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Friday, December 13, 2002
ABC analysts break down Florida State-Oklahoma
BCSfootball.com
In preparation for the FedEx Orange Bowl on January 3 between Oklahoma and Florida State (ABC, 8 p.m. ET), ABC's analysts broke down what each team needs to do in order to win.
Terry Bowden
ABC studio analyst
The Big Boy, the game where there will be an undisputed national champion when it's all said and done.
If you're a Seminole fan, you're probably wishing the game was played yesterday, because with the passing of each day, something else comes up to disrupt your chances for a second straight national championship.
First, it was the loss of Snoop Minnis due to his failure to meet academic requirements, and more recently, the loss of offensive coordinator Mark Richt to the Georgia Bulldogs. Richt will still call plays in this game, but you have to wonder if he can put aside all the phone calls, faxes, and interviews about the Georgia job, and keep his face in front of the videotapes of the Oklahoma defense. One just needs to look back to the Seminoles' national championship of 1993, when offensive coordinator Brad Scott received the head coaching position at South Carolina. The Seminoles, who were 17 ½-point favorites, had to kick a field goal in the final minute against Nebraska to win the game.
Oklahoma, on the other hand, seems to be staying focused. Whereas the Seminoles are a group of outstanding athletes who will try to beat you with matchups, the Sooners have been the better team which always seems to find a way to win.
I see Oklahoma putting new wrinkles in the kicking game, offense and defense, and giving the 'Noles a lot of things they've never seen before. If a few of these gadgets work early, and Oklahoma can jump ahead by 10 or 14 points, I don't believe the Snoopless Seminoles would be able to come back.
However, this is the most senior-laden team Coach Bowden has had in a long time. They will know how to handle the changes that have already occurred, and the distractions that will unfold in the atmosphere surrounding the National Championship Game.
Chris Weinke didn't come back for his last year of college football to simply win the Heisman Trophy, he came back to win another national championship. And that's just what the Seminoles will do in the most exciting BCS Championship Game yet.
Brad Nessler
ABC play-by-play announcer
We have a Cinderella team in Oklahoma. No one expected the Sooners to be 12-0 at this point, yet here they are, looking to go 13-0 and win a national championship. They haven't been a power since the mid-'80s, so there's all the talk surrounding that. They face a team that has been there all through the '90s. Florida State is the current power in college football, the established team, and they'll be ready. It's a great matchup -- a current power against an old power.
Mark Richt taking the Georgia job will not be a distraction. He has his priorities in order. He got everything out of the way -- the interviews, the press conference, the phone calls. Now he can relax and focus on the Orange Bowl and devise the offensive game plan. Plus, he'll still have plenty of time once the game's over to choose his staff and get out there and recruit.
Keys for both teams: Everyone's looking at this game thinking offense, offense, offense. But as high-powered as both offenses are, the defenses will determine who wins this game. Losing Snoop Minnis is a blow to Florida State, so Chris Weinke will have to go to his other options. The greatest question, however, is whether Oklahoma has enough defensive backs to defend FSU when the Seminoles go to four and five wide receiver sets.
Oklahoma's offensive line has a tough task, as Jamal Reynolds is almost too tough for anyone to handle. He has 12 sacks on the year, and might be the best pass rusher in the country. Florida State will blitz and then back off. Don't look for defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews to stick with one particular scheme. The catch, though, is that Josh Heupel has thrived on the blitz. Look what he did at Kansas State, and against Nebraska. He's at his best when guys are in his face, and the 'Noles have to be aware of that.
Both teams will be well rested, but looking at Florida State, they had so much momentum after beating Florida. The layoff, coupled with everything that's happened in Tallahassee over the last couple of weeks, halted that momentum. This is a better layoff for Oklahoma, because OU needed the rest. They were a tired team the last three weeks of the season. In this rest period, Oklahoma needs to get back to the form it displayed in October. With Bob Stoops being the defensive-minded guy that he is, and with the tremendous staff that he has, the Sooners will be in great shape and ready to play this football game.
Bob Griese
ABC analyst
The key is Oklahoma's offensive line, and whether they will be able to handle the pressure from Florida State's defensive line. The Seminoles are ranked second against the run. They have 45 sacks on the year. Their defensive scheme is to stop the run, put pressure on the quarterback, and force Josh Heupel to throw quickly. It will come down to Oklahoma's passing game, and if the line can contain Jamal Reynolds, David Warren and the rest of that crew to give Heupel time to throw.
