FSU-Miami

Seminole QBs spared harsh criticism

By BRIAN LANDMAN and BOB HARIG
Published September 7, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - While watching Drew Weatherford and then Xavier Lee struggle to make plays Monday night, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden had to remind himself of their age.

"They're only (redshirt) freshmen," he said Tuesday following FSU's 10-7 win against Miami.

Both quarterbacks avoided the big mistake that marked the Chris Rix era, especially against the Hurricanes, but it came at a cost. Bowden said both were throwing with "too much caution," almost a reluctance, and that's no way to beat a defense. Especially one as experienced and talented as Miami's.

Weatherford, the former Land O'Lakes star, was just 7-of-24 for 67 yards with one interception, although the Hurricanes could have and maybe should have had a couple more.

Lee came in for one series at the start of the fourth quarter and was 1-of-2 for 7 yards. He misfired badly on one attempt and then mishandled a snap in the shotgun that lost 18 yards.

"I don't think anybody proved anything," Bowden said.

Weatherford almost assuredly will make his second start on Saturday against the Citadel but Bowden said the staff "probably will" have a plan to use Lee in the first half.

"I was really excited, but I thought I was going to be a little more calm than I was and more comfortable," Weatherford said. "That wasn't the case.

"It was tough. I really didn't put a drive together throwing the ball and that was my biggest thing. I never really got into a rhythm. We really didn't throw the ball that much anyways, a lot of short stuff."

Even some of those passes weren't exactly textbook. Tailback Lorenzo Booker had to reach down to his feet to grab a screen pass that he turned into a 23-yard gain, the longest pass play of the game for FSU.

"Their confidence will grow in time," Bowden said. "The fact that we won this ballgame has got to help confidence even though you didn't have a good game statistically. We've seen them throw enough in practice to know they can do it."

Fullback James Coleman said Weatherford remained fairly poised, but the nervousness was a factor. The seniors, like himself and linemen David Castillo and Matt Meinrod, tried to be a calming influence for Weatherford and Lee.

"We can't get anywhere without our quarterback's head being there," Coleman said. "But eventually they're going to come into their zone and it's going to be trouble (for the other teams)."

MEDDLING 101: After the Seminoles blocked a punt to set up a first-and-goal at the 1, the offensive coaches wanted to have their tailbacks try to outrun Miami defenders around the edge.

"Take that thing straight ahead," Bowden overruled.

Coleman, who earlier scored the team's touchdown on a 1-yard plunge, lost a yard on successive carries up the middle.

"It's probably a case of me meddling," Bowden said. "They wanted to try but I wouldn't let them. Then we tried too late (on a third-down run by Leon Washington). But they also whipped our tails. If we ran anywhere, they would have smeared us."

ASSESSING KYLE: Had the Hurricanes rallied to win by scoring on their last drive, quarterback Kyle Wright's performance would have gone down in UM lore. Wright completed 8 of 10 passes on the drive, moving the Hurricanes within 2 yards of the end zone before a sack pushed them back and a botched field goal attempt cost them a chance to tie.

Wright finished with 16 completions in 28 attempts for 232 yards and one touchdown. But he was intercepted twice and sacked a school-record nine times. Some of those sacks could be attributed to Wright, who held the ball too long. But it didn't hurt him in the eyes of his teammates.

"I've never seen someone take so many shots," offensive tackle Eric Winston said. "And he kept getting up. He took hits from in front, from the side, from the back. The guy is a warrior. He is an absolute warrior. It was amazing. He is going to be a good one."

NO KICKING CHANGE: Don't look for FSU kicker Gary Cismesia's 1-for-2 performance (hitting from 37 yards but missing from 26) to reopen the competition for the top job.

"We won by three," Bowden quipped. "It'd have to be worse than that."

LONG SNAPPER WANTED: Miami coach Larry Coker was not pleased with his special teams.

"The operation on that field goal was a tragedy," Coker said. "Special teams really let us down."

The Hurricanes missed two field goals by Jon Peattie and had a Brian Monroe punt blocked. Monroe was the player who was unable to handle John Rochford's snap, which was off line and low but appeared to be manageable.

"I could see how he would be nervous," Peattie said of Rochford, who had a high snap on a missed 37-yard attempt earlier in the game. "One mistake and that was the game. But I'm not pointing fingers. The game probably shouldn't have come down to that."

NUMBERS GAME: UM had 21 first downs to nine for FSU. The Hurricanes had 313 total yards to 170 for the Seminoles. They led in time of possession 36:48 to 23:12. But on the scoreboard, they lost 10-7. "We were probably the better team," Coker said. "That was an extremely disappointing loss."

WEEKLY HONOR: Senior defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, who had two of FSU's nine sacks and was credited with eight quarterback hurries, shared the ACC defensive line player of the week award with Maryland's D'Qwell Jackson, the former Seminole High star.

TIME SET: FSU's Sept.17 game at Boston College, the Eagles' first ACC game, will be shown on ESPN at 7:45 p.m.

TIME TO REGROUP: The Hurricanes are off Saturday but travel to Clemson on Sept.17. The Tigers defeated UM in Miami last season. UM had not lost an opener since the 1995 season, coach Butch Davis' first. UM went 8-3 that year.

[Last modified September 7, 2005, 01:02:19]