those 20,000 empty seats at Doak Campbell Stadium, there's no better way for the No. 23-ranked Seminoles to energize the fan base than to reclaim supremacy over their in-state rivals, starting with a win in tonight's showdown against Miami on national television.

Not since FSU's national championship season in 1999 have the Seminoles swept UM and Florida. That's the best route to coach Jimbo Fisher winning over the skeptics because beating the likes of Virginia, Wake Forest and North Carolina State carries zero weight. FSU gets the work-in-progress Gators at home next month, and with an improved defense under coordinator Mark Stoops, there's every reason to think Fisher's team is capable of upsetting the Hurricanes.

It's hard to know right now who deserves the distinction of best team in the Sunshine State. What is clear is this is the first time in too long that FSU is in the conversation.

Fisher and FSU's players say they want to be nationally relevant. If that's the case, the 'Noles need to regain the long-lost habit of winning big games. ...

Jaguars quarterback coach Mike Shula, on whether he was heavily criticized when he was the quarterback at Alabama: "It depends on how you define that. You mean like songs on the radio about you not being able to throw spirals your sophomore year? If that's it, then yes."...

The 30 NFL starts by the Jaguars' Trent Edwards is the most of any quarterback acquired by the team since Steve Beuerlein (40) was taken in the 1995 expansion draft. ...

Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker needs to worry less about Twitter followers being critical of his production for their fantasy football leagues and more about getting off jams at the line of scrimmage. The reason Mike Thomas has had more passes thrown his way is he's open more often. ...

While squirrels gather nuts, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick keeps hoarding draft picks. Belichick taking a third-round pick for Jekyll-and-Hyde receiver Randy Moss is a case of taking what he can get before Moss' petulant side blows up that Patriots' locker room. ...

I'd give the NL Rookie of the Year nod to the San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey over Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward for this reason: It's almost unheard of for a rookie catcher to bat cleanup and Posey, a former FSU standout, could be the first to do it on a World Series winner since Yogi Berra in 1947. ...

If the alleged Brett Favre voice mails to former New York Jets reporter Jenn Sterger now making the rounds are valid, no pair of Wrangler jeans will make the fallout comfortable. ...

Pigskin forecast: Jaguars over Buffalo Bills by 10 (letdown lessons); Florida over LSU by 13 (clock managers); Miami over FSU by 1 (heart-stopping finish); Georgia over Tennessee by 16 (train wrecks); Alabama over South Carolina by 1 (big scare). Last week: 3 right, 2 Les Miles game-management seminars.

gene.frenette@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4540