FSU Players Ruling the NFL Roost (Miami fans, look away...)

Most Friday mornings I trudge into work and attempt to drown my hangover in a pool of tepid coffee-flavored sludge. This morning, however, the pounding in my head was offset by a warm fuzzy in my heart as I read the following article from the Wall Street Journal detailing how the Florida State Seminoles are head and shoulders above every other school at producing NFL talent:

FSU #1 Producer of NFL Talent - take THAT Bob!

If you weren't paying attention (and due to the laborious nature of the game I wouldn't blame you) both teams in last year's Super Bowl started DBs that donned the Garnet and Gold in college, and the 'Noles currently have more alumni cashing NFL paychecks than any other college football program. Granted that still puts our guys in a lower tax bracket than your average starter at Oklahoma, but it's still pretty cool.

Of special interest is the fact that Miami, who set a record in 2004 when seemingly all 32 players in the first round were drafted out of Da U, is ranked as the #3 most OVERrated program! Whaaaaaaaaaa??? You mean Kellen Winslow, who's made roughly $875,000 per reception so far in his injury-ravaged career, isn't racking up points on the "alumni success score"? What about busts Philip Buchanon and Mike Rumph? Coming out of college those two were heralded as half of the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse. Since being drafted both have been shipped out of their original NFL destinations. It's hard to figure out since the U of M has unleashed the unholy fury of Ed Reed on the NFL, Edgerrin James was a cog in the league's most lethal regular-season offense, and Ray Lewis is a deadly linebacker, especially if you're a pedestrian in Buckhead. Plus Jeremy Shockey, Clinton Portis, and Sean Taylor are Pro-Bowl caliber players. But still, anything that makes Da U look bad is good with me, and players like Winslow are giving Miami a rapidly growing rep as America's chief producer of players with big paychecks and bigger egos, only without the production to justify either.

Also of note is the University of Florida's status as #2. Thanks to the '90s the Gators are used to looking up at the Noles, yet we have to wonder how UF reached that lofty status after numerous WR and QB busts, not to mention the underwhelming career of former #3 pick Gerard Warren. Are they still getting points for Emmitt Smith? Shouldn't Jesse Palmer's appearance on "The Bachelor" cost them? We'll apply the same defense we use every time we get taken to the cleaners at NL Hold 'Em and blame a statistical anomoly.

FSU #1! Been way too long since I've heard that.