Seminoles Reach for Elusive National Title

Florida State has been the bridesmaid in the chase for the national championship the last four seasons.
FSU is 42-6 in the same period of time, but early losses each season have killed the Seminoles’ chances of ending the season as the top team in the country. Following four consecutive national finishes in the top four, including a 10-2 season in 1990 that was supposed to have been a rebuilding year, FSU finally could be on the verge of winning it all.
“The best thing I can say about this team is last year we had more talent than any team I’ve been around,” said FSU coach Bobby Bowden, who with 205 victories ranks eighth on the all-time list of Division I coaching winners. “The one thing we didn’t have was experience. Well, this year we’ve got the one thing.”
Most of the preseason publications, as well as a poll of 55 NCAA Division 1A head coaches, agree, ranking the Seminoles No. 1 as they begin their first season as an independent before beginning competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference in ’92.
This could finally be the year for Bowden and FSU, if they can survive a schedule that opens with 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer and the Brigham Young Cougars in the Pigskin Classic. The schedule also includes a trip to Michigan, as well as dates with Syracuse, Louisiana State, Louisville, South Carolina, Miami and Florida.
“It does seem like if we lose, it’s early, and we lost the two back-to-back to Auburn and Miami last year,” Bowden said. “If we didn’t have to go out and play the dadgum games in the first part of the season, we’d have won more national championships in August than anybody. So my No. 1 job is to make sure we don’t have any letdowns, especially early, but that’s so dadgum hard with our schedule.”
Casey Weldon, who became the starter for an ineffective Brad Johnson following consecutive losses to Auburn and Miami in 1990, responded by leading the Seminoles throughout the rest of the season unbeaten to finish third nationally in passing efficiency behind Detmer and Virginia’s Shawn Moore and was named the most valuable player in FSU’s spring game. Returning with Weldon is the entire backfield – fullback Edgar Bennett, tailback Amp Lee, who scored 19 touchdowns in ’90 – and six other returning offensive starters.
On defense, the Seminoles return nine starters, led by their leading tackler, 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore inside linebacker Marvin Jones. Jones was in on 133 tackles last year, including eight for losses.
In the secondary, Terrell Buckley has been referred to as “the second coming of Deion Sanders,” and for more reasons than just his flamboyant style and flashy clothes. Buckley returned two interceptions for touchdowns last year and scored twice more on punt returns.
Even considering all of that talent, FSU’s road to its first national title won’t be an easy one. Bowden calls this season’s race for No. 1 “as wide open as it’s ever been and similar to last year.”
There are certainly quite a few teams confident of their chances:
Three-time national champion Miami went into the season with a battle for starting quarterback twice in the 1980s – with Bernie Kosar, Vinnie Testaverde and Kyle Vanderwende in ’83 and Craig Erickson and Steve Walsh in ’87. The Hurricanes won the national championship both years. Again, Dennis Erickson has a quarterback controversy on his hands as he tries to find someone to replace Craig Erickson.
Junior Gino Torretta, who already owns the school record for passing yards in a game with 468, played sparingly behind Erickson in ’90, completing 21 of 41 passes for 210 yards and appears to be the front-runner after Bryan Fortay broke a finger and missed most of the spring. Whoever wins the quarterback’s job will have to deal with the losses of receivers Randall Hill and Wesley Carroll, and the Hurricanes also must find replacements for Outland Trophy winner Russell Maryland and All-American linebacker Maurice Crum.
Miami opens the season at Arkansas and will play three top-25 teams – Houston and Penn State on Sept. 14 and Oct. 12 at home and at Florida State on Nov. 16.
Michigan appears to be the favorite outside the state of Florida. Quarterback Elvis Grbac returns behind what could be the best offensive line in the nation. The Wolverines, who haven’t won a national championship since 1948, were six points from an unbeaten season in ’90, but face another typically challenging Big 10 schedule. Outside the conference, Michigan must also deal with Notre Dame and FSU early, but both games will be in Ann Arbor.
Notre Dame survived the NCAA investigation of head coach Lou Holtz’s program at Minnesota, rumors of his departure for the NFL and allegations of steroid abuse by former player Steve Hoffman. The question this year is can Notre Dame also survive the departures of Lombardi Award winning nose tackle Chris Zorich, linebacker Michael Stonebreaker, cornerback Todd Lyght, and of course, the defection of Rocket Ismail to the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
As usual, the Irish should also challenge for the national title, with Rick Mirer returning at quarterback and flanker Clint Johnson. Johnson, nicknamed “Cosmic,” has already been tagged as the next Rocket and does have his speed (4.3 in the 40-yard dash). A key for the Irish offense will be whether Mirer can get the ball to tight end Derek Brown, who has yet to catch more than 15 passes in a season.
Although Notre Dame no longer has to contend with Miami, the Irish again have their usual tough schedule – playing Michigan, Michigan State, Southern California, Tennessee and Penn State.
Florida is the favorite to win an official Southeastern Conference championship this year, but the Gators also expect to challenge for the championship on the national level. Steve Spurrier, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year for leading Florida to a 9-2 season in his debut year in Gainesville, will have the SEC Player of the Year, junior quarterback Shane Matthews, at his disposal again this season.
Matthews completed 229 of 378 passes for 2,952 yards, the second-best single season mark in conference history, and 23 touchdowns.
With NCAA probation lifted, the Gators are now ready to reap the rewards of their success after posting the best SEC record three times in the past seven seasons without championship rings to show for their efforts. Twenty-five years after Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy at Florida, the Gators are optimistic about their chances in ’91.
“I think all the Gators are pretty happy with the way things are going,” Spurrier said. “All the NCAA sanctions are behind us. I’ve got to tell you this is probably the most high-pressure situation I’ve ever been in, but it is one I would want to be in and expect to be in at the University of Florida.”

