FSU sports information:

Florida State will face Rice in the Battleground 2K Hoops doubleheader at the Toyota Center in Houston on Nov. 9, as announced by United Sports and Entertainment. The Seminoles will face the Owls in the first game of the doubleheader which features Houston against Auburn in the second game of the one-day event.

The Seminoles have a 5-2 record against Rice record and enter their game against the Owls with a two-game winning streak in the series that began on December 6, 1961. Florida State’s game against Rice is its first against the Owls since a 65-52 Seminole win on November 14, 1997, in the 1997-98 season opener for both teams in Houston.

The Battleground 2K Hoops doubleheader in Houston is rooted in giving back to the Houston community and features charitable activities by both teams while in the Space City. The participating teams and student-athletes will bring their talents, to influence and positively affect the lives of kids in the local community. The Battleground 2k basketball platform will impact the Houston community and be a rewarding experience for the student-athletes and their universities

“We are very excited about The Battleground 2k college hoops series and the opportunity that this premier sports platform presents to combine great competition with community in both Houston and Birmingham,” said USE President Rhossi Carron. “The event in Houston will focus on empowering and improving the lives of kids in those communities and helping the participating student-athletes develop their passion for giving back in a genuine way. We look forward to utilizing The Battleground 2k basketball platform to impact the lives of children in these great cities.”

Tickets for The Battleground 2k24 will go on sale later this month and can be purchased online at ToyotaCenter.com. Game times and television designations will also be released at a later date. For event details and updates, please visit USportsEnt.com.

The No. 10 Seminoles wil face only two teams in the Coaches Top 25 (No. 14 Clemson and No. 19 Miami).
Three other opponents earned votes including Memphis, Florida), and UNC.

NC state is No 22 while Louisville and Syracuse received votes

Would a week 1 win over Miami boost UF's recruiting?
Was Chase Loftin's commitment one of the bigger surprises of the summer?
Will Miami sign at least three five-stars in the 2025 class?

Is he practicing

FSU held its first scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday night inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

Takeaways from Mike Norvell's press conference afterwards include the defense winning the day, freshman wideout Elijah Moore standing out during an inconsistent day from the wide receivers and much more.

Funk# 49 here - I somehow changed my handle without realizing it. I'd like to change it back to Funk#49 if possible. Mods?

Golf returns to the Olympics for the third time in the modern era and will head to a prominent venue that is no stranger to golf’s premier stage.
Le Golf National, which hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup, will welcome 60 of the world’s top male golfers (with the women's competition happening next week) including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, a six-time winner this season, and world No. 2 Xander Schauffele, fresh off his victory at The Open Championship.
Here’s everything else you need to know as the men's Olympic golf competition readies to commence in Paris.

FIELD: The International Golf Federation (IGF) uses the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to create the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) as a method of determining eligibility. The top 15 world-ranked players are eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Following that, players are eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of up to two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.
FIELD NOTES: World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler leads the way – and the American contingent – as he looks to add an Olympic gold to his 2024 trophy case, which is bursting at the seams already. This year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship winner Xander Schaueffele is looking to successfully defend his gold medal, while major champions Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark round out the American foursome … Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry make up Team Ireland, with Lowry coming in as the flag bearer for his country in the Opening Ceremony. McIlroy was part of the seven-man playoff for a bronze medal in Tokyo (“I’ve never tried so hard to finish third in my life”) and also part of the winning European Ryder Cup team in 2018 … Along with McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood (United Kingdom), Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark), Jon Rahm (Spain), and Alex Noren (Sweden) return to Le Golf National after being part of Team Europe six years ago … Past winners of the Open de France at Le Golf National competing this week include Guido Migliozzi (2022), Noren (2018), and Fleetwood (2017) … Other PGA TOUR winners this season competing in the Olympics include Nick Taylor (Canada), Matthieu Pavon (France), Stephan Jaeger (Germany), and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) … C.T. Pan returns to the Olympics after capturing bronze in Japan.


