Florida State Football: 5 Reasons Jimbo Fisher Will Lead FSU to a Title

Florida State hasn’t won a league title since 2005. However, with Jimbo Fisher at the helm, the school is in a great position to take the ACC crown this year, as well as become contenders for the national title.

During Fisher’s brief tenure at FSU, the football program has slightly underwhelmed, with the three-game losing streak last year a particular low point. The fans expect a lot, and Fisher was the guy promoted to deliver upon those expectations.

10-4 and 9-4 seasons followed, but they were not the required results. The 2011 motto of “Now” had hamstrung the team by October, with the defeat at Wake Forest effectively marking an end to its title ambitions.

This year, however, stands to be the start of something impressive. Here are five reasons why FSU will bring home a title under Coach Fisher.

5. Injury Concerns Are Unfounded

With the recent injury to starting quarterback E.J. Manuel, Florida State’s injury report now bears the names of 14 players. This is starting to make people nervous and doubt the team going into the season. Manuel’s ankle injury isn’t serious, however, and he won’t miss any playing time this year.

From numbers alone, FSU’s injuries look devastating. However, as Bud Elliott correctly pointed out for TomahawkNation.com, the numbers are actually of little importance.

Even with all the injuries, the Seminoles won’t play a Division I opponent until September 15, by which time a large number of the injured players will have returned.

Even if this doesn’t transpire, the ‘Noles shouldn’t have any trouble beating Wake Forest in their opening Division I game. Last year's result won't be tolerated again this year.

As Elliott notes, Wake Forest has suffered some traumatic injuries on the offensive side of the ball, with the offensive line taking a lot of the damage. Florida State’s defensive line is daunting, so any frailty in that area will be immediately exploited. This game has the potential to be embarrassing in its one-sidedness, regardless of the Seminoles’ injury situation.

Injuries played a big part in last season’s record, and while the early casualties may give the impression of a repeat performance in 2012, that is far from the case.

4. Last Year’s Problems Should Be Eliminated

Aside from the three-game losing streak early in the season, Florida State’s biggest problem was the offensive line.  The aforementioned injuries forced the team to start true freshmen along the line, which led to a lot of pressure on Manuel via missed assignments and general inexperience.

As a result, the quarterback suffered injuries of his own. Manuel is from the Ben Roethlisberger school of quarterbacks and continued to play while hurt, but failures in protection by the offensive line will lead to more serious injuries if left unchecked.

Manuel was sacked four times during the first half of the Champs Sports Bowl game, and he will not want a recurrence of this.

Thankfully, these issues are being taken care of. When talking to Coley Harvey at The Orlando Sentinel, Fisher was encouraged by what he had seen during the first week of practice:

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They're moving people; blocking people; the line of scrimmage is not coming backwards.

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This is the upside of having to play so many true freshmen along the line last year. Now that they have real game experience, they are better players going into this year and the whole team is better as a result.

Harvey also reported that Manuel has been getting to know his new protectors in the offseason, building a bond with them in the process. Trust is a huge part of the OL/QB relationship and getting to know them on a personal level will only help Manuel.

Despite this, last year’s emergency linemen are not going to be seeing the field as much this time around. However, if FSU suffers further injuries to its starters, Coach Fisher now knows that the backups have the experience—and trust—to give Manuel the time he needs.

3. Ease of Schedule

If the Seminoles are to make a run at the BCS Championship, now is a good year to do so. Every year seems to be the year that the 'Noles return to the '90s glory days of Bobby Bowden. “Florida State Is Back," the headlines proclaim.

The results then shout something different, and we all go back to our hiding places until the next year—because Florida State will definitely be back.

The level of talent has never been in doubt, but this time around the schedule has conspired to give FSU an extra nudge in the direction of a national championship. Opening the season against Murray State is a good start, but then West Virginia canceled their game, and it became a contest against lowly Savannah State. FSU were off to an even better start.

Clemson will be the deciding game of the year, which has the advantage of being in Tallahassee. Despite Clemson having the edge in recent matchups, FSU has won nine of the last 10 games when playing the Tigers at home (h/t MySanAntonio.com).

