Posted on Monday, 11.23.09
FSU
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden looking for breaks against top-ranked Florida Gators
Bobby Bowden knows that his Florida State team will need turnovers and more to upset the top-ranked Gators on Saturday in Gainesville.
BY IRA SCHOFFEL
Miami Herald Writer
TALLAHASSEE -- Bobby Bowden has seen some strange occurrences through the years of Florida State's intense rivalry with Florida.
Miraculous comebacks. ``Phantom'' penalties. Devastating turnovers.
And to hear Bowden tell it Sunday, the Seminoles might need all of those things to happen for Florida State to knock off top-ranked Florida on Saturday in Gainesville.
``Oh, gosh, yeah,'' Bowden said when asked if FSU would have to play a perfect game to beat the undefeated Gators. ``Ain't nobody gonna beat them with an imperfect ball game.
``They're too good. We'd have to play the very best we can play, and they'd have to turn the ball over. Upsets are caused by turnovers. When two good teams play, maybe it's a little different. But when No. 1 is playing somebody that's not ranked, then the only thing that neutralizes it is turnovers."
It's not surprising that Bowden might lack confidence. His Seminoles needed a touchdown in the final minute Saturday to defeat a woeful Maryland team 29-26 in Tallahassee.
FSU is 6-5 on the season and 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play; Florida is 11-0 and steamrolled to an 8-0 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
And the Seminoles haven't been competitive in their past two games against the Gators -- they lost 45-12 in 2007 and 45-15 in 2008. Florida has won five consecutive games in the series, and the combined margin of the past four victories was 145-58.
``Two years they've ripped us,'' Bowden said. ``And the year before that, they beat us by one touchdown. They were national champions. But I imagine they ripped everyone else the same way, didn't they? I imagine they beat those other teams about like they beat us.
``We've just got to go out there and play the best we can do. That's all we can do. Play as hard as you can.''
Though Florida's greatest strength is its defense -- the Gators rank first nationally in scoring defense and second in yards allowed -- that's not the side of the ball that has Bowden most concerned.
Even without junior quarterback Christian Ponder, who is sidelined the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, the Seminoles have proved they can move the ball on offense. But FSU has struggled defensively against virtually every team it has played.
There is no telling what kind of damage Florida quarterback Tim Tebow can do against a defense that ranks among the worst in the nation in every statistical category.
``Our offense is playing as good as they used to,'' Bowden said. ``They're playing as good as they did back when Charlie [Ward] was here, and [Chris] Weinke -- they're playing just as good. It's just, on the other side of the ball, we're having a hard time stopping people.''
Bowden does believe the talent gap between the Gators and Seminoles is narrowing. He pointed to freshmen Greg Reid, who leads the nation with 18.42 yards per punt return, and Lonnie Pryor, who ran for two touchdowns Saturday, as proof.
``We're getting closer,'' Bowden said. ``Next year, we should be neck and neck.''
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