The day before his team took the field for its Champs Sports Bowl matchup with Notre Dame, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher acknowledged that he had higher hopes for his team than how they ended up in 2011. Loaded with talent and expectations in the preseason, the Seminoles (No. 25 AP) squandered early season opportunities against ranked foes and fizzled again late in the year to end any path back to the Bowl Championship Series. Thursday night's 18-14 win over Notre Dame in front of a sellout crowd at Florida's Citrus Bowl might not have been the national stage FSU expected to be on this season, but how it won the game could be proof it is finally making progress.
