Back in business? Based on early results, Nebraska and Florida State appear poised to reclaim their spots as giants of the sport. In one case, appearances can be deceiving

Sporting News, The, Sept 29, 2003 by Matt Hayes

We were so quick to file them as lost dynasties, great programs on an ugly fall to mediocrity. But somewhere along the way, Florida State and Nebraska worked their way back to the elite level they were so accustomed to. Or have they? After 12 losses combined last season and 18 in the last two years, two teams that dominated college football the final quarter of last century are smoking out of the gate. They're unbeaten and strutting and talking about championships once again.

On the surface, the season looks promising for these teams, both with similar off-season goals and specific plans to reestablish themselves. But don't let the first month of the season fool you: One team is the real deal, and one is just buying time.

NEBRASKA

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS

Last winter, coach Frank Solich gutted his staff, adding six new faces, and faced up to a big fact: The Huskers were too fat. Nebraska, long known for its strength, was getting pummeled on both sides of the ball, and the staff was desperate for a solution. It was right in front of them, just as it was in the late 1980s when Dr. Tom Osborne was in danger of being run out of town for big-game meltdowns; speed. The offensive linemen were told to drop at least 20 pounds each, and the defense planned to use its safeties as linebackers and its linebackers as defensive ends to pick up the pace of the game and force opponents to react. The team's new credo: Strong doesn't necessarily mean slow.

QUARTERBACK QUANDARIES

The Huskers switched coordinators and schemes, quarterback Jammal Lord switched his jersey number--and not a thing has changed for the offense. Nebraska's best I-back still is playing quarterback, and Lord still gets booed regularly in Lincoln. The Huskers added a short pass-ins game in hope of giving the offense balance and relieving Lord from having to carry the team with his legs. But a month into the season, the staff doesn't trust its senior leader with the pass-ins game, nor does it trust rising freshman Joe Dailey enough to make a change at the position. Lord isn't comfortable throwing, and Dailey isn't comfortable in the offense. Translation: this is a one-dimensional, ugly offense.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

Sometimes the best moves involve absolutely no planning. On a what-if whim in fall camp, new coordinator Bo Pelini moved weakside linebacker Demorrio Williams to rush end to fill the spot vacated by injured star Trevor Johnson. The speedy Williams weighs just 210 pounds, but he had three sacks and three hurries to the first three games. The speed adjustments are continuing to pay off for a defense that had trouble stopping anyone last season. The Huskers already have forced 10 turnovers, after having just 21 all last season. And after getting pushed around last year, Nebraska has the nation's No 1-ranked defense.

THE FINAL VERDICT

The Huskers are biding time, a collapse waiting to happen. It won't be as damning as seven losses, but there are five potential defeats, beginning this week at Southern Miss. Even in the glory years, Nebraska always had the threat of a passing game to loosen opposing defenses. Now there's not even a hint. That's an easy game plan for defenses, a simple scheme to make the Huskers one-dimensional. Once that happens, there's only so much Nebraska's improved defense can do before it wears down.

FLORIDA STATE

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS

Chris Rix arrived in Tallahassee sporting vanity license plates that read "Lookout DB." Since then, the junior quarterback has been benched, suspended and dressed down by his teammates. His attitude fostered a separation in the locker room between the offense and defense, an ever-widening gulf that led to team turmoil, public bickering and, yes, nine losses in the past two years. But after six months of offseason penance, healing has begun for Rix and his teammates. The proof: a late-game comeback against Georgia Tech two weeks ago, in which the 'Noles rallied from a 13-0 deficit with 7 minutes to play to a 14-13 win. "Last year," coach Bobby Bowden says, "we would not have pulled that game out."

QUARTER QUANDARIES

The quarterback formula worked for so many years, from Casey Weldon to Chris Weinke and everyone in between: Sit two or three years; play two years; win championships. But when two key quarterback recruits didn't pan out in the late 1990s, it forced Rix to become Bowden's first freshman starter in 2001. Rix has been playing catch-up ever since, learning the subtleties and nuances of the position by playing instead of sitting and watching. If the formula had worked, this would've been Rix's first season as a starter. He still makes poor decisions at times, and the staff will use more shotgun, no-huddle sets to give Rix a better opportunity to read defenses and steer clear of trouble.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

A linebackers coach can't make that much of a difference, can he? After Joe Kines and his penchant for soft zones left for Alabama, Kevin Steele and his Big 12-influenced aggressive style arrived from Baylor. So did a change for the better. Florida State played more zone coverage last season to protect its shaky corners, and the soft schemes dropped the team into the bottom half of the nation's defenses. Now the 'Noles are back to their old ways: taking more chances in the secondary and stunting and blitzing in the front seven to confuse pre-snap reads. They're not necessarily better in coverage or in rush packages, but they're back to believing risk runs with reward.