Florida State Football: A Look at the Noles' Non-Conference Schedule

In the modern college football landscape, most teams schedule cupcakes so that they can gain their footing and shake off their offseason rust against an inferior opponent.

Occasionally, one of these cupcakes will shock the football world ( i.e. Appalachian State), but for the most part, college football's opening weekend is blowout-heavy.

In terms of season openers, the Florida State Seminoles follow suit, but after their home debut against the Samford Bulldogs, things get a little tougher for the Garnet and Gold.

Here's a look at the Seminoles' non-conference slate this season.

Samford Bulldogs

Senior running back Chris Evans led the Southern Conference with 1,152 rushing yards in 2009.

2009 Record: 5-6 (3-5 SOCON)

Date: September 4, 2010

Location: Tallahassee, FL

The Samford Bulldogs are an interesting opponent for the Seminoles in that the school is both the alma mater and the first coaching job of both former head coach Bobby Bowden and current head coach Jimbo Fisher.

Bowden served as the offensive coordinator and track and field head coach from 1954 to 1955 and then returned as the football head coach from 1959 to 1962 (31-6 record).

Fisher was the offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs from 1991 to 1992 before leaving to coach quarterbacks at Auburn.

As for Saturday's game, the contest against Samford should be the Seminoles' easiest non-conference game by a long shot.

Andrew Carter of the Orlando Sentinel says that the Bulldogs' only hope is to try to control the clock with redshirt senior running back Chris Evans, who is Samford's all-time leading rusher with 3,469 career yards.

Samford won't do anything here: 'Noles 45 - Bulldogs 6

Oklahoma Sooners

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MIAMI GARDENS, FL - OCTOBER 03: Quarterback Landry Jones #12 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws a pass against the Miami Hurricanes at Land Shark Stadium on October 3, 2009 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami defeated Oklahoma 21-20. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty

2009 Record: 8-5 (5-3 Big 12)

Date: September 11, 2010

Location: Norman, OK

While the Oklahoma Sooners will miss having Sam Bradford as their starting quarterback, they are used to being without the former Heisman Trophy winner.

Due to a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener against BYU, Bradford only attempted 69 passes last season, completing 39 of them for 562 yards and two touchdowns.

While 2009 played out as a disappointing season for the Sooners, one silver lining was the emergence of quarterback Landry Jones, who passed for 3,198 yards and 26 touchdowns.

With a very good running back in senior DeMarco Murray (4,661 career all-purpose yards) and a legitimate deep threat in junior wide receiver Ryan Broyles (15 touchdown catches in 2009), the Seminoles will be hard-pressed to stop the Sooner offense.

The key for quarterback Christian Ponder and Florida State will be to take advantage of an Oklahoma defense that only returns five starters from last season.

Jimbo Fisher's team will make it close, but Oklahoma will ultimately prevail: Sooners 34 - 'Noles 21

Brigham Young Cougars

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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 05: Wide receiver O'Neill Chambers #4 of the Brigham Young Cougars makes a pass reception against Quinton Carter #20 of the Oklahoma Sooners at Cowboys Stadium on September 5, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez

2009 Record: 11-2 (7-1 MWC)

Date: September 18, 2010

Location: Tallahassee, FL

In one of the shocking upsets of 2009, the Seminoles went on the road and annihilated No. 7 BYU in a 54-28 blowout.

The Florida State defense racked up five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumble recoveries) and the offense ran all over the Cougars for a grand total of 313 rushing yards.

While BYU will be out for revenge when they come to Tallahassee, they will have a difficult, uphill battle after losing star quarterback Max Hall (94 career touchdown passes) to graduation and running back Harvey Unga's (3,455 career rushing yards) voluntary withdrawal from the university after violating the honor code.

While the Cougar secondary returns three of its four starters at the cornerback and safety positions, they had a No. 63 ranking in pass defense last season and they likely haven't improved enough to stop a quarterback like Christian Ponder this early in the season. 

Look for the home crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium to help the Seminoles come out on top in BYU's upset bid: 'Noles 28 - BYU 10

Florida Gators

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GAINESVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 25: Ahmad Black #35 of the Florida Gators in a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 25, 2008 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

2009 Record: 13-1 (8-0 SEC)

Date: November 27, 2010

Location: Tallahassee, FL

In his first season as the head coach of the Florida State Seminoles, Jimbo Fisher probably has this particular game circled on the schedule.

In the annual last-weekend rivalry, the Florida Gators have won six straight and have outscored the Seminoles by an average margin of 21.8 points per game.

However, the Gators are vulnerable this year after losing starting quarterback Tim Tebow and last season's two leading receivers, wide receiver Riley Cooper and tight end Aaron Hernandez, to the NFL Draft.

Addtionally, Florida State is ready for revenge, especially after suffering through a 37-10 blowout that may have been a lot closer had injured starting quarterback Christian Ponder not missed the game.

At the same time, Ponder and the Seminole wide receivers have to deal with a top-flight secondary featuring experienced playmakers in cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safeties Ahmad Black and Will Hill.

While Florida State will certainly make this season's contest a lot more competitive than in recent years, Florida will hold off Fisher's squad for their seventh consecutive victory in the series: Gators 31 - 'Noles 24