Thanks to the academic cheating imbroglio that swept up dozens of Florida State athletes, we have more than enough candidates to field an NCAA version of “The Longest Yard.” A look at the best players who aren’t eligible for their teams’ bowl games this month — and their fearless, peerless leader (who’s not suspended):
| Coach | ||
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| Bobby Bowden | ||
| Florida State | ||
| Offensive Backs | ||
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| QB Xavier Lee | TB Rodney Ferguson | FB Eric Rutledge |
| Florida State | New Mexico | Florida |
| Receivers | ||
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| WR Lucas Taylor | WR Jeremy Childs | TE Charlie Graham |
| Tennessee | Boise State | Florida State |
| Offensive Line | ||||
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| Damon Rose | Jacky Claude | Abre Leggins | Christian Capote | Caz Piurowski |
| Florida State | Florida State | Michigan State | Clemson | Florida State |
| Defensive Line | |||
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| Budd Thacker | Jonal Saint-Dic | Demonte’ Bolden | Chris Baker |
| Florida State | Michigan State | Tennessee | Penn State |
| Linebackers | ||
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| Nick Watkins | Tramaine Billie | Dekoda Watson |
| Clemson | Clemson | Florida State |
| Defensive Backs | |||
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| Lendy Holmes | Rico McCoy | Ricardo Kemp | Patrick Robinson |
| Oklahoma | Tennessee | Tennessee | Florida State |