Sunday, 2 a.m.
He just got here. Already, some of his fans think it is time to go.
Poor Willie Taggart. He lost them at hello.
Taggart, who seemed like such a good fit at FSU before the season started, watched his team stumble once again Saturday afternoon. They were ripped by a Syracuse team that won only four games a year ago -- and two of those were against Central Connecticut State and Central Michigan. The Seminoles were never in the game, further embarrassing themselves in a 30-7 defeat.
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We’re not playing like we should be playing," Taggart said. "They all should be frustrated and not at someone else, but with yourself. Each and every last one of them. We all need to look within ourselves and ask ourselves, ‘What are we doing?’ and ‘Are we doing what we’re supposed to?’ and ‘Are we doing enough to help this football team?’ Everybody. Coaches and players.
"Everybody should be frustrated. Everybody should be upset. Our fans should be upset. Coaches, players, we’re not living up to our expectations right now."
The Seminoles ran for just 62 yards against Syracuse.
Taggart says he understands the frustrations of fans who are used to better.
"We’re not performing the way they expect us to or the way we expect us to," Taggart said. "Our fans have every right to be upset. There’s an expectation here. There’s a standard here and we’re not living up to it.
"I will tell them don’t give up on this football team. Please don’t give up on this football team. If some do we understand and we’ll work our tails off to get them back."
FSU (1-2) , now has to play against Northern Illinois. Your pick?
Florida 48, Colorado State 10
The opponent wasn't very impressive. But after a loss to Kentucky last week, the win was a relief.
Florida swamped the Rams in "the Buyout Bowl," a matchup of two programs that no longer have Jim McElwain. The Gators will pay the Rams a whopping $2 million for the game, part of McElwain's $7 million buyout to leave Fort Collins for Gainesville late in the 2014 season. McElwain didn't last long enough at Florida to be around for the game against his former team. He is now the receivers coach at Michigan.
Franks completed 8 of 15 passes for 119 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He was 8-of-9 passing after missing his first six throws.
The Gators travel to Knoxville to face Tennessee on Saturday.
Miami 49. Toledo 24
Quarterback Malik Rosier threw for two touchdowns and ran for three as the Hurricanes held off Toledo.
Rosier, who was booed the week before in a 77-0 victory over Savannah State, threw for 205 yards and ran for 80.
"Now he can stop being booed," teammate DeeJay Dallas said after rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown against Toledo. "Stop booing Malik. I don't like that. That's not something that our fans should be about.
“Yeah, it’s okay to be angry. It’s OK to be upset. But Malik came out today and he played with an edge and he played like the starter should. And he’s going to continue playing like that, week in and week out. You’ll see. Malik is going to be great. Malik, he’s OK.
Added coach Mark Richt: “I hope he’s not listening to the chatter. We tell him not to. I don’t because there’s really nothing good that can come from it. He knew to focus on his job and focus on the team and the game plan. … I guess he scored three touchdowns rushing and two passing and made, like you said, some very big throws. I thought he played really good. I was proud of him.”
Miami plays against Florida International Saturday.
FAU 49, Bethune Cookman 28
The Owls jumped to a 29-0 lead in the first half and cruised. Running back Devin Singletary ran for five touchdowns (and 84 yards) in the victory. Singletary now has a rushing touchdown in 16 straight games.
“Kind of a tale of two games,” FAU coach Lane Kiffin said. “We really played sloppy after (going ahead 29-0).
“I feel we played down to their level a little bit,” he said. “I feel that we looked at the scoreboard, kind of relaxed and got comfortable.”
FAU travels to play UCF in Orlando Saturday.
FIU 56, UMass 24
Shawndarrius Phillips ran for 124 yards to lead the Panthers to an easy win over UMass, which has struggled to stop anyone all season.
FIU had to endure a weather delay before taking the victory.
“We finished the second quarter on a kind of high note and kind of settled down,” FIU coach Butch Davis said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a delay that was even close to that.
“This sounds crazy, but I think if there’s a football team in America that’s more prepared to handle [the weather] than us, I don’t now who it is,” Davis said. “It seems like almost every day at practice, we have a 30-minute lightning delay. This week we had an hour delay where we had to go into the basketball gym and finish practice.”
FIU plays Miami next week.
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