UP FOR GRABS: Gold medalists receive the following – exemptions into all major championships during the 2025 season, exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship and The Sentry in 2025 (provided the gold medalist is a member of the PGA TOUR at the time of his victory in the men’s Olympic golf competition), and Official World Golf Ranking points.
HOW IT WORKS: The men’s Olympic golf competition will be a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament. If two players are tied for the lead after 72 holes, a hole-by-hole playoff will be conducted to determine the gold and silver medals, or if three or more athletes are tied for the first position, a playoff will be conducted to determine the gold, silver and bronze medals. If two or more players are tied for the second position, a playoff will be conducted to determine the silver and bronze medals. If two or more athletes are tied for the third position, a playoff will be conducted for the bronze medal.
Only one gold, one silver and one bronze medal will be awarded.
COURSE: Le Golf National (Albatros course), par 71, 7,174 yards. Opened in 1990, the club is located in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – about 25 miles from the Olympic Village. The club has hosted the DP World Tour’s Open de France in 29 of its last 31 iterations, and it hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018, won by Europe. The course is known for its slick greens, tight and undulating fairways, and links-style bunkers. The signature stretch is the final four holes, all surrounded by water, and the course emphasizes accuracy versus distance. Since 2010, the Open de France winning score has averaged roughly 10 under.
LAST TIME: AmericanXander Schauffele shot a 4-under 67 to win gold by one over Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia. Schauffele rolled in a 6-footer for birdie on the penultimate hole in Tokyo before making a 4-foot par putt for the one-shot win. It was a wild finish in Japan – when the final group walked onto the 18th green, nine players were in the mix for a medal. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was part of a seven-man playoff for the bronze but C.T. Pan, who shot a final-round 63, ended up winning the third-place prize on the fourth playoff hole. Sabbatini, the silver medalist, set the Olympic record with a final-round 61 to rocket up the leaderboard.

How to follow (all times ET)​

Men's Olympic golf competition: Thursday, Aug. 1-Sunday, Aug. 4

• Thursday-Saturday: 3 a.m.-12 p.m. (GOLF Channel, Peacock)
• Sunday: 3 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (GOLF Channel, Peacock)
  • Medal ceremony in final 30 minutes

Women's Olympic golf competition: Wednesday, Aug. 7-Saturday, Aug. 10

• Wednesday-Friday: 3 a.m.-12 p.m. (GOLF Channel, Peacock)
• Saturday: 3 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (GOLF Channel, Peacock)
  • Medal ceremony in final 30 minutes

This week will be for points similar to how we score for the Ryder Cup

The same rules apply: pick 4 golfers. The only change this week is that we will do an overall score under par for the 4 rounds since no fedex points



Congratulations again to last week winner @SeaPA

Mrs BFT maintains the overall lead going over 16,000 points

Good Luck to everyone this week

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I'm sure you guys will love it 🤣

Justin Cryer admitted after Friday’s practice that he wasn’t as confident a year ago in his transition from high school football to Northwestern and then Florida State. He tried to convince the media that it was smooth, but the reality was far from it.

Blake Nichelson had the benefit of arriving a few months earlier but was still treading water in the deep end and was primarily a running back who played some defense in high school. Nichelson was on the field last fall for 101 defensive plays, while Cryer was in on 82 plays, according to Pro Football Focus.

Nichelson said the experience gave him a better feel for the game.

“Last year, I was out there, I’m looking up, everything is so brand new to me,” Nichelson said. “I’m not used to the feeling of being out there. I feel like after having a year of experience under my belt, it doesn’t really affect me.”

Learning in the film room, watching Kalen DeLoach and Tatum Bethune and all of the practice reps are paying off. Just over 12 months later, Cryer is among the new guys who have soaked up the Seminoles’ defensive scheme and are vying for playing time in a new-look linebacker room.

“Now my confidence in myself and the scheme that we have here and the teammates is second to none,” Cryer said. “I think that’s a testament to the kind of guys we had last year, the older guys we had and (D.J.) Lundy coming back this year, that leadership that we had is kind of translating over.”

FSU sports information:

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List Monday, presented annually by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Uiagalelei previously earned a spot on the Maxwell Award Watch List, presented to the nation’s outstanding player.

Uiagalelei has started 40 games in his career and earned a 30-10 record while accounting for 9,451 yards of total offense with 8,319 yards and 57 touchdowns passing and 1,132 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. The Inland Empire, California, native transferred to FSU from Oregon State, where he was a 2023 Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist after throwing for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns with 219 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground. His 21 passing touchdowns were sixth in a season for the Beavers, with a career-high five coming in Oregon State’s victory over Cal.

Uiagalelei spent his first three seasons at Clemson, where he ranks top-10 in program history for completions, passing touchdowns, quarterback rushing touchdowns, passing yards and wins as the starting quarterback. He recorded 51 total touchdowns with the Tigers and was 22-6 as Clemson’s starting quarterback.

Florida State has won the Walter Camp Player of the Year twice previously – quarterback Jameis Winston in 2013 and quarterback Charlie Ward in 1993.

