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FSU and Georgia Tech had a lot of good things in common before Sept. 11. They still do, only now their faults are similar.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2001
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State and Georgia Tech had everything in the world in common as they prepared for a showdown the third weekend of September.
Both teams were undefeated. Both were in the Associated Press Top 10. Both were the consensus front-runners to win the ACC title and the Bowl Championship Series berth that goes with it.
Then four days before the game, on Sept. 11, the world shockingly turned upside down.
As the Seminoles and the Yellow Jackets prepare for today's makeup of that postponed game at Doak Campbell Stadium, they still have a remarkable amount in common:
Both have four losses. Both are unranked. Both saw three-game winning streaks against intrastate rivals, Florida and Georgia, respectively, end and both are ACC also-rans headed to middle-tier bowls, the Gator and the Seattle.
"A lot of the luster has been knocked off because neither one of us is having the type of year we wanted and expected to have," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said.
Bowden and Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary said their seniors are solid, gifted athletes who lack the penchant to deliver the game-altering play or the demeanor to deliver the timely mood-changing speech.
"Our senior class is a really good class," O'Leary said, careful not to sound overly critical, "but it's a little different kind of class than we've had in the past as far as there aren't really get-after-you guys. There's a bunch of good kids that play hard, but no one who's taken over."
It's frustrating, but not shocking to him that the Yellow Jackets lost in overtime to Clemson (47-44) and Maryland (20-17), then lost a heartbreaker to Virginia (39-38).
"Wanting to win and not wanting to lose are two different scenarios," O'Leary said. "That's what we've been fighting all year as a staff, to get more passion, more sense of urgency out of the players."
Senior quarterback George Godsey, the former Jesuit standout, said he has tried to talk to his offensive teammates but admits he's neither comfortable nor adept at chiding someone.
"I know there needs to be a little more of that going on," he said. "There's not. Last year, there'd be a couple fights that would break out with one of the seniors and an underclassman who wasn't giving us a good look. This year, it's more verbal than physical. That may lead to some of the toughness that Coach O'Leary was talking about."
Or lack thereof.
But such observations hauntingly resonate with the Seminoles. They too rarely have made the big play. Nor have they been able to turn to a vocal senior like a Chris Weinke or Corey Simon who possesses the dazzling skill and sheer will to rally his team.
"The one thing this team hasn't done this year, and all our others had way before now, is put it together," Bowden said. "Last spring I said this team, especially on offense, has to have two great players show up. I'm talking about two outstanding players. We're still looking for them. We've got some good players and we've got a couple of seniors playing well. But we still haven't got that Heisman candidate, that first-team All-America candidate that we needed for this team to be an outstanding team."
That's why the Seminoles can look so dominating in the fourth quarter in a 52-31 win against Maryland, the eventual ACC champ, then so inept in a 34-28 loss to North Carolina State.
"Most of the seniors didn't start (last year) and were used to being followers," said senior safety Abdual Howard, a first-year starter. "It takes time to understand how to be a leader. That's what we didn't have -- time. The seniors here don't get too vocal and we need to be. Time's running out. We've got to do something about it this game. We're trying to save Florida State pride around here. That's all we're playing for right now is our pride."
Yet another quality they and the Yellow Jackets have in common.
NOTE: FSU junior offensive tackle Brett Williams won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the ACC's most outstanding blocker.
"That's awesome," said Williams, who will sit today with a sprained knee. "I didn't expect it. It's a great honor to be considered the best blocker in the ACC because there's definitely some good ones."