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A Work In Progress

The Associated Press

Florida State players run through drills during an NCAA college football practice for the Champs Sports Bowl.

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By STEVE ELLIS

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: December 27, 2008

Updated: 12/27/2008 12:22 am

ORLANDO - Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and his staff enter today's Champs Sports Bowl against Wisconsin able to make a case for improvement by pointing to the statistics.

"The things I'm happy about - our running increased," said Fisher, who took charge of the Seminoles' offense two years ago. "Scoring offense, we ended up being very good. You take out the first two games, we were still averaging 28 points a game in conference games, which is good, and our red-zone efficiency went up."

Fisher's offense finished the regular season tied for 15th nationally in red-zone offense, tied for 27th in scoring offense with 32.6 points per game and 30th in third-down conversions with 44.5 percent.

For the 2006 season, FSU ranked 70th nationally in total offense in averaging 330.3 yards per game. The offense also was 103rd in rushing, 26th in passing and 45th in scoring at 26.5 points per game. The Seminoles were in the bottom tier nationally in third-down conversion, ranking 94th. National statistics were not kept for red-zone efficiency, but FSU's struggles in that department were a subject of criticism from the media and a topic of concern for former offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden in 2006 - his last season at FSU.

The 2006 team featured a better passing game, while this group of Seminoles has been able to run the ball better.

FSU enters today's Champs Sports Bowl ranked 32nd nationally in rushing offense with 182.8 yards per game, nearly doubling its output of two years ago. The Seminoles rushed for 25 touchdowns this season compared to 17 in 2006.

Those figures seem to reflect a patient approach and a commitment to the running game that Fisher promised to instill in his offense.

But senior Antone Smith, who believes the offense has come "very far" since his freshman and sophomore seasons of 2005 and 2006, isn't sure that is the case.

"I could say there were points we were committed to the ground game, but pretty much throughout the season I don't think we were committed to it," said Smith, whose 161 carries and 753 yards are both less than his output a year ago. "That's just my personal opinion."

Most players are on the same page when it comes to the passing game this season, in contrast to two years ago. It wasn't at the same level, in part because of an effort by Fisher to protect his young offensive line by not relying heavily on pass protection.

FSU ranks 87th nationally in passing offense, throwing for 48 fewer yards per game than during the 2006 season. But quarterbacks this season threw the same amount of interceptions (16), just three fewer touchdowns (16 to 19) and completed 53.7 percent of their passes compared to 54.4 in 2006.

"We have to get better in the passing game," starting quarterback Christian Ponder said.

Veteran players present for the later years of the previous offensive staff see a difference in areas such as creativity. Quarterback Drew Weatherford, who started the previous three seasons, was asked if Fisher's offense keeps defenses on their toes more.

"Without a doubt," he replied.

Ponder, a true freshman in 2006, addressed the predictability factor as being a combination of more playmakers and Fisher's approach to the offense.

"We have a ton more weapons, and Coach Fisher has the ability to make plays and get people open," Ponder said. "Less predictable, you could say that. It's definitely very wide open. The playbook is huge, and Coach Fisher can pull anything. He does a good job of keeping the defense on their toes and not showing a lot of patterns."

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