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| Thursday, September 7 One Bowden boy still looking for perfection By Chris Fowler Special to ESPN.com | |||||
The only Bowden without a perfect season ... is Bobby. That's just one of the little twists to Saturday's first father-son coaching matchup when Clemson -- coached by Tommy Bowden -- meets father Bobby's Florida State Seminoles.
Remember, Terry had his 11-0 year in 1993, when he inherited a probation-saddled Auburn program. Tommy turned in last year's 11-0 regular season at Tulane into the job at Clemson.
Don't tell the folks at Clemson that it makes zero difference whether the Noles' No. 9 is back in the mix. Actually, it's only my guy Lee Corso who's saying that, anyway. It was Warrick who almost single-handedly beat Clemson two years ago, when he raced through Death Valley for 372 all purpose yards, most ever against the Tigers. P-Dub had a 90-yard punt return and an 80-yard pass reception for TDs. That was kind of his national coming-out party. Without him, the Noles would have been in trouble. They couldn't stop Clemson and survived 35-28. Although Bobby's quest for No. 300 has almost been lost among the "family" angle, another active member of the club believes the emotion of reaching that milestone will catch Bowden off guard. Joe Paterno said he was surprised how emotional he got as he led the Lions onto the field for what turned out to be his 300th win last fall. Afterwards, he stayed on the field to revel in the moment with the student section. Maybe the weight of the rare 300-win plateau will hit Bobby on Saturday. He deserves to feel a little misty. Speaking of 300 That's the number of consecutive weeks that Nebraska has been ranked in the AP poll. Think about that: 18 years ago this week the Huskers got back in the poll after recovering from a 1-2 start -- and they haven't left since. True, the poll is an artificial measure of success, but it's mind-boggling to consider an almost two-decade span in the Top 20/25. Let's be frank, Frank Payback is "no factor" in Nebraska's preparation for its first visit to play Texas in Austin since 1960. That's according to Huskers head coach Frank Solich. Yeah, right. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to many Cornhusker players. Texas spoiled the 47-game home win streak and humiliated the proud Blackshirt defense by running through it and throwing over it for big plays a year ago. Major Applewhite even converted a third-and-21 with a 37-yard completion. The Longhorns are the only conference team Nebraska's seniors have not beaten. I didn't expect Solich to be foaming from his mouth, declaring war on the offending Texans. But to profess that visiting the Horns in front of the biggest crowd to ever witness a football game in that state is just another game would be absurd. Savor the day. It's the last regular-season collision of these two heavies from the opposing divisions until 2002. I just hope the Horns decide to block the blitzes that quarterback Major Applewhite will see. Or else it'll be real ugly. The Texas D-line is athletic enough to keep UT in the game if they are given periodic rests. People think I'm crazy for believing since opening day that this will be a tough test for Nebraska, but I'll stick to that. The little bronze guy As you may know it, the Heisman Trophy will be awarded this year, despite the annoying whining of folks like my pal Dan Patrick, who contend that no candidate seems deserving. Nonsense. Joe Hamilton and Shaun Alexander are both in the middle of wonderful seasons. Bama's star has the chance to seize the lead if he can conquer Tennessee's fine defense. The Vols are the only Division I-A team that hasn't surrendered a rushing touchdown this year. The last opponent to crack the goal line on the ground: the Rooster, Florida State's Marcus Outzen in the Fiesta Bowl. Why are folks so slow to realize Alexander is great? Because he got no preseason hype and because his excellent half-season has been overshadowed by the constant stories on Mike DuBose's status. Alexander destroyed an Ole Miss defense that was (over) rated No.2 nationally against the run. Now, if he can handle the Tennessee front seven -- and that's a big if -- he'll be on his way to the Downtown Athletic Club in early December. Getting (Tusca)loose I'm told it'll be an extra-wild weekend at Alabama. University Boulevard will be shut down Friday night, creating a pedestrian mall along the strip of campus bars. Ex-great Kenny Stabler will be ring leader of a pep rally. Tickets that cost students $5 are fetching more than a C-note! Moving the big games with Tennessee and Auburn from Legion Field in Birmingham to the campus seems like a great idea. Ultimate warrior Last year, I thought Al Wilson best fit that description. Now, it's his replacement as the Vols' defensive spark who defies belief by playing through all sorts of ailments. Raynoch Thompson will give it his best in Tuscaloosa, even though he had hernia surgery last week. Thompson has also powered through a bruised kidney, a broken nose, blurred vision, and a ligament injury to his ankle. Other than that, he's been healthy. Top five I know there's a long, long way to go. But it's now late October -- time to start envisioning what Corso described quite well as a "cannon ball" heading for the BCS. This is a key Saturday for three unbeaten title contenders because all three play capable challengers away from home: Florida State, Penn State, and Nebraska. If all three survive, they move a big step closer to a big mess at the end of the season: more than two heavyweights with perfect records and only two slots in the Nokia