ESPN College Football

Did you see over the weekend where Bobby Bowden said he thinks the SEC might be too strong for Alabama to sustain its current level of success long term?

Bowden made his comments during the ceremonies to honor Alabama coach Nick Saban with the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award, the second time Saban has won the award in the past three years.

"You've got too many good teams," Bowden said. "I don't know how you keep winning in that league. It only takes one slip-up and you're out."

Alabama has won two of the past three national championships, and has also won 10 or more games each of the past four seasons. That's the longest active streak in the SEC.

In fact, nobody else in the league has an active streak longer than two consecutive years when it comes to winning 10 or more games.

Arkansas and LSU have both won 10 or more games each of the past two seasons, and that's it.

So I'd say Bowden is on to something. Anybody who's been around this league long enough knows how quickly it can change, and that's not to say that Alabama is about to hit a down cycle.

But even for some of the best teams over the past 20 years, stringing together 10 wins every year has been rare.

Under Steve Spurrier, Florida won 10 or more games for six straight seasons from 1993-98. That's the longest such streak since the league expanded in 1992 and split into divisions.

Georgia did it for four straight seasons from 2002-05, and Tennessee also won 10 or more games from 1995-98.

Even LSU, with all of its success the past decade or so, has never had more than three straight seasons of 10 wins or more since the 1992 expansion. During Saban's five seasons at LSU, the Tigers never won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons. They won 11 or more in 2005, 2006 and 2007 under Les Miles and remain the only SEC team to win 11 or more games for three straight seasons since the 1992 expansion.

Florida won 48 games in four seasons under Urban Meyer from 2006-09, but the Gators never went more than two straight seasons under Meyer with 10-plus wins.

The moral of the story is that racking up double-digit wins in this league and doing it year after year is the exception and not the rule.

The Crimson Tide might well continue on their torrid pace, but the odds (and history) are against them.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly told Eugene sports radio talk show host Steve Tannen Thursday that he never flip-flopped from the Ducks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and back again last weekend, as reported in both Tampa and Oregon.

"The only decision I ever made was to not accept the job," Kelly said. "I never changed my mind. I never committed to the job and then flip-flopped."

You can listen to the full interview here.

First, response: Interesting, but it doesn't matter. He's still the Ducks' coach. End of story.

But as far as reading the entrails on this, there are four options you can choose from: 1) Kelly is telling the truth; 2) Kelly is lying; 3) Kelly is splitting hairs; 4) Kelly is shortly going to improve to 35-6 at Oregon and not 1-0 at Tampa Bay -- again, end of story.

Whatever Kelly said on the radio, lots of people believed Sunday night that he was headed to Tampa. It's possible -- and perhaps likely in some way -- that Kelly gave a strong indication to principals on both ends that he was leaning toward Tampa and away from Eugene, but when it came time to put pen to paper he got cold feet, likely considering the spiraling void of darkness that would ensue without regular chats with the Pac-12 blog. "Eeek," he said. "Can't do it."

Yes, no one can prove that Kelly didn't return to Oregon because the Pac-12 blog has very little interaction with the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Just as no one can prove that Kelly said "yes" to Tampa before he said "no."

Why is it important whether Kelly flip-flopped or not? In either scenario, he turned down a hefty raise to remain at Oregon. So this flirtation wasn't about contract leverage, and it's reasonable to conclude that money isn't solely driving him. An interesting tidbit from the Eugene Register-Guard:

Kelly pointed out that his decision "obviously wasn't financial, because I turned it down and it was more than I got paid." The Register-Guard has reported that Kelly received a contract extension but that his deal with the Ducks wasn't otherwise dramatically overhauled.

Further, Kelly got to cite a heart-warming reason for returning: "... the relationships I have with the current coaches on our staff and the players was the underlying reason why I came back."

Oregon fans can look at this any way they like, but I'd rate it a win-win for Kelly and Oregon.

The football nation -- NFL and college -- got to see how highly Kelly is held in esteem. Multiple NFL pundits, including former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, have said of late that Kelly would be a good NFL coach. Kelly's star, which is already high, just climbed a bit higher. That's good for him, of course, but it's also good for Oregon as long as Kelly is in Eugene.

Some have said Kelly's flirtation would hurt recruiting. They are not only wrong; the opposite is true.

Players respect superstar coaches. Recall that, in his heyday, Florida State's Bobby Bowden used to crush it the final week of recruiting with that last in-home visit. So did Pete Carroll. So does Nick Saban, etc. Oregon fans, not satisfied with winning three consecutive conference titles, want to move up the recruiting rankings. Lots of five-star guys -- in 2012-13 and beyond -- just learned a little bit more about Kelly.

The NFL banging on Kelly's door makes him more of a star, and that will play well in living rooms, much more so than the idea that Kelly might leave for an NFL job at some point.

Further, some have tried to diminish Kelly as a "system" coach. In recruiting, some coaches say that Oregon is a great program but it's not an NFL feeder with pro-style schemes. Well, now there's clear evidence the NFL thinks highly of Kelly and his systems.

