Colleges

Nothing is easy this season, Bowden says

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 10, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Coach Bobby Bowden didn't even flinch when he said it Sunday morning, although the admission seemed startling.

"What I can see now is a struggle every game," he said. "UAB was the one game you would think you could get ahead and play a lot of guys and we didn't. We had to struggle the whole game. So it makes me think, 'Uh-oh. We're going to have to fight every daggum ballgame.'"

The Seminoles trailed 17-3 before rallying 34-24 Saturday. That came five days after falling behind Clemson by three touchdowns and losing 24-18. Not that Clemson and UAB are on the same level, but FSU has followed the same script in both games.

And Bowden doesn't see that changing, so don't expect weekly blowout wins like the Seminoles racked up back when they were a top-5 team.

"With these coaches that we have, I feel like it's going to happen," he said of a return to domination. "The one thing I can't tell you is when. I wish it'd happen now. By that I mean, I wish we could put it together. We might need another year of good recruiting. Boy it'd be great if we do it now, but it's going to be game by game to find out because I don't see any gimmes out there."

Well, maybe Duke, but other than that ...

The positive side, however, is that hard-fought games tell you something about the character of your players.

"If you're beating up on people all the time, you don't know what you've got; wait till it gets into a tight game and you see what you've got," he said. "We had to play 60 minutes every Saturday. We had to play 60 minutes against Clemson, we had to play 60 minutes last night. You can wear your club out. You're not getting to rest anybody. You're not getting enough reserves in there. We need to keep winning somehow."

SMITH UPDATE: Team officials said junior tailback Antone Smith, who left the game in the third quarter with a concussion, looked good Sunday and they had no concerns. He will practice this week with no contact.

STAT OF THE WEEK: FSU, one of the nation's worst rushing teams a year ago when it averaged 96.5 yards, churned out 188 Saturday. That's its best total since 287 against Rice on Sept. 23.

STAT OF THE WEAK: FSU had 131 yards in penalties 12, its most since 174 (on 17 flags) in the 2006 Gator Bowl win against West Virginia. Said Bowden: "We'll get beat next week if we do that. That's enough to beat you. That's definitely discipline. We're playing undisciplined football."

HE SAID IT: Asked if the unusually late start Saturday at Colorado (10 p.m. Eastern) presents any challenges since it is past his bedtime, Bowden, in a quip that speaks to his players' slow starts, said: "Yeah, but not theirs. They just start to play about 10."

Brian Landman can be reached at landman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3347.

[Last modified September 9, 2007, 22:01:54]