Preseason Watch Lists
Walter Camp Player of the Year – QB DJ Uiagalelei
Lou Groza Award – best placekicker – K Ryan Fitzgerald
Ray Guy Award – best punter – P Alex Mastromanno
Wuerffel Trophy – community service – OL Maurice Smith
Thorpe Award – best defensive back – DB Shyheim Brown
Nagurski Trophy – best defensive player – DL Joshua Farmer
Outland Trophy – best interior lineman – DL Joshua Farmer & OL Darius Washington
Maxwell Award – best player – QB DJ Uiagalelei

Some thoughts from Jerry and I as we reflect on Saturday's scrimmage as well as Monday's practice. We discuss Sam Singleton, Amaree Williams, Shyheim Brown, Marvin Jones Jr. and others:

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While Tropical Storm Debby beared down on Tallahassee, FSU was back at practice this morning for Day 10 of preseason camp.

Elijah Moore keeps showing his big-play ability, Darius Washington has been stacking incredible practices, Marvin Jones Jr. and some of the younger defensive ends stood out and more observations from Day 10 of preseason camp.

Right here:

Monday morning highlights, indoors:

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The clock is ticking and the bolts are being tightened as construction crews work to have Doak ready for a September 2 kickoff against Bosten College. Here are the details on both the east and west sideline projects.


Construction moving swiftly

The National Hurricane Center's 11 pm Sunday advisory reported that the tropical storm Debby has developed into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 75 miles per hour.

Category 1 Hurricane Debby was 65 miles west-southwest of Cedar Key Florida at 11 pm and is moving toward Tallahassee at 12 with landfall expected about 8 am.

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I met officially with my ticket rep this week to see whether I could afford to keep my seats in the champions club. I've talked to a number of friends who had sideline seats who chose not to renew this year because those sideline clubs were too expensive for their liking. I worried the same may be true in the club but I was pleasantly surprised.

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is stellar.

I mean, we all have looked at the linebacker position as an area of relative weakness, and have just hoped for decent play and lack of breakdowns in the past.

But. . .what if this group of linebackers really excels this season. Reading the article on the linebacker play got me pretty excited. I know some of it may be just coach speak, but who knows, the possibility is there that this group COULD really be great.

If that happens, the sky is the limit for this team. If you add some very good linebacker play at the mid level of this defense to go along with what I believe is going to be a very difficult offense to contain its hard not to get really excited about the potential of this team.

Is it football season yet?

FSU sports information:

Florida State guard Jamir Watkins, one of the nation’s top players returning for the 2024-25 college basketball season, will participate in the 2024 Nike Basketball Academy at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., this week.

The four-day event brings together over 80 of the top college and high school prospects in the country and gives the players a memorable experience that features the appearances of notable coaches, professional players, and basketball legends.

“This is a great opportunity for me to continue growing into a complete basketball player,” said Watkins. “During the spring of 2024, I learned so much as I traveled to work out for five NBA teams during the draft process. I feel that participating in this camp will help me strengthen my learning curve and help me improve on the aspects of my game the NBA executives told me that I needed to work on.”

The academy began in 2015 and has grown each season since its inception 10 years ago.

Nike has invited 80 of the top players in the nation (high school and college players) to attend the Academy which is highlighted by instruction from current NBA and college players along with training and workout sessions. Former Seminole Baba Miller was among the participants in 2023.

Watkins was an All-ACC Honorable Mention selection as a junior during the 2023-24 season. He enters 24-25 season looking to build on a streak of 19 consecutive double-figure scoring games – a streak that began on January 19, 2024 against Wake Forest and continued throughout the remainder of the 2024 season. Watkins is the only player of six who ranked in the ACC’s top 20 for scoring and rebounding during the 2023-24 season who is returning to play in the ACC for the 2024-25 season. He is also the second leading returning ACC player for steals in the ACC for the 2024-25 season.

Watkins averaged a career-high 15.6 points (first on the team), a career-high 6.0 rebounds (first), 1.9 steals (first) and 2.8 assists (second) while playing in (and starting) all 33 games for the Seminoles during his redshirt junior season. He was the only player on the Seminoles’ roster who played in and started all 33 games for the Seminoles . He was named to the Oscar Robertson National Team of the Week by the USBWA (Nov. 28), named as the ACC Player of the Week (Co) with RJ Davis of North Carolina by the ACC Office (Nov. 27), and named the MVP of the 2023 Sunshine Slam.

Mike Norvell praised Elijah Moore on Saturday and this is a heck of a catch

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