On the other side, Florida State won't be as hurt as many might think. Snoop Minnis was their leading receiver, and no doubt their most experienced receiver. He had 63 receptions and 11 touchdowns, and he seemed to be the guy Chris Weinke had the most confidence in. Here's a team that lost Peter Warrick, Ron Dugans and Laveranues Coles last year. Minnis was the fourth guy and didn't get that much playing time. Don't get me wrong, the absence of Minnis will hurt them some, but you'll see guys like Anquan Boldin and Atrews Bell step up and get an opportunity to play a lot.
Another key is Robert Morgan, who started the season breaking a toe at the beginning of November. He'll be back, and that gives Weinke a third guy to go to. The loss of Minnis will not affect the Seminoles nearly as much as if they lost Weinke.
Oklahoma has a big-play defense. They've returned five interceptions for touchdowns, and is the most underrated aspect of this whole game. They have strong linebackers and defensive backs, and their defensive line does a good job of penetration.
Bobby Bowden knows how to prepare his team, even through all these distractions. This is nothing he hasn't seen before. But the one thorn in the side of Florida State is its kicking game. If it comes down to a close game where the 'Noles need field goals to put points on the board, they're in trouble. I asked Bobby earlier in the season if a team can win a national championship without a strong kicker. He said, "I don't know. To do that, your team has to be a lot better than the other side, because you don't want to get into any close matches."
Bob Stoops' situation is interesting. You could say he's inexperienced and hasn't been there, but at the same time, he's been getting this team up for big games all season. I liken it to what Don Shula did in our undefeated season with the Dolphins.
Every week something would come up. Stoops beat Texas when nobody thought they could, then he beat No. 2 Kansas State on the road and No. 1 Nebraska two weeks later. Nobody thought Oklahoma would beat those teams. Stoops will be one of the top football coaches for a long time. What you're seeing now is simply the birth of a great football coach.
Jack Arute
ABC sideline reporter
I am amazed at the point spread.
Florida State has a decided advantage because they have been there. They learned from their experience in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago not to over-practice and leave their legs on the practice field. They have adjusted their practice schedules to compensate for that and it paid off against Virginia Tech last year. They know how to deal with all the bowl hoopla. With a BCS bowl, a lot of that comes into play.
Bob Stoops has been there before when he was at Florida. He knows about it, but can he impart that to his players?
Florida State has to guard against buying too much into the been there/done that and neglect the job ahead. Losing Snnop Minnis was a wakeup call to the team. All of a sudden, it upset the task.
Oklahoma is a team of destiny. Forget Cinderella; this is the story in sports. This team was so far under the radar screen that the Sooners dropped in the second week of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll after they beat UTEP by 41 points. And they still hadn't lost a game. Nobody believed in Oklahoma except the coaches and players. They don't win pretty, but they just win, baby.
They may be able to take that insulated feeding off themselves and make it work just like they did in the Big XII Championship Game. They believe in themselves. They are a classic case where the individual parts are nowhere near as impressive or strong as the whole.
Everyone wants to talk about Josh Heupel, but you have to talk about J.T. Thatcher, Rocky Calmus, Trent Smith, etc. There are a lot of kids, and they are all together in this. It's not a swagger; it's very business-like. They are not tired of it because they enjoy being the underdog. They feed off of it. It's built the camaraderie on the team.
The most telling game was when they never lost their cool against Texas A&M. They came back and did what it took to win. I doubt they will get rattled if Florida State gets up early.
Florida State gets after the quarterback. Heupel may get off his passes, but he is going to pay the price. It was that way with Michael Vick last year. Mickey Andrews has an aggressive defense and they finish and they finish hard.
The turning point in the game will be the sixth minute of the third quarter. If Heupel is still scrambling, throwing and putting his head down instead of sliding for the extra yards when he is flushed out of the pocket, we are going to have a hell of a ballgame. If he goes deep into the third quarter and delivers the message to Florida State's defense that they haven't hurt him, they are going to start wondering if he is like Jason from the Friday the 13th films.
This is the fifth meeting between the two teams -- the Seminoles have lost the last three meetings (1976 in Norman and the 1980 and '81 Orange Bowls). Their only win came in the 1965 Gator Bowl.
It's going to be the Weinke-Heupel show. But one player to keep an eye on is Oklahoma linebacker Rocky Calmus. The defense is going to be important. For Florida State, whoever ends up being the running back is going to be key. They have been using the running back by committee method. When Florida State was working its best, the running game is the icing on the cake.
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Chris Weinke and his teammates will miss Marvin Minnis on the field.