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Books may be Florida State's most formidable 2008 opponent.

Potential starting linebacker Marcus Ball announced plans to transfer a couple days ago, bringing the carnage wrought by the Florida State academic scandal to seven players. Make that eight:

An already-thinned Florida State offensive line will be without starting tackle Daron Rose this season.

"He will just have to dig down and get refocused on his grades," his mother, Ann Miller, told the Tampa Tribune on Monday evening. "He'll be back at Florida State (the next year)."

Rose started eleven games last year; redshirt freshman Antwane Greenlee is his projected replacement. At least Greenlee was a highly touted recruit. Seminole fans are predictably overwrought, but at least they can compare themselves to the Marines or... uh... colon cleansing.

It'll be interesting to see what the mass outflux does to Florida State's APR, currently comfortably above sanctions at 954. FSU's unlikely to see a drop big enough to cause problems next year, but further bad luck/poor performance could cause problems once next year's score is an anchor two or three years back.