Taggart does not know if FSU players have hydrated well for Boise State

The warmth and humidity of late summer and early fall in the state of Florida is a tremendous natural advantage for local football teams.

In the run-up to the Florida State season opener against Boise State, this seemed to be a particularly important advantage for the Seminoles, who spent their entire pre-season training in the overwhelming heat of Florida.

In the meantime, Boise State had to simulate the conditions as best as possible, as the Broncos were practicing in an environment in Idaho that lacked moisture and a lot of heat. To simulate stifling conditions, Boise officials cleared the field and players and heated the Caven-Williams Indoor facility's heat during training.

But when both teams took the field for the Saturday game at Doak Campbell Stadium, it was the Seminoles that looked totally unprepared for the conditions. FSU players treated cramps and apparent heat problems all afternoon, while the Broncos seemed to be the team that trained in the natural warmth of Florida.

In the perspective of the second game Seminoles, Saturday at 17h. Florida's head coach Willie Taggart said his team may not have been well hydrated to cope with the heat that was waiting for their first match. .

"I think that after seeing our guys sink into cramps last weekend, we chatted with our medical staff, it's that our guys have to hydrate," Taggart said. during his weekly telephone show.

"It can not be Friday or Thursday, they have to start hydrating early in the week and take care of their bodies, we can not let our players take care of it, we do it. & # 39; We must force them to hydrate and take care of themselves.

"I do not know if we've done a good job this past weekend – one of those situations where you live and learn, and we'll make sure to help our guys on that."

FSU's official guidelines for rehydration in athletics inter-collegiate policies and procedures state: "Student Athletes are encouraged to drink before, during and after each training, competition and match and must drink before the activity. to hydrate early, student athletes must drink early and often during activity to control the amount of water and electrolytes lost in their sweat. "

At the FSU practice, there are about six stations with water coolers and Powerade. Staff members move around the field during practice by providing water or Powerade to the players. The team also takes mandatory breaks for each practice.

Taggart is no stranger to Sunshine State conditions. He was head coach at the USF and former high school football player in Bradenton. But that may explain at least a little why the second half of the Seminoles match with Boise State went the same way.

The conditioning of FSU, however, was not the only factor that helped the Seminoles feel the heat more. The defensive players of FSU were the main ones to feel the effects during the match.

The inability of the defense to leave the field and that of the offensive to remain on the ground have led Boise State to retain the ball for more than 40 minutes – more than any other team in the country in his first match – and perform 108 games.

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This worsened the exhaustion of the FSU as the match progressed and prevented the defense from getting a stop that could have won the game to the team.

"On the ground and in the pound," said Boise State back-quarterback Robert Mahone, who had 142 yards and two goals.

"We used them, they were tired in the second half, we were tired too, but that's what we do, we run the ball here, so we used them … … they were gassed (second half) We were gassed too, but as I said, everyone was tired.

"We have just finished."

At his Monday press conference, Taggart spoke of the team's conditioning and the need to replace the players to keep the team fresh as the game progresses.

"We are packing almost every day, so we will continue to do that from this point of view," said Taggart.

"We just have to be smart about our substitution and when and how we do these things, we gather our heads, the staff, and make sure we go out and do a good job of making sure our guys are fresh out there. down. "

You can contact Curt Weiler at [email protected].