The key thing on the Oregon end of things: It will be a huge mistake if the Ducks' top boosters -- Phil Knight, et al. -- want to get grumpy over this. Creating friction to make a point about loyalty or acting wounded will only hasten Kelly's exit. And hurt the program.

The most interesting aspect coming out of this was detailed in this column from George Schroeder: Oregon's potential succession plan would have made offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich the head coach.

Helfrich is highly respected, but I'd always thought he'd have to leave for another job -- and call his own plays -- to escape Kelly's considerable shadow and land a head-coaching gig. Schroeder's column shows that the same folks who quickly and accurately identified Kelly's rising star believe Helfrich is made of the same coaching stuff.

So just as Kelly's star rose this week, and Oregon fans got a huge relief after it stayed in the Eugene sky, so did Helfrich's. Know that more than a few ADs at some AQ schools added his name to their list of coaches to watch.

Bobby Bowden, Beano Cook, Rece Davis, O.J. McDuffie, Joe Schad, Urban Meyer and Adam Taliaferro reflect on the life of Joe Paterno

Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who spent nearly a decade battling former Penn State coach Joe Paterno for the most victories in NCAA Division I history, said he was saddened by Paterno’s death on Sunday morning.

Bowden said he learned of Paterno’s death from lung cancer after returning to his home in Tallahassee, Fla. Bowden, 82, coached in the Battle of Florida All-Star Game in Boca Raton, Fla., on Saturday night.

“I hated to hear it,” Bowden said. “It is really sad. The guy had the most illustrious career in the history of college football, probably all of football. To put the years together and have the success he had and then have it all end like this, it’s just tragic. I’m just going to remember the good things because he did so many good things at Penn State.”

Paterno, who spent his last two months battling lung cancer, won 409 games and two national championships in 46 seasons at Penn State. Bowden was ahead of Paterno in all-time victories for a time, but Paterno passed him before Bowden was forced to retire as FSU’s coach near the end of the 2009 season. On Oct. 29, Paterno won his 409th game, moving him past legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson for the most victories among Division I coaches.

Bowden won 389 games in 44 seasons as a coach, including 34 at Florida State. FSU was ordered to vacate 12 victories as part of NCAA sanctions in January 2010, leaving Bowden with a career record of 377-129-4.

“I thought I could outlast him,” Bowden said. “That was kind of my goal in my last years of coaching, but my record wouldn’t allow it. I enjoyed [the battle with Paterno] and kind of fessed up to it. Joe would always say, ‘Oh, I’m not interested in it.’ At one time, I was ahead of him. He was the best.”

Bowden said he first met Paterno in 1962, when Bowden was coaching at Howard College in Birmingham, Ala. After watching the Nittany Lions defeat Georgia Tech 30-15 in the 1961 Gator Bowl, Bowden called Penn State coach Rip Engle to ask if he could observe spring practice in 1962. Paterno was Engle’s 35-year-old offensive coordinator at the time. Bowden later coached against Penn State when he was coach at West Virginia from 1970-1975.

Bowden and Paterno faced each other in two bowl games while Bowden was at Florida State. FSU defeated Penn State 24-17 in the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl, and the Nittany Lions beat the Seminoles 26-23 in three overtimes in the 2006 Orange Bowl.

In 2007, Bowden and Paterno were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame together. At the time, the National Football Foundation waived its rule which said coaches had to be retired to be inducted.

Bowden and Paterno became close friends during their trips together to Nike conventions.

“Joe and I would spend a lot of time together because we were older than everyone else,” Bowden said.

Bowden said he hopes Paterno will be remembered as a great leader and coach, and not for his role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal that rocked Penn State last year. Sandusky, a longtime Paterno assistant, is accused of molesting children over a 15-year period.

“It’s amazing,” Bowden said. “You can do so many good things in your life and then have one mistake. You can’t ignore the great years he had at Penn State and the great things he did for Penn State. That university is known for Joe Paterno and [his wife] Sue. It’s just a great tragedy.”

Kez McCorvey still shows his players the catch 18 years later. In the film room of Bethel (Tenn.) University, the Wildcats' wide receivers coach focuses on the details of the play, "560 vertical," and not so much on the circumstances surrounding it, which NBC play-by-play man Charlie Jones summed up thusly:

"So the perfect season for the Seminoles, Bobby Bowden's shot at the national championship, coming down to this play. It is fourth down and goal to go. Twenty-yard line. 2:31 left."

Eventual Heisman Trophy winner and NBA point guard Charlie Ward took the shotgun snap from the 20, dropped three steps and fired a bullet over the middle that looked destined for the hands of Notre Dame safety Brian McGee. Instead, the ball dropped into McCorvey's hands for the touchdown, cutting the Irish's lead in half and granting Florida State new life in what was then the Game of the Century -- Nov. 13, 1993.

