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Two analysts break down FSU-Miami

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2000

There are a lot of Miami Hurricanes fans -- not to mention a few Gators fans -- hoping the potential absence of Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke on Saturday leads to UM beating the Seminoles for the first time since 1994.

But two of college football's top television analysts are not convinced an injured Weinke means automatic victory for Miami.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said backup Marcus Outzen is a different quarterback from the one who failed to guide FSU to a national championship by losing to Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago.

"The initial reaction if Weinke is unable to go is that Florida State has to win the game with defense," said Herbstreit, who joins the College GameDay crew for a live broadcast from Miami at 11 a.m. Saturday. "I think one of the things (FSU offensive coordinator) Mark Richt has done is game plan pretty well. I know Florida State didn't win the Fiesta Bowl with Marcus Outzen, but the game plan itself was pretty effective.

"It was just that Marcus was so young he couldn't really handle the situation. I think people remember that game and think Outzen is the same quarterback, but I don't think that's the case at all. He's much better than people think."

CBS' Todd Blackledge would not rule out an FSU victory if Weinke is ineffective or can't play, but he does believe that minimizing Weinke's loss is difficult.

"It would hurt them quite a bit," said Blackledge, who teams with Verne Lundquist to handle coverage at noon. "I'm not saying that in taking a shot at Marcus Outzen. It's just that Weinke is one of the best players in college football and certainly one of the top two or three quarterbacks in the nation. He gives them a huge edge in terms of his knowledge, his ability to run the no-huddle and the experience he has as a starter.

"He brings an awful lot as a starter. Not having him at all or not having him at 100 percent will have an impact."

On the other side, Herbstreit and Blackledge agree that Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey will benefit from the big-game experience he gained last month in the Hurricanes' loss to Washington. Dorsey looked nervous that day but bounced back with a solid performance on the road against West Virginia.

"The good news for Dorsey is he doesn't have to fight the crowd," Blackledge said. "The bad news is he'll be facing a better defense, a faster defense and a more talented defense than what he saw up in Seattle. But I think he has a chance to come in and play well."

Blackledge believes Miami has to run the ball, noting that the team that leads in rushing usually wins. He also thinks the UM defense has to pressure the quarterback, even if it can't get sacks.

Herbstreit said the biggest factor is Miami believing it can win.

"(Coach) Butch Davis has been trying to get them back to that level, get that swagger back, and now they truly have it in their core," Herbstreit said. "If a team believes it can win, that's half the battle when you're facing Florida State. I think you might see some of that Orange Bowl magic come back. This is going to be a great challenge for Florida State."

COVERAGE: Chris Fowler will host his 150th regular-season College GameDay telecast and 60th road show. Also, ESPN's Lee Corso is sporting a 16-0 record on predicting games during GameDay's road telecasts.

Fox Sports Net's Saturday Morning College Kickoff airs live from the Orange Bowl at 10 a.m. with Frank Frangie, Brady Ackerman and Terry Norvelle. CNN/SI's College Football Preview at 11:30 a.m. will have live interviews with FSU coach Bobby Bowden and Davis.

DON'T WALK AWAY: TBS tries a unique approach to auto racing Sunday with coverage of the UAW-GM Quality 500 from Lowe's Motor Speedway. During most of its commercials, the network will maintain coverage with a picture-in-picture screen. The most amazing thing is that advertisers have agreed to the innovation.

"Seventy-five percent of our advertisers have agreed to participate in our "No Brakes Coverage' for two simple reasons: They know fans will appreciate this coverage, and they understand that innovative messaging will cut through the clutter," Turner Sports president Mark Lazarus said.

The approach may be used during TNT's broadcasts of the WUSA soccer league next spring.

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