Florida St. impressed by BYU's defense

PROVO — Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has taken notice of BYU's defense.

It's the same defense that limited Oklahoma to 13 points and knocked 2008 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford out of the game with a shoulder injury.

"You take a team that was the leading scoring team in NCAA history the year before ... and (BYU) held them to seven points in almost two full quarters of play when Bradford was in there," Fisher told The Palm Beach Post. "They're a very sound football team, very physical. They do a very good job on their blitz packages, mixing up, getting after the quarterback and changing coverages."

Junior quarterback Christian Ponder, who is averaging 309 yards passing per game, knows the Cougars will look to put pressure on him.

"In order to slow down the blitz, we need to make big plays and get them to second-guess it," Ponder said. "If they're going to bring the pressure on us, we have to put pressure on them."

PONDER THIS: Not only is Ponder impressive on the field, but he's also impressive in the classroom.

Ponder has already graduated and is currently working on his Master's Degree. "That gives you an idea of how well he learns," FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said. "He's a very good student of the game."

Ponder started as a sophomore last season and this year he has improved both as a quarterback and as a team leader, Bowden said.

"The leadership is definitely there. He's only a junior, but he's one of our captains. He's developed through the years. He's developed by game by game by game. He's so much farther ahead than he was last year. He's got a ways to go, but he's made a lot of progress."

NOT WORRIED ABOUT ALTITUDE: Bowden said he won't say anything to his team about playing at an elevation of 4,500 feet in Provo.

Two years ago, the Seminoles played the University of Colorado in Boulder and won, 16-6.

Asked if the altitude will play a factor in Saturday's game, Bowden said, "We've played at Colorado once or twice. We've never been to Provo. I don't know if that's worse — by that I mean, it could affect you — than Denver. I don't know the relationship there. It never bothered us at Denver. It's something I'll never mention to my players."

Florida State leaves for Provo today and was tentatively planning a walk-through at LaVell Edwards Stadium in the afternoon to get acclimatized to the field and the altitude.