Substitutes entering the game in waves, second-teamers and third-teamers taking their positions, playing crucial minutes, making big plays.

It scares him to death.

	Bobby Bowden enters his 24th year at FSU just eight victories from the 300-win plateau.

Some might argue that those Florida State backups are as good as the starters elsewhere. That's not the point.

Football didn't used to be played that way, Bowden says. Tradition dictated that starters played the whole game. They played with each other to build continuity. It was a right they had earned. Reserves were for emergencies.

Many aspects of today's game are unsettling to Bowden, a man who shares space on the all-time coaching victories list with giants like Bryant, Stagg and Warner.

If there is one thing the FSU coach has demonstrated as he approaches his 70th birthday this fall -- one reason his legacy remains happily unfinished -- it is an ability to adapt.

Bowden is an old-school coach who has adjusted to the modern game.

When his defensive coordinator tells him it's important to build depth by playing backups, Bowden goes against his nature. When players show up wearing earrings or listening to strange music, Bowden understands that he is from a different time.

But when Bowden sits down in the living rooms of prospective recruits -- players who are now young enough to be his grandchildren -- his nature and advanced age seem not to matter. They still follow him in droves.

It is among the many reasons why the Seminoles are, once again, a national championship contender with the 1999 season about to begin. With 12 straight 10-win seasons and top four national finishes, Bowden is a legend -- one of the biggest names in the game.

He's a member of an informal fraternity, a collection of coaches who continue to cast their shadow over a sport which evolves so quickly that trends seem to come and go in a season.

Teams are constantly in transition. Players arrive as wide-eyed freshmen, many leaving just a few years later to chase NFL riches.

Yet the legends remain.

Bowden begins his 24th season at Florida State, and many expect him to end it playing for the national championship on Jan. 4 in the Sugar Bowl.

Along the way, he figures to get his 300th win, a monumental milestone. If the Seminoles don't lose a game, No. 300 could come in late October at Clemson. Against Tommy Bowden. His son.

That is the beauty of Bowden's success, that he's lasted so long a second son has emerged to take over as coach at a major program, in the same conference no less.

		Monday, Aug. 16 Head coaches are under more pressure than ever before. The reason is easy: Now they are making $1 million a year. When you make that kind of money and you are in the public eye, then you have ESPN and every other sports media group paying attention to them. I don't think you'll ever see more coaches like Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. That won't happen in the future because there's too much scrutiny. You get tired of the same sound bites. Usually, coaches say the same things; that's their philosophy. People get tired of it and want a change. More head coaches are going to get whacked in the future because of losing. People don't want to give you four or five years in a program. You won't see that anymore. Are the coaches the stars of the game? They probably are. They shouldn't be, but they are because of TV. The head coach, except for a few, becomes the organizer who oversees everything, but the decisions are being made by the assistants. That's why football coaching is entirely different from baseball managing and basketball coaching. There's nothing like football coaching, which is totally about organization.

And if the elder Bowden survives that test and makes it to the Sugar Bowl, there to stand in his way could be an adversary older than he is. Although 300 wins is within sight, Bowden won't be able to take over the top spot for most victories by an active coach. He'll continue to chase Joe Paterno.

Penn State is also considered a national title contender, and Paterno still leads them. At 72, this is his 50th season in State College, Pa. When he became the Nittany Lions head coach in 1966, Steve Spurrier was the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in his senior year at the University of Florida. "There are things I want to accomplish yet," Paterno said. "I don't play golf or have any other compelling hobbies. There's nothing I enjoy more than football."

Now Spurrier, too, is a coach. Some fans don't even know he played the game with any distinction, much less won the Heisman. And he's in his 10th season at his alma mater, on his way to legendary status among Gators.

The Nittany Lions have won two national championships on Paterno's watch, along with five undefeated, untied seasons. There have been 20 top-10 finishes. Paterno, like Bowden, has no plans of slowing down.

And that's how it is among college football's icons. They seemingly tower over the game. If if wasn't Paul ""Bear" Bryant, it was Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler or Ara Parseghian.

Now, it is Lou Holtz returning to the sideline this year at South Carolina after two years away. It will be his 29th season as a head football coach. LaVell Edwards is not as famous, but Holtz has nothing on him in longevity. This will be Edwards' 27th season at Brigham Young.

Coaching stories dominate as the 1999 season is about to unfold. How will Gary Barnett fare at Colorado, where he was right-hand man to Bill McCartney during the Buffs' glory days? How will Rick Neuheisel -- who couldn't get out of Boulder fast enough -- do at his new post in Washington?

What about Howard Schnellenberger, who named himself coach at an upstart program, Florida Atlantic, in Boca Raton, a team that isn't even playing this year? Or John Robinson, the former USC coach, who returns to the coaching ranks at UNLV, which didn't win a game last season?

There are coaching questions at other schools. Does Butch Davis finally have Miami back in the limelight? How does John Cooper finally defeat Michigan and win a bowl game in the same year, and not win a national title at Ohio State? (Actually, that's last year's biggest question). Does Frank Solich, in his second year after Tom Osborne, dare lose more than three games again at Nebraska?

See, that's the problem. You just don't replace the college football coaching legends. Thank goodness so many stick around.

Bob Harig, who covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a weekly college football column for ESPN.com.