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Florida State report Sugar Bowl to decide Seminoles' place in history
Posted: Monday January 03, 2000 08:18 PM
NEW ORLEANS (CNN/SI) -- Who is Florida State? The Atlanta Braves or the New York Yankees? Florida State, which has won one national championship out of three national championship games since 1994, does not want to go 1-for-4. That would be too much like the Braves, who were 1-for-5 in the World Series this decade. The Yankees, meanwhile, are 3-of-the-last-4 in the World Series. "I think that's what this one's all about," said ABC's Terry Bowden, whose father goes for his second national championship Tuesday against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. "Do you want to be the Braves or the Yankees?" Florida State lost its last two national title games -- 52-20 to Florida in the 1997 Sugar Bowl and 23-16 to Tennessee in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. "I think because of that this one is weighing heavier on his mind than the other three," Terry Bowden said. "He doesn't want to lose three in a row." He is Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who won his first national title in 1994 with an 18-16 victory over Nebraska. "The first time was more of a relief than anything," Bowden said at Media Day Friday at the Louisiana Superdome. "At the time me and Tom Osborne (Nebraska's former coach) hadn't won one. I felt so sorry for him, because there's not a better guy in the world. Then he won two in a row, and I haven't won another one." Bowden may be running out of chances. He turned 70 last Nov. 8. "If we don't win this one, I won't be slashing my wrists," he said. "I'll just try to win another one next year. But if I want to win another one, I better do it soon. Because there's probably not a lot of chances left." Bowden's son, Terry, sees Florida State as more talented and with much more depth than Virginia Tech, but he said a field goal may still decide it. "Florida State will have to play their very best," the former Auburn coach said. "Even with that, I still think it will be close and could come down to a field goal."
Dueling kickersPerhaps never has a national championship game matched two finer kickers. Virginia Tech's Shayne Graham is only the second, four-time All Big East player, and Florida State's Sebastian Janikowski has won back-to-back Lou Groza awards. "I've never seen two kickers get so much attention," Janikowski said. Janikowski hopes it doesn't come down to his foot, though. "I'd rather it be an easy game and I just hang on the sidelines," he said. "That would be the best way." Even though the Sugar Bowl will be Janikowski's last college game, other than all-star affairs. He has announced that he will be skipping his senior year next season to be eligible for the upcoming NFL draft. "I've been here a long time," said Janikowski, who wants to pay for his mother Halina's move from Poland to the United States. "I'm ready to become a professional." FSU junior quarterback Chris Weinke will wait until a day or two after the game to decide if he'll turn pro before next season. "The game won't play a role in my decision," said the 27-year-old Weinke, who played pro baseball before coming back to Florida State. "Surely, the perfect storybook ending would be to go 12-0 and win the national championship. But I still might want to come back after that. I don't know yet." Practice report: Florida State held a closed practice Friday as did Virginia Tech.
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