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Bowden still frets his defense

TALLAHASSEE -- Saturday's 48-17 win against Duke did little to assuage Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's concerns about his defense.

It wasn't so much the Blue Devils' two fourth-quarter touchdowns that reduced the FSU margin of victory to 31, as it was their first two possessions when the game was far from decided:

-- Duke went 62 yards in five plays, including a 41-yard run by fullback Alex Wade, on its opening drive. Had FSU not blocked a 45-yard field-goal attempt, it would have trailed for the first time this season.

-- After an FSU field goal, the youthful Blue Devils answered with a 15-play, 77-yard drive that culminated with a tying 23-yard field goal.

"I was thinking, 'I'm afraid we're not strong enough in the right places,' " Bowden said.

"It scares you the way they made their first couple of drives on you. When you play the Miamis, the upper echelon, if you can't dominate Duke, it scares you when you start thinking about what's down the road. Right now, we're fixing to get into the most crucial part of our schedule, playing four teams that are capable of beating you."

The Seminoles go to Louisville on Thursday, return home for a third game in 13 days against Clemson and, on Oct. 12, travel to top-ranked and defending national champion Miami. After that, Notre Dame comes to Tallahassee.

"This is a team that will continually have to improve to face what we're facing," Bowden said. "The only way we're going to find out more about this team is to play better opponents."

SILVER LINING: Bowden said that perhaps the best part of the Duke game for him, other than winning, was he had the opportunity to use a lot of players, including some who hadn't see much time. He was particularly pleased to use offensive linemen and backup quarterbacks early in the game.

"We tried to get them experience when it counted," he said. "At least we accomplished some things in that area."

NUMBERS GAME: The Seminoles were called for two penalties for 19 yards. They were averaging 10 for 88 yards, both highs in the ACC.

"I'm glad; I'd give anything if we could eliminate penalties," Bowden said. "But that does not remind you of Florida State."

FSU's single-game record for penalties is 20, which came in 1997 against Duke.

DONE FOR THE YEAR?: Bowden said FSU will seek a redshirt for junior defensive end Charles Howard, who has a knee injury. Howard played in two games and had a quarterback hurry.

INJURY REPORT: Senior defensive end Alonzo Jackson bruised his ribs, junior cornerback Stanford Samuels suffered a charleye horse, freshman safety Pat Watkins bruised his back and sophomore linebacker Ray Piquion has a hip pointer. Senior middle linebacker Jerel Hudson (ankle sprain) and sophomore defensive end Eric Moore (charley horse), both of whom were held out Saturday, are expected back for the Louisville game. Starting fullback freshman B.J. Dean (right knee sprain) said he will begin riding an exercise bike today, will be running by the end of the week and should be back for the Miami game.

BOWDEN SAID IT: "I know how good Louisville is. They've done a great job up there and you can imagine how much they would like to beat us."

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