Xavier Lee Saved the Game, But Seminole Fans are Still Wary

Here's the rundown of what happened on the field at the River City Showdown.

(Look out for my next article detailing what happened at the tailgate i.e. a four-year-old playing beer pong and a million dollar bet on whether Tim Tebow is God.)

There are two methods I use to judge the state of the football program at Florida State.

One is obviously the given record – yards gained, points given up, etc. – which is the objective, tangible measuring stick.

The other is my brother Jason’s emotional response. After Saturday night’s game against Alabama, he was at the same time, giddy, relieved, excited, cautious, and weary.

“Cautious optimism” is how my Alabama friend Hunter described it. (Here’s what you should know about Hunter: He says he cannot eat on game day because of nerves, but Jason and I have decided it probably has more to do with the five beers, Jaeger bomb, bourbon drink, and heater during the pre-game tailgate.)

What happened to bring us this mixed emotion?

After a first half of complete offensive ineptitude, and a second half where Xavier Lee, the redshirt junior backup QB, entered the game and brought a touchdown on his first drive, we should have been giddy with optimism.

But we weren't.

That’s not to say that we were not jumping up and down like a school girl just asked to the prom by the captain of the football team when we were driving or making big plays.

We were.

Even after the game, in which Lee threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 59, fans were singing the fight song throughout the stadium. Somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 FSU fans were chanting “Bob-by Bow-den” in unison as they left the game.

There was actually a point in post-victory celebration where Jason said, “Hey, how long do you think it would take for a ‘Tebow Sucks!’ chant to catch on?” Turns out it takes 4.1 seconds.

The Marching Chiefs even began playing, but we were not sure where the sound was coming from. It echoed through the outside ramps and Seminole Nation was united in joyous celebration.

As soon as we walked outside of Jacksonville Municipal I looked at Jason and asked him about the lack of “X” signs.” Usually when Xavier enters the game, most people put up their arms and create an “X”. But leaving the stadium, I only counted five.

This is why: For the last seven years, Florida State has always been looking to the backup QB.

We suffered through Chris Rix and prayed that Adrian McPherson would get a chance to play. And that chance came. He did a decent job, but was then suspected for throwing a game to settle gambling debts. It turned out he was actually innocent, but was kicked off the team for stealing checks.

We also had Fabian Walker behind Rix. He was the only one who saw the writing on the wall. He transferred to Valdosta State and won a D-II national title in his first year.

Our next backup QB, coach’s son Wyatt Sexton, was a smart but under-talented ball player. He replaced Rix for three games, played well, and was then pulled at home against Florida when was not playing that badly.

I think he was pulled because it was the inaugural game for “Bobby Bowden Field” and Bobby was afraid of losing. (The next semester Sexton was found in the street claiming he was God and was kicked off the team.)

Each one of these backups was given an opportunity to play. And each one (except for Fabian who suffered a shoulder injury during his start) played well for three games. Then, after defensive coordinators saw some tape, they were shut down and we were back to square one.

FSU fans love what they saw on Saturday night.

X was by far the better QB. He made great plays with his feet and completed 15-19 passes. But on his second drive the team moved right down the field just like on his first. They got to the 15 yard line and he threw a seem route to the tight end. But he did not loft it. He locked on and threw it on a line. The middle linebacker took one step to the side and intercepted it.

A string of expletives came pouring out of my mouth.

But I was not as mad at X as I was at myself for actually thinking he could be the answer. He stared down the receiver and telegraphed his pass. Typical FSU quarterback play.

But when he got back in, he led some good drives. There were some key penalties which negated some big plays and some drops by our wide receivers. The defense stepped up and gave Lee a few more chances.

Lee hit Carr on a go route in one of his early third quarter series. Carr made a tough outstretched catch and fought off two defenders for extra yardage. I had not seen us throw a go route and hit the WR in mid-stride since 2000 when Weinke was under center.

Then, in the fourth, Lee came through and hit De'Cody Fagg (who had one TD and three drops before this) for an eight yard out which he stiff armed the ‘Bama DB and took it 62 more yards for a touchdown.

So what’s the verdict?

We would be stupid to deny the results. Defense must respect the run. Lee could stretch the field with his arm whereas Drew could not make many of the deep out throws. The offense developed variety and complexity.

Can Lee keep it up?

I do not know. He is going to throw more touchdowns and interceptions. He will be sacked and he will scramble for 7-15 yard gains. I think it was good for him to throw a pick on his second drive. It got it out of the way, and for a moment the fans will not be blinded by his athletic ability alone.

Two articles ago I said, “Maybe Lee will be better down the road, once he grasps the offense. But until he gets the green light from Jimbo Fisher—a QB coach who's tutored a No. 1 overall pick and three other NFL QBs—Drew Weatherford is my man under center.”

Well, today I stand by that statement.

When Lee walks out onto Bobby Bowden field at Doak Campbell Stadium, I will be more than thrilled. Fisher knows what he is doing, and apparently so does Lee.

Just for comparison's sake, and because I truly do not think UF fans understand how ignorant they sound, let me tell you this: Tony, my best friend, told about a conversation he had with a Gator fan this week.

The fan was making laudatory comment after comment about Tim Tebow, their starting QB: "The thing is... he is built like a linebacker. And he's got a rocket for an arm. He can get pulled down and [with hand motion and redneck accent] throw it on a rope (sound affect) for twenty five yards. And the damndest thing is, Newton [the back up] is better than he is."

Please, do not make us sound like a Florida fan, over hyping what we have, and actually believing it.

So excuse me if I do not recall the good ol’ days just yet.

869
reads

0
comments

0
likes

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?