Sugar Bowl. All three heavies have tests ahead, of course. And we all remember what happened on the final weekend before the bowls last year: unbeatens UCLA and Kansas State blew two-touchdown leads and erased a potential BCS embarrassment. This year's spoilers are Texas A&M, Kansas State, Florida and Michigan State. The Aggies and Wildcats visit Nebraska in Lincoln on Nov. 6 and Nov. 13, respectively. Then, on what could be billed as "Spoiler Saturday" Nov. 20, the Gators and the Spartans might be in a position on their home fields to spoil a Bowden vs. Paterno national title battle in New Orleans. Michigan State hosts Penn State and Florida hosts Florida State that afternoon. Virginia Tech could be the best bet to stay undefeated. Miami's visit will be a real test -- but only if the 'Canes arrive unbeaten in the Big East, with a chance for the conference crown and the BCS bid. With another loss before going to Blacksburg, they won't have the same fire. Here's how the top of my AP ballot looks: 1) Florida State. I know it's a boring pick, but the Seminoles rolled on without Warrick behind Weinke's sharpness. No way I'll make a pick on the game at Florida until Nov. 20. 2) Nebraska. Huskers not at all immune from a big scare or two ... but I don't see them losing in the regular season. 3) Virginia Tech. I was all prepared to bump up Penn State, but how could I after watching the Gobblers hang 62 on poor Syracuse? 4) Penn State. I know, this team is probably too good to rank fourth. If they continue to play aggressive football, win at Purdue, beat Michigan at home and Michigan State on the road, they have to play for the national title. 5) Florida. Another slightly sloppy win, and now a week off before the cocktail party with Georgia. After that, the Noles are the only hurdle. The Gators should spend the Saturday off scoreboard watching: a loss by Nebraska or Penn State would be hugely helpful down the line. Call remaining Pac-10 fans The conference has been beaten silly (on the field and in the media) for months, so I thought I'd at least donate a few inches of this column to salute the (for now) leaders of the Pac: Stanford. The same Cardinal that got taken behind the shed by Texas and spanked by San Jose State has found a way to get to the halfway point of the league season at 4-0. Sorry, that sounded like a conference bash. I didn't mean it to. Even folks in Palo Alto can't get too pumped up, though. The Cardinal surrendered 533 yards to Oregon State and only won because of turnovers and horrendous Oregon State execution following a first-and-goal at the one. Now, Stanford goes on one of those wacky three-game road swings unique to the Pac-10 schedule makers: at USC, Washington, and Arizona State. The current conference leaders will now be an underdog in three straight games. On a Hokie high Virginia Tech put on an awesome show last Saturday. If you thought it was impressive on TV, I promise you it was more devastating live from field level. Rabid, bloodthirsty intensity for 60 minutes. The Hokies' subs never let up. Syracuse was so overwhelmed that the Orange wanted to get on the bus for Roanoke in the second quarter and I couldn't blame them for quitting. By the way, Michael Vick is an awesome young quarterback talent. You should see his field presence, his swagger, his poise up close. Not to mention his ultra-quick release and his arm strength. It seems absolutely impossible that he could be a redshirt freshman, with barely 16 quarters of college football in him. Vick is sick. He's got a huge future. And a huge salute to the massive crowd that showed up for Gameday's Blacksburg debut. A Gameday "record" crowd of about 13,000 came to Lane Stadium to watch three clowns on cable flap their gums about football for an hour. Most sat many yards from our set and couldn't see a monitor. Amazing. We thank you. Quick hitters For a few minutes this week, I thought Auburn's Tommy Tuberville was the arch enemy of the X-Games' Generation. You may have seen a little item on the wire service about Tigers kicker Rob Bironas being booted off the team because he dyed his hair platinum blond, then bright orange -- much to the annoyance of Coach T. Some of my best friends have platinum blond or orange hair and they're all fine Americans. OK, I do host the X-Games but I don't actually have any orange-haired homies. Still, if a kicker wants to dunk his head in a bucket full of day-glo dye, well, he's a kicker. The thing is, Bironas was booted for other reasons. He'd missed four of five attempts, been replaced by Damon Duval, and then missed a few team meetings. Gone. Let the record show that Tuberville has nothing against creative coifs: the punter, snapper, and holder all have the platinum dye job, showing kicking team solidarity. Eyes of GameDay Are on Texas and Nebraska Saturday morning. This has produced some head shaking from folks in Tuscaloosa, where the town is off the hook for the Vols' visit. I know, it's a tough call not to make the first visit to Bryant-Denny with the show. On paper, it's likely to be a more competitive game than UT-NU is. Just know that a lot of factors go into these decisions. This may be our only chance to see the Huskers, an undefeated title contender. The Tennessee-Bama game has less impact on the title race. We've seen the Vols once, and may be in Knoxville for the Notre Dame game. So, sorry Bama fans, I know it would have been fun. But then, so is Austin. | ALSO SEE College football Top 25 overview Midseason college football report Herbstreit's viewer's guide Tommy Bowden always wanted to follow father's path | ||||
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