Colleges

FSU, bowl: Make the best of it

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published December 20, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] Drew Weatherford says FSU will "be just fine" despite a scandal leading to a depleted roster.

TALLAHASSEE - Florida State coach Bobby Bowden didn't hem and haw about the hypothetical question posed to him:

Coach, if you knew then what you know now about how many players would be ineligible - as many as 25, most of whom are likely linked to an academic misconduct scandal - for the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl, would you have accepted the invite?

"I think we would if it was okay with the bowl people," he said Wednesday, a day after the school announced a number.

The ACC, which pools its bowl revenues and shares the wealth, is contractually tied to eight games. It had eight bowl-eligible teams and opting out likely wouldn't have been an option.

Now, could the Music City Bowl have paired Wake Forest or Georgia Tech against Kentucky instead? The game's executive director, Scott Ramsey, who was in Tallahassee on Monday for a ceremonial contract signing and was briefed about the news to come albeit without specific numbers, isn't one to play that what-if game.

"We did not know the situation at the time of the invitation and right now, since we've learned about it and worked with the university and the conference, our position is we're moving forward to stage the best bowl experience we can for Florida State's and Kentucky's players, fans and coaches and media that are coming," he said. "That's our focus."

A quick read of the FSU message boards indicates some fans are upset they didn't know then - when they booked their travel - what they know now. It's one-thing to buy day-old bread. It's another not to have it marked as such.

"We're sold out (67,000 tickets) and we're really expecting an exciting downtown environment over the three- or four-day weekend culminating what we think will be a great matchup in our 10th anniversary game," Ramsey said, adding he has heard few complaints from local college football fans.

FSU still isn't releasing the names of players who won't travel to Nashville, citing student privacy, but published reports say that the team could be without 11 players who have started at some point.

The Seminoles are making so many adjustments that, instead of practicing twice Wednesday, they went outside once and had meetings in the afternoon.

"We've got some guys playing positions they haven't played before. Not many, but some," Bowden said. "So we're going to need a little bit more meeting time."

He and his players insist that despite the numbers, they will be competitive on the scoreboard.

"We'll be just fine," said fourth-year junior quarterback Drew Weatherford, the former Land O'Lakes standout. "There's a lot of guys who have opportunities now that haven't had them in the past and they'll have a chance to show what they've got."

"We still have the talent to beat anybody," echoed senior defensive tackle Andre Fluellen, who just finished his degree. "I'm not really worried about that. I'm confident we can go up there and win."

Kentucky junior linebacker Johnny Williams, who was born in Tampa but raised in Jacksonville and starred at Neptune Beach Fletcher High, said the Wildcat coaches are telling him and his teammates precisely that.

"We're not even talking about the suspensions," he said. "We're practicing like everybody is going to be out there for them. And it's still Florida State. You have to respect them."

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

[Last modified December 19, 2007, 20:50:47]