Florida State Football: 10 Presents the Seminoles Hope to Find Under the Tree

As the Seminoles prepare for their Champs Sports Bowl matchup against Notre Dame next week, the team will take a break to observe the Christmas holiday weekend. 

The season may not have played out as the coaches, players and fans would have hoped, but there are still plenty of things for ‘Noles fans to be thankful for. 

The program is in great shape on the field and the recruiting trail with positive momentum heading into the new year.  

Still, there are more than a few areas that could use some improvements.

So what exactly is on Jimbo Fisher and Seminole Nation’s wish list? 

Here are 10 presents the Seminoles hope to find under the tree.

10. Best Behavior

Since Jimbo Fisher took over in 2010, the Seminoles have made tremendous strides in being disciplined away from the gridiron. 

However, last week two Seminoles were arrested in a three-day span on felony theft charges. 

Junior corner Avis Commack and freshman linebacker Arrington Jenkins were not big contributors on the field (Commack played sparingly as a reserve and Jenkins is redshirting this season). 

Still, for a program that had done a good job of not making negative headlines in recent years, the coaching staff and administration should spend the offseason reemphasizing the behavior that is expected out of FSU student athletes. 

9. Blue Chip Big Fish

Fisher and his staff hit the recruiting trail hard in early December up until the latest contact period ended earlier this week. 

Some of the uncommitted targets who are high on the Seminoles wish list include: Junior college corner Travell Dixon (expected to choose between FSU, Alabama and Miami on Wednesday night), Miramar, Fla. defensive back Tracy Howard, Tempe, Ari. (Corona del Sol) offensive tackle Andrus Peat, Washington (D.C.), Friendship Collegiate Academy defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and Lakeland, Fla. offensive lineman Evan Goodman amongst others. 

The ‘Noles are also trying to flip former commitment Alphonse Taylor and offensive lineman from Mobile, Ala. (Davidson), who decommitted last week, but has left the door open for a return to join FSU’s star-studded class.  

8. Back to Basics

The Seminoles were able to use some of the practice time allotted for bowl-bound teams to work on fundamentals that are usually taught in spring practices. 

A lingering problem for the ‘Noles all season long is their tendency to suffer from self-inflicted wounds, whether it be turnovers or penalties.

The offense, in particular, struggled mightily over the last month of the season.

After their embarrassing performance in the season finale (95 yards of total offense) against Florida, resetting the fundamentals may be the antidote to their offensive woes.  

7. A Healthy Bert Reed

One of the few seniors on the Seminoles roster, Reed’s final season wearing the Garnet and Gold has been disappointing on a number of levels. 

After a fast start, an ankle injury suffered in the second game hindered Reed for the next four games. 

While he came on strong towards the end of the year, a hamstring injury is threatening to cost him a chance to suit up for the Seminoles in his final game. 

Reed is listed as doubtful, but a glimmer of hope came when practiced earlier this week. 

Hopefully for ‘Noles fans, a clean bill of health for Reed will be a gift worth getting.  

6. Bowl Mojo

The Seminoles are traditionally one of the nation’s best bowl teams, sporting a 24-14-2 record all time in postseason play. 

Florida State has won three consecutive bowl games, including last season’s impressive 26-17 Chick-Fil-A Bowl victory over South Carolina. 

The last time the ‘Noles played in the Champs Sports Bowl, they went on to route Wisconsin 42-13 in 2008. 

Pushing their bowl winning streak to four would be a great way to jump start their 2012 campaign.  

5. Return of the Golden Toe

Although Dustin Hopkins had a great overall season that ended with a finalist nomination for the Lou Groza Award, the ‘Noles placekicker struggled over the last month of the season. 

There were times this season where anything 50 yards or less was considered an automatic three points for FSU. 

Hopkins made his first 10 attempts and finished 20-for-25 on the season. 

However, the luster off Hopkins’ gold cleats were diminished a bit with Hopkins missing kicks in five of the last six games this season, including a potential game-winner from 42 yards out against Virginia. 

Seminoles fans across the country are hoping that Hopkins recovered over the break enough to return to his early season form.  

4. Unleash EJ

Quarterback EJ Manuel was one of the main targets of criticism for ‘Noles fans concerning the lack of production from the offense over the last month of the season. 

While some of the criticism was warranted, Manuel still completed 64 percent of his passes and threw no interceptions in FSU’s last four games.

The offense clearly regressed down the stretch, but Manuel failed to step up and take advantage of big play opportunities when they were presented, which he was able to do with regularity earlier in the season. 

If Manuel can get healthy enough to put pressure on opposing defenses with his arm and his legs, the results should ultimately please fans of the Garnet and Gold.

3. Open Playbook

There is no way to sugarcoat FSU’s anemic output on offense against Florida—it was simply atrocious.  

While Fisher did the right thing in leaning on his dominating defense after FSU jumped out to a commanding 14-0 lead, the Seminoles cannot expect to win many games repeating that performance. 

Florida State tried the same strategy nursing a 13-7 lead over Virginia the week before and going conservative cost the ‘Noles in the end as they lost 14-13 after their defense allowed a late score. 

With a chance to review their mistakes and work out their kinks over the break, hopefully the offense resembles the fine-tuned machine that scored over 30 points in six consecutive games earlier in the year.  

2. Competent OL

Perhaps the biggest source of frustration for Seminoles supporters were the constant struggles their offensive line faced during the season. 

While injuries to reliable veterans Andrew Datko and David Spurlock were severe blows, the lack of quality depth behind them became apparent when several true freshmen were forced into action. 

The good news is that several young guys got their feet wet on the collegiate level and have tons of room for improvement. 

For the sake of the ‘Noles offense, the ultimate Christmas gift would be a new and improved unit in the trenches against the Fighting Irish next week. 

1. Lucky Charm

While the Seminoles have not faced Notre Dame since 2003, the history between these two titans of college football is an alluring part of the intrigue surrounding this matchup. 

The two teams have only met six times (FSU holds a 4-2 edge in the series), with all but one of the meetings decided by 10 points or less.

The most famous meeting was the “Game of the Century” in 1993, where No. 2 Notre Dame beat the top ranked Seminoles 31-24, but the ‘Noles would take advantage of the Irish’s subsequent loss to Boston College a week later and go on to win the first National Championship in school history. 

With both teams coming off somewhat disappointing seasons, the winner of this game will gain a ton of positive momentum for the 2012 season. 

For FSU fans, another strong bowl victory over a solid opponent would present the Seminoles with a golden opportunity to go into next season with the same lofty expectations that preceded this season.