Florida Sports Wires

By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire JACKSONVILLE - ( www.jaxsportsnews.com ) - The only dampening moment in the Jaguars’ 42-7  victory  over Indianapolis at the Bank Sunday was the steady drizzle. Yet, the drenched crowd enjoyed every minute of the rout. You still can’t worry about DaVon Hamilton leading the game with what looked like a potential long-term knee injury, or Travon Walker leaving with a rib injury.  For the Jaguars’ sake, hopefully, they aren’t serious. Another red flag was the offensive line’s sporadic spotty protection that allowed three sacks.  Overall, it was  complete on both sides of the ball. And plenty of players got involved. ‘ They made it look easy, and they should have.  Everybody knew the eventual outcome early in the third quarter as the fans began to steadily empty out.   The fourth quarter looked like a slow high-school game needing to end.  Head coach Liam Coen was unable to unload the bench late in the third q...

TALLAHASSEE ( www.jaxsportsnews.com )— Florida State University President Richard McCullough informed head football coach Mike Norvell Sunday afternoon that FSU is making a change in the leadership of its football program, effective immediately. FSU Athletics Hall of Fame member Rick Stockstill has been named interim head coach. FSU coordinator Tony White and safeties coach Evan Cooper have been relieved of their duties. Linebackers coach Ernie Sims has been elevated to interim defensive coordinator, and assistant defensive backs coach Greg Moss will coach safeties. Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr. will handle primary play-calling responsibilities for the offense. Florida State will immediately begin a national search for its next head coach. “We have made the decision to change the leadership of our football program,” McCullough said. “We thank Mike Norvell for his commitment and service to Florida State and wish him and his family the very best. We under...

TALLAHASSEE ( www.jaxsportsnews.com ) – Florida State men’s basketball opens its 80th season Monday night against crosstown foe Florida A&M in the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. The game will be televised on ESPNU, with Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes on the call, and broadcast on the Seminole Sports Network with Jeff Culhane and Adrian Crawford. The Seminoles enter the season after winning both preseason exhibitions against SEC opponents, defeating Auburn, 82-71, in Birmingham, Alabama, and LSU, 89-87, at the Donald L. Tucker Center.  Florida State scored more than 50 second-half points in both games while outscoring its opponents 68-52 in the paint and collecting 34 second-chance points. The Noles also shot 84.2 percent from the free-throw line, making 48 of 57 attempts. Sophomore forward Shon Abaev led the Seminoles with 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. A transfer from Cincinnati and former McDonald’s All-American, Abaev sco...

  Follow the ASUN on www.jaxsportsnews.com CURRENT ASUN STANDINGS Team OVR CONF Bellarmine 0-0 0-0 FGCU 0-0 0-0 Jacksonville 0-0 0-0 Lipscomb 0-0 0-0 North Florida 0-0 0-0 Queens 0-0 0-0 Stetson 0-0 0-0 West Florida 0-0 0-0 ______________________________________________________ STARTING FIVE Jacksonville and FGCU each earned 58 total points to be named Preseason favorites in this season’s coaches poll. The Dolphins received four first-place votes while the Eagles garnered three from the league’s eight head coaches. Lipscomb was voted third, followed by Stetson to round out the top-half of the poll.  After helping Jacksonville notch a 24-9 record last season that saw the program’s second ASUN Tournament title, Tatum Brown was named both Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Brown led the ASUN last season with 2.33 steals per game while averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds. She recorded a season-high six steals on three occasions and tallied at least t...