Posted on 12/22/2007 2:36:24 PM PST by The Pack Knight
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Thirty-six Florida State players won't be going to the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky because of an academic cheating scandal, other violations of team rules or injuries.
Linebacker Dekoda Watson, cornerback Patrick Robinson, who had six interceptions, and three top defensive tackles were among the players sidelined either as a result of the ongoing investigation into an academic cheating scandal at the school or some other violation of team rules.
Bobby Bowden and Florida State will be without 34 players at the Music City Bowl. "It is very important that the media make clear that those missing the bowl trip are not included because of either injury or for a violation of team policy," associate athletic director Rob Wilson said in a statement accompanying the travel list. "It would be irresponsible to imply or state that any or all of the student-athletes will miss the trip for one particular reason."
The school announced earlier this week that 25 of its players were included in its ongoing investigation of academic wrongdoing by the athletes. It didn't identify which students.
A violation of team rules could range from poor class attendance to a run-in with the law or failing a drug test, among many other things.
The Florida State roster was so thinned by the academic scandal that the team had room for 17 players on the traveling party who are either redshirt freshmen or athletes who suffered season-ending or career-ending injuries this season. Only 43 scholarship players area available to coach Bobby Bowden for the game.
Junior quarterback Xavier Lee, who started three games for the Seminoles, was among offensive players not traveling. The offensive line was also hit hard with tight ends Caz Piurowski and Charlie Graham, offensive tackle Damon Rose and guard Jackie Claude not making the trip.
The absence of defensive tackles Letroy Guion, Budd Thacker and Paul Griffin, linebacker Marcus Ball and defensive ends Neefy Moffett and Justin Mincey could lead to a big day for Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson.
The team's top two tacklers - linebackers Derek Nicholson and Geno Hayes - will play.
And while Florida State usually has a couple of casualties after the first semester, never has a Bowden-coached team limped off to postseason play without this many players.
"You have 22 positions out there and some you'd be more concerned about than others," Bowden said following Friday's practice. "I think we've gotten everything we could out of it."
The Seminoles, who will match 7-5 season records with Kentucky, will have most of their key skill players. Quarterback Drew Weatherford, tailback-receiver Preston Parker and wide receiver Greg Carr were healthy and unscathed by the sanctions.
Thirteen of the names missing from the travel list had started games this season for Florida State. Eleven of the players not traveling were non-scholarship athletes.
Meanwhile, former Florida State athletic director David Hart Jr. rebutted part of Florida State President T.K. Wetherell's statement Friday that could have implied that the scandal led to Hart's leaving the university a year before his contract expired.
"There's no connection there," Hart said Saturday. "I can assure you that my separation from Florida State had absolutely nothing to do with this current review of academic misconduct. To even suggest otherwise would be irresponsible."
The new competition for Florida talent from USF and the other upstarts won't help, either.
They weren’t all that good to begin with.
Bowden’s lack of disciple over the years finally catches up with him.
Guess just making them run the steps at the Doak doesn’t work anymore.
disciple= discipline
How effective is that false forced Christian fundamentalism now? It would appear that it was for more for the alums and administration than it was for the thugs you recruited.
2008 Outback Bowl. Six Volunteers ineligible vs Wisconsin
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=699386
Tell me about it. We had to suffer through one of his disciples at NC State. Leading the ACC in penalties and turnovers for 5 years got old really fast.
Good for FSU! Some of these spoiled kids seem to have forgotten that they are supposed to be students.
It’s about time FSU stopped cheating and got a new coach.
I’d say DQ the entire team and let a deserving school get a bid at a bowl game. The Music City Bowl people must be livid.
It was much better in my football days at U of Miami. Cash, cars, free meals with no waiting for a table anywhere in town, rooms at most hotels, gasoline on my Gulf card...
The good old days.
Wow. I recently received a class-wide email from my medieval history TA, saying how thrilled she was that this was her first class ever (out of seven semesters of being a TA) that she didn’t have to deal with any cheating issues. It astounded me that it was so anomalous that nobody in a class of 40-50 students would cheat.
This is all a scam. Don’t believe it ‘cause the REAL reason is that Bowden knows he can’t beat the Blue & White so thus comes up with this lame attempt to have something to blame when he loses.
Trust me.
Go Big Blue!
I did take one semester down there so I guess I qualify as a gray-shirt. Also, I never cheated on exams. I like history.
I guess you’ll be easy for your fellow freepers to recognize, sitting there on the bench next to the ice cooler of cold beer?
Until the major colleges declare themselves to be the minor league of professional football, actual standards of behavior, both academic and personal, will continue to hold sway. And for that we should all be grateful.
Go UK!
Looks like both our B-Ball teams are in for a long year, though.
The Noles aren't exactly leading the nation in graduation rates, although they're ahead of Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Are you kidding, we're recognized as the Harvard of the south.
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