BYU football: Passing game pleasant surprise for Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Christian Ponder and Rod Owens were roommates once. The Florida State teammates — Ponder, a junior quarterback, and Owens, a senior receiver — know one another well. Yet the first time Ponder threw a pass to Owens during summer workouts, Owens sensed his old friend had changed in some way.

"I was like, oh, man," Owens said. "This guy's grown — he's stronger. There's something about him that's different. I knew it from the first day of summer training."

The notion of offseason improvement has become the stuff of sporting cliches — right up there with taking it one game at a time and giving 110 percent. In Ponder's case, though, it really does seem to be true: Two games into the 2009 season, he is a different and much-improved quarterback.

He's more poised, polished and in command. He's making better reads. And, as a result, the Seminoles' passing game has been FSU's most consistent strength.

Entering the season, the running game figured to be the focal point of FSU's offense. The Seminoles returned all five of their starting offensive linemen and a stable of young, talented running backs. But the ground game has yet to take hold. The defense has, at times, been inferior. The special teams have hardly been special.

It's the passing game, though, that has shined brightest. In back-to-back games, Ponder has set career highs in passing yards — 294 in defeat against Miami and 324 in victory against Jacksonville State. Ten players have caught passes. And FSU Coach Bobby Bowden acknowledged recently his team is the most settled it has been at quarterback since the Chris Weinke era.

"It comes with confidence and knowledge," FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said of the development of Ponder and the passing game. "I mean, he understands what we're doing. What we're trying to accomplish. And then how it applies to the defense. And he's seeing that right now. He's seeing the field very well."

Ponder is especially seeing his most experienced receivers very well. Two games in, FSU's three leading pass-catchers are seniors: Owens and Richard Goodman, both receivers, and Caz Piurowski, a tight end.

All three have overcome their own set of obstacles to achieve early season success. Owens and Goodman have both battled inconsistency during their time here and each had offseason legal issues to resolve before the season. Piurowski had earned a reputation for being a capable blocker but had never been much of a downfield threat in the passing game until this season.