Closer Look

'Wide Left I' a familiar brand of heartache for Bowden

Miami head coach Larry Coker (left) passes on his postgame condolences to Bobby Bowden. AP

By Tim Griffin, Special to CNNSI.com

MIAMI -- Bobby Bowden has been there before. Unfortunately.

The veteran Florida State coach saw another victory over Miami frittered away with a missed kick at the end of the game. Pardon him if he skips visiting the Orange Bowl after his career is over. The steamy old stadium has been his own personal chamber of horrors too many times before.

Other Seminole kickers have lined up with chances to beat the Hurricanes in similar situations. And some strange karma always seems to bedevil Florida State.

Xavier Beitia’s 43-yard game-winning attempt squirted wide left on the game’s final play. It sent most of the record Orange Bowl crowd of 81,927 into ectacsy, preserving a dramatic 28-27 comeback victory for the defending national champions, extending their nation-best winning streak to 28 games.

Saturday’s victory will go down in history as “Wide Left I” around South Florida. But it was just as heartbreaking -- if not more so -- for the veteran coach than any of the three previous times where FSU lost on kicks that were wide right at the final gun.

“I simply can’t believe we lost the game like that again,” Bowden said. “I thought we had it. I’ve had that picture so many times before in my career that I can’t stand it. Our kids did not deserve to lose this game.”

Bowden was right. For much of the game, the Seminoles dominated the Hurricanes in their own backyard and gave them a real scare about their own mortality as defending national champions.

“It doesn’t seem right to my players,” Bowden said. “We physically played better today. The only thing we were lacking was depth in the secondary.”

In the end, that gave quarterback Ken Dorsey just enough wiggle room to escape with another victory.

Bullish FSU tailback Greg Jones gashed Miami for 189 yards, including an 11-yard jaunt that gave the Seminoles a 27-14 lead with 11:44 left.

That’s when Dorsey huddled his offense along the sidelines, telling them he wasn’t satisfied with their sputtering performance.

“He grabbed us when we were down and told us to keep our composure,” Miami tight end Kellen Winslow said. “He told us we were going to win that game.”

The Hurricanes responded by scoring twice in a span of less than three minutes to reclaim the lead. Dorsey, who had struggled earlier in the game, was huge as he accounted for 126 of the 149 yards on the two scoring drives with his passing.

His 2-yard strike to Kevin Beard pulled Miami within 27-21 with 8:10 left. And his 67-yard screen pass to tailback Willis McGahee set up Jason Geathers’ 11-yard touchdown on the next play to put the Hurricanes (6-0) ahead for good with 5:17 left.

“I think we realized the game was in jeopardy and we took it upon ourselves to make something happen,” said Dorsey, whose 362-yard passing effort matched his previous career high. With pep talks coming during the game from former Miami quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Steve Walsh, Dorsey delivered despite his early struggles.

“His percentages were down, but he came up with big plays when the game was on the line,” Miami coach Larry Coker said. “That’s when great players step up and make plays. He was outstanding when he needed to be.”

Dorsey’s nascent Heisman Trophy hopes probably received more of a boost at the end of the game than any time during the season. His leadership skills enabled the Hurricanes to overcome 109 yards in penalties and two earlier interceptions.

“We did everything wrong to put them in that situation,” Dorsey said. “Not taking anything from them … they deserved to be there. They handed it to us during the first three quarters. It kind of took a kick in the butt to get us going.”

Another missed Florida State kick at the end settled it. Beitia had converted his only two attempts earlier in the game and missed only twice in 15 attempts this season.

“One play away and we had that game,” Florida State quarterback Chris Rix said. “[Beitia] makes that kick every time. It’s a tough way to lose.”

But Miami defensive end Jerome McDougle remembered history. It’s why he still had hope when lining up for the final play at the end of the game.

“We have a curse on them,” McDougle said. “Every time they come in here and need a big kick, it goes wide. It’s the Hurricanes.”

 

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