College football

Bevy of offensive weak spots puzzles Bowden

FSU NOTEBOOK

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published November 22, 2004

TALLAHASSEE - Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is at a loss.

"It's funny," he said Sunday morning. "Teams have characteristics. This team's characteristic is different from any I can remember and that is, we couldn't get anything going in the first half."

His Seminoles, once renowned for their offensive firepower to complement an aggressive, stingy defense, failed to score an offensive touchdown in the first half for the fifth consecutive game in Saturday's 20-13 loss to Florida. Worse, it was the seventh time in 11 games. Is there a common thread to those woes?

"That's what I'm looking for," Bowden said. "Mighty hard."

The answer likely isn't a single shortcoming but rather a combination that may be harder to solve, at least in the weeks leading to a bowl game:

The play calling. Offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden has been the lightning rod for criticism from fans and former players. But the O.C. here hasn't been popular in tough times, whether it was Brad Scott or Mark Richt . Will Papa Bowden have to make a tough call about his play caller?

"If I was going to make changes, I wouldn't tell you," Bowden said tersely.

The quarterbacks. Fifth-year senior Chris Rix had an up-and-down season mirroring his other three seasons as the starter. He looked sharp in the final quarter Saturday and almost pulled off a comeback. Third-year sophomore Wyatt Sexton had his moments, but his lack of mobility hampered him. He was pulled twice, against Maryland and Florida, both losses, in favor of Rix.

The receivers. Senior Chauncey Stovall had a breakout season and a career night against the Gators (11 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown), but as a group, injuries slowed the Seminoles and they had too many drops. Bowden said he would grade the receivers a B-minus, which isn't the norm around here.

The offensive line. The unit, with five returning starters, seemingly would be a strength. But center David Castillo missed the opener (a loss to Miami) and played the second half Saturday with a dislocated ring finger and broken middle finger on his right, snapping hand. Guard Matt Meinrod , the former East Lake star, sustained a season-ending knee injury against Miami and tackle Alex Barron wasn't consistently as overpowering as when he earned consensus All-America honors last season.

"No, they have not dominated," Bowden said.

Perhaps that's why the Seminoles entered the UF game converting just 24 percent of third downs, last in Division I-A. They were 1-of-15 on Saturday, lowering their success rate to 22 percent.

"We'll break all this stuff down and at the end of the year, I don't know what we'll come up with," Bowden said. "I don't think there's anything that can't be fixed."

ALIVE AND KICKING: Senior Xavier Beitia , the former Jesuit star who lost his place-kicking duties this month after an erratic performance in the loss at Maryland, jumped around excitedly after his career-best 52-yarder in the fourth quarter Saturday.

"I haven't just played to have fun in a long time, so at that moment with how big it was, I just got excited," he said, adding that no one except his family and friends expected him to make the field goal.

Bowden said unless Beitia falters in practice, he likely will handle the field goals and extra points in the bowl game.

INJURY UPDATE: Senior offensive tackle Ray Willis sprained his left ankle, Barron sustained a right hip pointer, junior safety Pat Watkins had a mild concussion and senior defensive end Eric Moore sprained his left ankle.

AGENTS DAY: Seventeen of FSU's 22 seniors were scheduled to take part in the school's annual "agents day," during which a player and his parents meet with sports agents.

[Last modified November 22, 2004, 01:21:40]