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 Tuesday, August 7, 2001
Teams can beat FSU, but will it happen?
By Terry Bowden
Special to ABC Sports Online
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
Did I say Georgia Tech will win the Atlantic Coast Conference this year? I distinctly remember hearing myself say that. What I meant to say was that Georgia Tech can win the ACC this year. Clemson can, too.
Most years in the ACC, you can't even say "can" much less "will."
|  | | Can Chad Carson and the Tigers end Florida State's nine-year run as ACC champs? |
However, perennial champ Florida Sate does not have a quarterback on its roster that has ever taken a college snap. If FSU is ever going to get knocked off the top of the ACC leaderboard, now is the time.
Georgia Tech has the best team it has had since George O'Leary became the head coach in 1994. If the Yellow Jackets were not playing the 'Noles in Tallahassee, I would have used the "will" word. But my 9-year-old daughter has never seen her granddaddy lose at home and it will take a great Yellow Jacket effort to end that 51-game streak.
Clemson may not be quite as good as Georgia Tech, but the Tigers might have an even better chance of knocking off FSU than Georgia Tech, because they entertain the Seminoles at Death Valley. Clemson is as hostile as it gets on football Saturdays. However, the Tigers have too many unproven players on defense to allow me to use the "will" word on this game either.
So, Georgia Tech and Clemson can beat Florida State this year. Whether they will or not is much too difficult to predict.
|  | | Joe Burns leads a deep Georgia Tech running game. |
Georgia Tech's biggest loss from last year may have been offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, who became the head coach at Maryland. But with the return of quarterback George Godsey, wide receiver Kelly Campbell and running back Joe Burns, Tech should be even more explosive than last year, no matter who is coordinating the offense.
For the first time in years, Georgia Tech's defense will have the speed necessary to compete with league leader Florida State. Much of the load will fall squarely on the shoulders of ends Greg Gathers and Nick Rogers, who must help to shut down the run while they put pressure on the QB.
Tech's ACC hopes will be decided in September when they travel to Tallahassee and host Clemson. If the Yellow Jackets get a split here, they could easily earn at least a share of the league title. Win them both and the ACC trophy will be theirs.
Georgia Tech has beaten Georgia the last three years to win the state championship, and don't think for a second that the Tech faithful want to relinquish that title to new Georgia head coach Mark Richt. A win in this game and in the opener against Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic would also be necessary to maintain their outside chance to make it to the Rose Bowl.
The only place where people are not talking about Georgia Tech knocking FSU out of the top spot is Clemson, S.C. There is a quiet confidence around the football office that it will be the Tigers who knock FSU off its conference perch.
There are two areas of chief concern at Clemson: First, they must prove that the defensive collapse in three of the last four games in 2000 was a fluke. Secondly, they must score points against quality opponents.
Clemson has to replace its offensive coordinator as well, as Rich Rodriguez left Death Valley for the hills of West Virginia. However, make no mistake about it, Tommy Bowden is the mastermind behind the Tiger's no-huddle single-wing style, and the offense shouldn't skip a beat.
The real key to Clemson's season, nonetheless, will not be a coach, but a quarterback. If Woody Danzler can stay healthy and have the kind of year he is capable, then every game is winnable for the Tigers.
The schedule boils down to three critical games: Georgia Tech and South Carolina on the road and Florida State at home. Winning two out of these three would put them one step closer to the ultimate prize -- a national championship. Unfortunately, those rabid Tiger fans will probably have to wait at least one more year before they get a shot at that little prize.
Can you believe we haven't even talked about Florida State yet?
Remember, I didn't say that Georgia Tech and Clemson will beat FSU. Only that they can.
The Seminoles have just as many talented football players as they always do. You just haven't learned their names yet. There are few returning starters from last year, but at FSU, all you have to look at is PT to tell how much experience they have coming back. PT stands for playing time, and backups at FSU get plenty of that. When you're beating everybody on your schedule by 30-40 points, your second-teamers are playing as much as the first, so returning starters aren't a big factor.
|  | | FSU's Anquan Boldin is battling Chris Rix for the right to replace QB Chris Weinke. |
But let's get back to that little quarterback problem at FSU. Quarterbacks Chris Rix and Anquan Boldin both will be in the NFL one day, but not tomorrow. Anytime you break in a new signal caller with no playing experience, you can usually chalk up a couple of losses to that fact alone. At least one of those will likely come at the hands of non-conference foes Miami and Florida. With both Georgia Tech and Clemson also capable of putting a blemish on their report card, that makes for four uncertain Saturdays for the Seminoles.
If FSU breaks even in these four games, it looks like they will need to get a bowl victory to keep that 14-year streak of 10-win seasons alive. Anything more is probably out of the question.
But, what if Florida State beats Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech beats Clemson and Clemson beats Florida State? That's where N.C. State, Maryland, Virginia and the rest of those ACC guys come into play. Although none of these teams are going to be strong enough to win the conference, they just may decide who the eventual winner will be.
This is going to be a very interesting year in the ACC.
Terry Bowden was the head coach at Salem College, Samford University and Auburn University. He is ABC's college football studio analyst and contributes regularly for ABC Sports Online.
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