Video: Florida State ACC Championship, Orange Bowl ring models revealed

It was  good year for Florida State football. The Seminoles got a taste of the glory days for the program by winning an ACC title and a victory in a BCS bowl game, even if it was against BCS buster Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles fell a little short of my preseason expectations in 2012 but I feel they might be capable of another run through the ACC this upcoming season, which kicks off in Pittsburgh against a new conference foe in week one.

We now know what the celebratory and honorary bling that accompanies these milestone victories look like, thanks to some nice CAD video showcasing the designs for Florida State’s ACC and Orange Bowl championship rings. What, no ring for winning the ACC Atlantic Division?

First, Florida State’s ACC Championship ring design…

And Florida State’s Orange Bowl ring…

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Northern Illinois fans to ESPN: Suck our oranges!

It is safe to say ESPN did not handle the fact Northern Illinois clinched an automatic spot in the BCS with what you and I would call class. I would highly advise you to check out Matt Yoder’s rant and reaction on Awful Announcing, because quite honestly that sums up my reaction as well as anybody’s to the initial response form some of ESPN’s college football analysts.

Is Oklahoma or Clemson a better team than Northern Illinois? Sure, they probably are. To me though, Northern Illinois played by the rules and met the requirements needed to earn an automatic spot in the BCS. I thought the Huskies had too far up to move in the BCS standings in the final weekend of the season so I was stunned to see they were able to sneak in following their MAC championship win over Kent State. Nebraska’s tire fire performance in the Big Ten championship game certainly was not expected and helped the Huskies, as well as UCLA and Texas losing.

Rather than embrace the Cinderella story for Northern Illinois, many seem to be using it as an excuse to continue kicking the current BCS model on its way out the door (following next season). You will not get any of that from me. I was firmly on the Kent State band wagon specifically to see a MAC team in the BCS. Remember, I thought Northern Illinois had too much ground to make up to get in. I am happy to be wrong on this one. The fans and supporters of Northern Illinois are issuing their own responses to ESPN’s reaction, as you might expect.

Jordan Lynch apparently threw an orange at a TV. This gas station delievers another message to ESPN…

Via Reddit

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Morning Bump and Run [5.14.2012] – Boom goes the ACC

Florida State ready to leave the ACC?

Via Reddit.

Just when you though the weekend was going slowly, this article from Warchant.com gets everyone hopping with the possibility that Florida State will leave the ACC for the Big 12, quite possibly one of the most successful pieces ever written on the Rivals.com network. In short, Florida State Board of Trustees Chair Andy Haggard ripped the ACC for not exploring more lucrative options in their new television contract with ESPN, which looked good on paper at first but actually lacked financial benefits that play in favor of a school like Florida State.

The statements made by Haggard led Florida State to issue a statement with regret of the misinformation that was quickly put to the test by some, and reaffirmed their commitment to the ACC. But it does seem that if there was anything that was going to persuade Florida State to leave the ACC, the television deal may have been it. Dan Wetzel suggests it was the last straw.

Of course, if Florida State were to leave the ACC for the Big 12, who would join them to put the conference back to 12 teams? Clemson? Virginia Tech? Notre Dame? We’ll see.

Speaking of the Big 12, the Red River Rivalry will stay in the Cotton Bowl through 2020. This is good for college football.

Pittsburgh is suing the Big East. Hey, it worked for West Virginia. … Continue Reading

Bowl Predictions – Discover Orange Bowl

Overall: 8-4

I blame myself for missing out on posting my official predictions for the New Year’s eve and New Year’s Day bowl games, but things happen and I was unable to get to do much posting after Christmas. Anyway, going back to my previous picks I am now 8-4 in official bowl game predictions. I went 2-1 with my picks for the Military Bowl, Alamo Bowl and Texas Bowl. Now let’s see how I do with the Orange Bowl, which will be played tonight in Miami.

Virginia Tech (11-2) vs. Stanford (11-1)

Preview

This game has a couple of players I love to see play. Quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Luck (Stanford) bring dual threat ability to any game and should lead some pretty sound offensive game plans tonight. I believe Luck is the better all-around quarterback. I like Luck’s passing better than Taylor’s but I like Taylor’s running slightly better than Luck’s. As much as I love these two offensive players I am looking for the defenses to step up and make some plays.

Stanford ranks tenth in the nation in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) but how flawed is that number? I’m not big on the Pac 10 and I tend to think their defensive numbers can be a little misleading at times, but giving up fewer than 18 points per game in a conference that tends to have some high scoring games and includes 52 points given up to Oregon is saying something. It is a testament to the style of play head coach Jim Harbaugh brings to the program. the Hokies also are allowing fewer than 20 points per game (19.1 ppg). Can the Hokies slow down the Cardinal passing game? Virginia Tech ranks 32nd against the pass by allowing 199.3 passing yards per game and have the third most interceptions (22) in the nation.

This is a tough call for me, but I have faith in Luck to do what he needs to do to pick up a bowl victory when needed. I’m going with Stanford tonight. What about you?