Chick-fil-A Bowl 2010 South Carolina vs. Florida State: Seminoles on Sunday
As Bleacher Report's official media representative at this week's Chick-fil-A Bowl between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida State Seminoles, it will be my pleasure to share with you all what's going on behind the scenes this week.
Sunday was the first day of Bowl Week for the two teams and it was filled with fun, learning opportunities and practice throughout the day.
Read on to see just what we learned about the bowl game.
The Welcome Parties
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After their practices, both the Gamecocks and the Seminoles got to head over to Dave and Buster's Marietta and have some fun.
In between feasting and bonding with teammates, the players from each team competed in the first part of the "Battle for Bowl Week."
To do so, each team picked someone to play Guitar Hero, another person to aim for the lowest round on Golden Tee and a third player to make the most baskets on Nothing But Net.
Florida State, thanks to a win in each of the three parts, took an early lead in the contest, which will be continued tomorrow in an eating contest at Fogo de Chao.
What Jimbo Thought About Practice
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As is to be expected after the first practice of the week, Jimbo Fisher said about his satisfaction with the performance, "We gotta polish some things up but I was pleased with their mindset."
To me, that's a good sign. Coaches have the ability to increase their players' skills and techniques, but it's up to the players to decide how ready for the bowl game they want to be.
Florida State needs to decide that it's happy to be at the Chick-fil-A Bowl and then play like it.
If Fisher said he was pleased with his players' mindset, that's a great first sign.
The Georgia Dome
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The 27-story Georgia Dome is quite a large place to play. In fact, it's the largest cable-supported dome in the world.
Obviously, that will take some getting used to by the players.
Fisher had this to say about the stadium: "The more times you're in here in your environment with the depth perception--getting that feel--the better."
Fortunately for him, he'll have a few more opportunities to get used to it before the big day.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Christian Ponder
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After Florida State's loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game, Christian Ponder, the Seminoles quarterback, had surgery to remove some scar tissue in his right elbow.
One of the big questions in this game is how effective Ponder can be after that surgery.
After watching him in the first practice since before the Virginia Tech game, Jimbo Fisher said, "He threw the ball really well. I was more than encouraged, he threw it down the field deep and long...making all the throws...he'll be ready to play, I don't think there's any doubt about that."
Rodney Smith, a sophomore wide receiver for Florida State also commented on the situation and said, "He looked pretty good. We always want to see how our quarterback is going to do, if he is going to be sharper than he was before, and he was. No rust at all. He always bounces back from everything."
The quarterback himself though had a bit more reservations, saying, "I just had to get used to the ball but the arm feels fine. Wasn't sure how things were going to feel but it was good. We'll see how it looks tomorrow but the way I threw the past three days it didn't swell up or anything."
The Snow
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One of the big thrills of the day was the amount of snow that the Florida State players got to see. As rare as snow is in Atlanta, Georgia, it's even more scarce in Florida.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher said that his players were thrilled by the snow. In fact, "A lot of them were running their cameras when they saw the snow. My two boys have never seen snow either."
Sophomore defensive lineman Everett Dawkins (pictured here) said that "Jacobbi [McDaniel] wanted to go out there and throw snowballs. When they got off the plane they were throwing snowballs."
All in all, the snow definitely helped the first day of practice have a much more light-hearted feel to it.
Beau Reliford
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Just like in the picture, you could say that Beau Reliford dropped the ball on this one.
Jimbo Fisher was informed after the practice that Reliford was academically ineligible for the bowl game and said, "That shocked me...It disappoints me, but that's part of it. Beau was playing well, hope some of the younger guys can step up."
Reliford, a tight end for the Seminoles, had caught 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown throughout the season.
How They Were Successful in 2010
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The last Jimbo Fisher quote I'll give you today has to do with his team's success throughout the year and how they achieved it.
Fisher said, "I haven't really had time to sit back and reflect, but their work ethic and their attitude, their ability to, whether winning or losing, come to practice every day and work through everything we asked them to do and do with a smile, whether they wanted to or not, there wasn't any griping or complaining, and when there was adversity they stuck together and when there was success they stuck together. You didn't see them fraying apart, they stuck like a family. Building that foundation together and understanding how we're going to go about our business in building that foundation is the biggest thing."
The Defense
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Everett Dawkins also took the time to speak about the Florida State defense. As the defensive lineman said, "I think things have come far with our run defense, we are making more plays. You can tell a big difference from last year. We have a lot of people coming in so we're setting the right foundation."
Defense is going to be quite important for the Seminoles in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Stopping Marcus Lattimore and the Gamecocks running game has been difficult all year.
Confidence, which the team seems to be gaining, is going to be vital.
Tomorrow's Events
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Both teams are in for quite a busy day tomorrow.
Florida State and South Carolina will have practices from the mid-morning into mid-afternoon, and then the fun starts.
Fogo de Chao will get to host both teams, where they'll hold the second leg of the "Battle for Bowl Week" competition: an eating contest.
Each team will also have a chance to be steeped in Atlanta history by visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in the late afternoon.
Make Sure To Check Back
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I'll be posting a summary of each and every day leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, so make sure you check back to keep up to date.
Until then, leave some comments with your thoughts on the bowl game.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
