It was more than a bad game for FSU

Sporting News, The, Oct 1, 2001 by Tom Dienhart

It was a beautiful day in Chapel Hill, N.C. The sun was shining. The sky was clear. The pre-game tribute to America and the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks was inspiring. College football, after a week off, was back, and there was some sense of normalcy again.

It didn't last long. The dynasty that since 1987 had been Florida State ended in less than four hours on this beautiful day in Carolina.

Most figured this FSU team, basically starting over on offense, would face some rough sledding this season, especially against rivals Miami and Florida. But no one expected it to happen in Chapel Hill.

Not against a North Carolina team that was 0-3 and struggled in losses to Oklahoma, Maryland and Texas. And certainly not 41-9.

It was North Carolina's first win against a team ranked in the top five and only the third Atlantic Coast Conference loss for FSU since it joined the league in 1992.

"I haven't even got a speech for this" Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said afterward. "They got what they deserved--a win--and we got what we deserved--a loss. We're not good enough to play like this."

The Seminoles still have time to salvage their season, but don't expect it. This is only the beginning of what will be rough times this year in Tallahassee.

The school's home unbeaten streak, currently 53 games, certainly will be tested October 13 when Miami comes to Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida State will win Saturday when Wake Forest visits, but it likely will lose to Miami and again November 17 when it travels to Florida. There also is a chance the Seminoles will fall November 3 at Clemson and December 1 vs. Georgia Tech.

If you're counting, that adds up to 6-5. That hasn't happened to Florida State since 1981, Bowden's sixth season in Tallahassee. Even if the Seminoles manage to finish 7-4 or 8-3, it might mean a bid to the--gulp--Gator or Peach bowls.

The last time the Seminoles looked like an ordinary team was 1986, when they finished 7-4-1. Then, from 1987 through 2000, the Seminoles finished each season ranked in The Associated Press' top five. Florida State won 152 games, and Bowden set a record with 10 or more wins each year. The Seminoles won two national championships (1993, '99), and played for the title four of the past five seasons.

Though this season is lost, there's always next year. But don't expect the Seminoles to reel off another 14-year run of dominance. The era of the 85-scholarship limit all but guarantees uneven seasons for every school. Florida State managed to dodge the dip longer than anyone else.

It did, of course, take more than four hours for Florida State's empire to crack. Signs first appeared in the offseason. The team entered the season with only 10 returning starters--five on offense, four on defense and one on special teams--its fewest number since the 1993 squad returned nine. Yet that team won Florida State's first national championship behind quarterback Charlie Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy. FSU fans were quick to point out the similarity in numbers, and it was concluded that all would be well in 2001.

But there are many big differences between the two squads. The biggest is at quarterback. The 1993 team was led by Ward, then a senior. The team this season is led by red-shirt freshman Chris Rix. Behind him is true freshman Adrian McPherson. The lack of experience was glaring in the loss to North Carolina.

Rix's youth didn't show much in wins over Duke and Alabama-Birmingham. But against the Tar Heels, he was intercepted once and fumbled twice among the Seminoles' five turnovers. Rix will be good, but he needs time.

The lack of leadership extends to the other skill positions. The receiving corps has been depleted by injuries--specifically, Anquan Boldin and Robert Morgan are out for the season. That forced freshmen Craphonso Thorpe and P.K. Sam into action.

With the inexperience at quarterback and lack of proven receivers, Florida State has tried to play power football. But when it realized it couldn't run over North Carolina after pounding it straight ahead for the first eight plays, it appeared to give up.

The Seminoles then spread things out, but the blocking continued to be spotty, receivers dropped passes and penalties piled up. FSU finished with only 88 yards rushing and 136 passing.

"We felt like we could dominate their offense from the first play of the game" said Tar Heels linebacker David Thornton. "Their offense wasn't too complicated, and we felt like we had the speed and the talent up front to go out and be aggressive and attack all game."

Lack of leadership and youth aren't the only factors working against Florida State. This is a team whose emotions have been twisted the past eight months. At the end of a conditioning session in February, linebacker DeVaughn Darling collapsed and later died.

The team was rocked by the injuries to the receiving corps in the preseason. Then last weekend, starting defensive end Eric Powell was shot in the back during an apparent robbery attempt. He's out for the season.