Homewreckers

Sporting News, The, Sept 17, 2001 by Matt Hayes

Florida State is unbeaten in its past 53 games at Doak Campbell Stadium, with an ACC mark of 36-0. This week, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take down the streak.

Warrick Dunn, Florida State's former All-American and lifetime ambassador, is trying to explain what game day is like at Doak Campbell Stadium. Surprisingly, he uses the word "peaceful." In the middle of the heat and hell and pressure and passion, explains Dunn, there is the comforting presence of peace--for members of the home team. The world outside an FSU helmet is chaos. But from inside the helmet, everything that's outside flatlines.

"Your focus, your energy, is right in front of you," Dunn says. "It's crazy in that place; I mean, it's wild. But we never knew because we were focused on our game. I can't imagine what it was like to be the other guy."

Let's just say it's no cakewalk. And for the last nine years, it has been impossible for a team other than the Seminoles to win there. Miami hasn't done it. Florida hasn't, either.

The ACC? Please. FSU doesn't even recognize the ACC.

"I've heard all that before," says senior safety Chris Hope. "I've always heard about Georgia Tech and Clemson. I think that's more of a media thing."

That ambivalence toward the ACC has been prevalent since Florida State rolled into the league in 1992, and it grows stronger with each season--and with each notch on the Seminoles' 53-game home unbeaten streak. The rest of the league doesn't even acknowledge the possibility of winning at Doak Campbell. Until now.

"Yeah, we can play with them." says Georgia Tech quarterback George Godsey, who will lead his team into Tallahassee this weekend. "We all know that. It's a matter of going there and showing it."

There's not a better time for it to happen. The Seminoles are ripe to be had. They're young, they're inexperienced and their once unparalleled coaching staff has been raided repeatedly by other schools. If any team in the ACC is going to get FSU, this is the time.

And, the team is Georgia Tech, which lost to the Seminoles by a total of 11 points the last two seasons, finding ways to lose two games it could have won. This time, the Yellow Jackets will break through.

With input from various coaches in and out of the ACC, we've got the five-step program that Georgia Tech will use to pull off a groundbreaking victory over FSU. It will be the 'Noles only ACC loss of the season, and Georgia Tech will secure its most resounding win since the Yellow Jackets won the national title in 1990.

1. Stay cool

It's almost a given that things will get dicey early on for the Jackets. The key will be how Tech handles it. It will be loud, hot and humid--and a night game--at the Doak. The `Noles have been hearing all summer that Tech could challenge the streak, and they will be geeked.

"You can't panic," says Duke coach Carl Franks, a former longtime assistant at Florida whose Blue Devils were blown out by FSU last weekend. "No matter what happens early, you just can't panic."

Having Godsey at quarterback will take care of that. A poised senior, Godsey earned the respect of teammates with a huge season in 2000 and by returning from a torn ACL, which he sustained in the Peach Bowl, sooner than anyone could have expected. Early in the season opener, when the Jackets were struggling on offense against Syracuse, Godsey rounded up the offense on the sideline for some stern criticism. A series later, Tech completed its only scoring drive of the game. It's that leadership that will stabilize Tech.

"He looks you in the eyes, and you look back," says tailback Joe Burns. "You know what I mean?"

Still, Tech will have to withstand the emotion early. There's a reason only a 31-31 tie to Florida in 1994 has kept FSU from being perfect at home dating to the 1991 Wide Right loss to Miami. Talent has been the biggest factor, but the 'Noles also are more aggressive at home, especially early in games and particularly on special teams. The 'Noles routinely go after opponents' first punts to set the tone of the game. Once the first big play arrives, the 'Noles feed off the energy it creates.

"We always thought that's where you get a jump-start if things are kind of sluggish," says NC State coach Chuck Amato of his days at FSU, where he coached for 18 years before leaving in 2000. "Once that happens, everything changes. Then what you have is a team with obvious talent playing with confidence in a stadium where they feel they're invincible. It just snowballs."

2. Get physical

No one intimidates visitors like Florida State. From Mickey Andrews' attacking defense to Bowden's fast-break offense, the 'Noles force action at every turn with a physical presence and lots of attitude.

Tech, though, won't back down--especially its key playmakers. Defensive ends Greg Gathers and Nick Rogers, electric wide receiver Kelly Campbell and Burns will establish a physical attitude early and won't be intimidated.

"You have to understand (FSU) will take a 15 (-yard penalty) or a couple of 15s just to get you rattled," a former ACC coach says. "They're in your head before the game starts, and it gets worse as the game goes on.