Both the game against Clemson and the trip to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech will be a test for the Seminoles, but they are perfectly capable of winning both. The Hokies’ defense will be strong this year and test out any deficiencies in the Seminoles’ offensive line—added to the fact that they will need to get a win from Lane Stadium, which is one of the more difficult tasks in college football.

An undefeated regular season would certainly help FSU’s national championship aspirations. The good thing about this year is that they could actually do it.

2. Depth

As I mentioned in an earlier slide, the Seminoles have more depth this year simply by virtue of having to play true freshmen last year. These players now have the game experience that makes them more valuable to the team.

However, looking at the roster is a very encouraging experience, and there is a lot of talent to be found at every position.  The talent along the defensive line is intimidating, with Brandon Jenkins and Bjoern Werner at defensive end, along with Timmy Jernigan, Everett Dawkins, Anthony McCloud, Jacobbi McDaniel, Demonte McAllister and Moses McRay. The ACC is in for a tough time.

However, as easy as it would be to focus the entire article on the defensive line, instead I will look at the offense. E.J. Manuel must be looking forward to throwing the ball when he sees his list of receivers.

Rashad Greene was having a breakout season before ankle injury caused him to sit out five games, so his return will cause fans to look for even bigger things from his this year. He’s not alone in wanting the catches, though.

Willie Haulstead also returns from injury after a concussion kept him sidelined for the whole of last season. In a similar scenario to Greene, he was having a great 2010 before the injury occurred.

A receiver making waves in camp is Greg Dent, with Corey Clark reporting for News-Press.com that he is having the best camp of all the receivers. These aren’t the words of Clark, either; he attributes that comment to Coach Fisher himself.

As Clark also points out, there is not just depth but versatility here. Each player brings something different to a game, which widens the playbook and allows Fisher to play to their strengths. It might sound simple, but Fisher is counting on his receivers to make the difficult plays that will elevate FSU over Virginia Tech and Clemson:

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You can get a lot of guys that can just catch the ball. I mean, I can go out there and hand it to them and anybody can play. I mean, that’s easy.

I mean, you’ve got to make plays when you’re tightly covered. And use your size and power and (physicality) over people. We’ve got guys that are capable of (doing that). We’ve just got to push it out. (via News-Press.com)

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1. Recruiting

The landscape of football recruiting gets more aggressive every year. It is now a round-the-year task, with recruits getting offers at earlier and earlier stages of their football life.

Ira Schoffel of the Tallahassee Democrat (via USAToday.com) obtained public records of FSU’s spending under Fisher, as well as under Bowden. Schoffel wrote that the Seminoles’ recruiting budget was just over $280,000 in Bowden’s final season, but when Fisher arrived that figure jumped to $500,000, then again to $525,000 in 2011-12.

When asked about the escalating costs, Fisher was accurate and concise:

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Recruiting never, ever, ever stops now. That's the nature of our business.

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Schoffel goes on to make a good point; while Bowden was a great recruiter, he and his staff fell behind as the recruiting industry changed dramatically, which caused the dropoff in talent as well as results.

The increase in expenditure under Fisher looks excessive, but the classes he has brought in make it all worthwhile. Ranked No. 1 in 2011 and No. 2 in 2012, he is in the process of creating a perpetual contender for the national championship, with this year being the first real chance to see how the future is shaping up.

College football programs live and die on the basis of their recruiting. A great coach is needed, that’s for certain, but when the players step out onto the field they know that the coaching will only take them so far.

The results rest on the shoulders of the players; so it just makes sense to recruit the best possible players in order to get the best possible results. As is true with all sports—even at NCAA level—the best players cost the most.

The final words should go to Fisher once more, again speaking to Schoffel:

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I don't understand people who think you're gonna make money on a company and you don't invest in it. The investment is recruiting. If we get the right players and we win games, the school makes more money, we make more money, the community makes more money, and we're all happy.

Recruiting is the lifeline.

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