Weren't many warm and fuzzy vibes for Jim Grobe last week in Tallahassee, where his team was shredded 52-0 by a Florida State team many people are casting as a juggernaut.
One quote that stood out from Grobe after the game was his take that this Seminoles team is "a special, special team."
The big question is, what makes them so special? What are the dramatic differences from last year, when they looked quite ordinary on a lot of occasions?
Grobe is as thoughtful a coach you're going to find, so I asked him to expound on the topic yesterday.
"The thing that I noticed, and I commented to Jimbo (Fisher) before the game, is typically what we've tried to do at Wake Forest is try to play a lot of juniors and seniors, try to grow our kids up and hopefully by the time they're older guys they'll be able to compete in this league.
"But we really reversed roles Saturday. Florida State is a very veteran football team. This is the most veteran football team that I remember. I'm in my 12th season here now, but I don't ever remember a Florida State team playing as many juniors and seniors as they're playing right now. Defensively, they had 10 juniors and seniors starting for them Saturday. I think they had a sophomore corner, who's another great player. But the thing that's remarkable to me about this Florida State team: They've always been very talented, but they've always relied on a lot of young players. This is a pretty veteran, tough, hard-nosed, crusty football team."
Grobe was asked if Florida State is indeed back, as many have been willing to pronounce about a million times in the last five or six years.
"They remind me of some of the Florida State teams we played when we first got to Wake Forest. Now, we weren't as competitive we have been over the past few years. And a couple of those Miami teams -- a couple of Larry Coker's teams back in the day, and a couple of Virginia Tech teams we've faced. Of the really, really good teams we've faced over the last 11-plus years, I'd say they're right there with the best of them.
"In all three areas: Offensively, they are very talented and they run the ball well, and they have the really good quarterback and skilled receivers. Their offensive line is playing good.
"Defensively, they're really physical. They're big and physical. They really run to the football and they don't make many mistakes.
"And then their kicking game is fantastic. They've got a kicker who kicks the ball as high as most people punt it. So you've got some issues with trying to return kickoffs. And I think their punting game is good.
"And last year, here in Winston, they had over 100 yards in penalties. And they didn't have any of that stuff Saturday. They really managed the game well, didn't have many penalties.
"I just came away impressed. I didn't see any weaknesses when we left Tallahassee."
LW
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