Florida State's Jimbo Fisher unhappy with early season schedule
Start times for the first four games of Florida State’s 2016 season were announced last week, and Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher is not happy about how it all plays out.
At a booster event in Tampa on Sunday night, Fisher expressed his distaste for the 12:30 p.m. kick time for FSU’s second game – a Sept. 10 home matchup with FCS Charleston Southern.
The reason for the distaste? FSU has a quick turnaround after opening its season just five days prior in a Monday night showdown against Ole Miss in Orlando.
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“I think it’s a very big challenge,” Fisher said per Warchant.com. “I don’t like that because you’re coming off a Monday night game to a 12:30 game. I think it’s ridiculous in college to ask kids to play on a Monday-Saturday or a Saturday-Thursday – if they’re truly worried about the kids. I think those (quick-turnaround) games are ridiculous.
“I think it’s unfair to (the players). It’s not what’s good for the body and everything else.”
Fisher had to know this was a possibility, right? After all, the Ole Miss game was announced in November 2014 and hyped up as a Monday night affair. When the contract was signed, Fisher had to know there was a very good chance an early Saturday kick was just around the corner.
I bet that reported $3.5 million from ESPN sounded good, too.
And no disrespect to Charleston Southern, a team coming off a 10-3 record and an FCS playoffs appearance, but it’s not like the Seminoles are playing Clemson on short rest. It’s an FCS team. At home. Fisher has one of the most talented rosters in college football. The Noles shouldn’t have an issue taking care of business in this one.
It’s not like FSU is flying across the country, either. The team will get on its private jet after the game and fly an hour north back to Tallahassee. That’s not even enough time for Jimbo to watch the game film before returning to campus! Would a 3:30 p.m. kickoff really make that much of a difference?
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Fisher’s gripes don’t stop there. Florida State’s Week 3 matchup at Louisville has a noon kickoff. That’s three games in 12 days – two fewer than an ordinary schedule. To compensate, Fisher is adjusting his team’s practice schedule.
“We’ve got three games in 12 days. It will change how we practice and prepare,” Fisher said. “It will change how we prepare going into the first game … I’ll have to look at that whole procedure.”
Maybe that’s something Fisher should have thought about when he signed off on a Monday night opener.
For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!