Matthews Orchestrates Florida's Rhapsody

The beginning for Shane Matthews and the Florida offense proved misleading Saturday night. On his first play, the sophomore quarterback saw his pass blocked by an Auburn lineman. Three of the four times Matthews was sacked came in the first half.
But that deflected pass ended back in the arms of Matthews, and even though Florida lost 12 yards on the play, it seemed to be a signal of what was to come.
The 6-foot-2, 184-pounder from Pascagoula, Miss., completed his first nine passes as Florida scored 34 points in the first half. Even though Matthews didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards as the Gators routed No. 4 Auburn 48-7.
Four of Matthews’ completions went to Ernie Mills for 97 yards. The early connections with Mills helped set the tone for the entire game for Matthews.
“My confidence really grew when I completed the two outs to Ernie,” Matthews said. “They had stopped us on the first two possessions, and then we started to move the ball effectively, really mixing the run and the pass.
“The defense kept us in the game as always, and the offensive line controlled the game after the first two series.”
The quarterback duel between Matthews and Auburn’s Stan White simply never materialized. White completed 10 of 27 passes for 135 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown pass to Herbert Casey. But the redshirt freshman also threw two interceptions.
Inside linebacker Jerry Odom, who was the recipient of one of White’s interceptions, said some comments by Auburn players helped fire up the Gators even more than last year’s loss did.
“They had said in the paper we would quit tonight, and we just wanted to make them quit,” Odom said. “We really did. This is the biggest win I’ve ever been a part of.”
Florida head coach Steve Spurrier said Matthews deserves to make All-Southeastern Conference, based on his performance so far this season.
“Shane had a tremendous game for a quarterback that didn’t throw a touchdown,” Spurrier said. “He might have had as good a game as I’ve ever seen. I don’t know about All-SEC because I don’t vote. I do think he’s had the best season so far of anybody in the league.”
His passes never found a Florida receiver in the end zone, but Matthews almost scored a touchdown running the ball. With the game tied 7-7, the Gators had third-and-goal at the Auburn 7. Matthews gained 6 yards as defensive tackle David Rocker dragged him down at the 1, but running back Willie McClendon scored on the next play. Florida had regained the lead, and the Gators’ fun began.
What made the game more fun for Florida was knowing Auburn had tied Tennessee, which had pounded the Gators 45-3 in Knoxville. Beating the Tigers soundly sent a message to the Vols, and to Florida State.
“It’s great to beat a team in the top five, like Auburn was,” Matthews said. “They did tie Tennessee, and we know we weren’t as bad as we looked against Tennessee. A lot of people didn’t realize we just had an off night, and nothing worked for us. But we never doubted we were a good football team.
“I’m sure this is going to be in the back of the minds of Florida State because Auburn beat them.”
Matthews did not play in last year’s heartbreaking 10-7 loss to Auburn, which extended the Tigers’ winning streak over the Gators to three games.
“I’m happy for the seniors who had never beaten Auburn,” Matthews said. “I have never seen those guys so happy. We beat Auburn in all phases of the game. It’s great for them to go out on this high note.”
Technically, Florida will not be called the SEC champion even if it finishes with the best record. Matthews said the Gators will call themselves champions if they finish with the best record.
“That is a goal of ours,” he said. “We want to finish with the best record in the SEC. Everybody’s got one loss, and Georgia is a tough team. But I think we’ll be ready for them.”
Odom said the team has taken a renegade approach to its season and thinks it will help the Gators against Georgia, as it did against Auburn Saturday night.
“It’s an incredible feeling because this win puts us on our way,” he said. “We have a chance to have the best season Florida has ever had. And we’re going to do it for the university, Florida fans and Florida people, not for anybody outside the state of Florida.
“People outside Florida, for some reason, do not like us. That’s fine. We will play the next three for us.”