"My guys here, they'll get plays they think we just invented or something," said the 39-year-old McCorvey, who still gets on the practice field to demonstrate routes for his NAIA pupils. "And I'll tell them we've been running that play forever. 'Look here on YouTube. I'm old as dirt, we're not even doing a good job of doing it and I'm slow and old and I can score, so here.' "

The improbability of the play had McCorvey and his teammates thinking fate had intervened -- "I don't wanna make it sound like Florida State is all that and a bag of chips, but we'd just never been in a situation where we'd been out of a game, so we just never quit."

The celebration, however, was short-lived, one of many twists and turns of a season that saw No. 2 Notre Dame upset No. 1 Florida State, 31-24, only to watch the Seminoles be declared national champions less than two months later despite having the same number of losses.

The schools will renew their rivalry in Thursday's Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., a smaller stage later in the year that will lack the 800-plus media members, dozens of fake credentials, coach's dinner party and rapid trash-talking that surrounded South Bend, Ind., that fall week in 1993.

The messages that week, at least from up top, could not have been any more different.

"Leading up to it, obviously Coach Holtz's thing was at the beginning that we may get beat by 50, and that was just Lou Holtz, that's just how he handled things," said former Irish safety Jeff Burris, who scored the Irish's last two touchdowns of the game as a running back. "And by Monday or Tuesday, 'We'll be happy to be in the game by halftime.'

"Just his mentality was that way, but he was always focused on, 'If we do this the right way it might be a game.' And by Thursday or Friday it was, 'We'll win this game, and this is how we'll win this game.' "

For Florida State, meanwhile, it was business as usual.

"I would love to tell you we did it bigger than the Miami game, but we didn't," said McCorvey, citing a win over the No. 3 Hurricanes a month earlier. "Nothing against Notre Dame, but we felt like since we beat Miami we could win the national championship, so we'd been accustomed to that type of pressure. Coach Bowden, too. It wasn't as big a deal going into games -- the pressure, game situations. So we didn't do a whole lot of things that we hadn't done before."

Yet McCorvey couldn't help himself during the week leading up to the game, making references to "Rock Knutne" and being quoted as saying: "I appreciate what Notre Dame has accomplished, but those old guys don't play anymore. You can't win with mojo or magic. Joe Montana isn't going to put on the pads and win for them."

"I think it was a little bit of ignorance with the Knutne comment," McCorvey laughed. "That was me being young."

Still, the scene was unlike any all parties involved had ever been a part of.

Tickets were going for $1,000. ESPN's "College GameDay" was making its first on-campus appearance, albeit in front of just a few dozen loyal fans stationed on the concourse of the Joyce Center, where Notre Dame's basketball team plays.

"You can tell this is not just a football game; this is a happening," host Chris Fowler said on the air. "Paul Azinger, Roger Clemens, Spike Lee — lots of folks are gonna be here. Al Gore. Andre Agassi. Some others got turned down. As further proof this is transcendent-game status."

Signs in the parking lot offered assets such as an Orlando vacation or a Mercedes-Benz for entrance into Notre Dame Stadium that day.

"When they said it was the Game of the Century," former Irish quarterback Kevin McDougal said, "it really was."

Two days before the game, Holtz and his wife, Beth, invited 50-60 media members stationed in South Bend over to their Woodland Hills home, 10 minutes from campus.

"My then fiancée and I arrived in South Bend on Thursday," Michael Messaglia, Holtz's son-in-law, said. "Expecting a quiet night at her parents’ house, we arrived to a house full of reporters."

After Beth Holtz sent reporters out with cookies in napkins as they left, and after Holtz handed out small boxes of golf balls, the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy wrote in his day-of-game column:

"That settled it. It doesn't matter if Florida State wins today by four touchdowns; I will write only good things about Notre Dame. I have broken bread with Lou. After today's game of the century, I will have only one question.

"What time is dinner before the BC game?"

Of course, the high of Shawn Wooden knocking down Ward's final pass of the Game of the Century was met the following week with a hangover against Boston College, as the Eagles engineered a 41-39 shocker that played a pivotal role in deciding the national championship.

Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1. Florida State won its last two regular-season games before topping undefeated Nebraska in the Orange Bowl the same day.

The Seminoles finished atop both The Associated Press and coaches' polls, giving Bowden his first national championship, though the regret wasn't limited to the Irish's side.

"You look back and you think you won the national championship, but you wanted to go 13-0," McCorvey said. "You wanted to not lose a game that whole year and leave your legacy as one of the best teams that ever played. The Notre Dame loss was something that kind of tarnished that a little bit."

I caught up with former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden this past Friday to talk with him about Chris Weinke for Tuesday morning's story, and of course, it's very hard not to ask him a few other questions while he's on the phone. I asked Bowden what's he's been up to, and he made it very clear that he's busy and "not retired."

"I've retired from coaching, but I haven't retired," he said. "I don't want to do nothing. We've got places over on the beach, and I get over there seldom. I enjoy it when I do, but it's not like I want to sit around all day."

I'd be happy to sit around all day for him, but he didn't invite me.

I asked him how much he misses coaching.

"I didn't miss it a bit," he said. "I'm 81. If I was 45, I'd really miss it, I'd want to get back in it. But at my age -- I really tried to get one more year out of them and I was unable to, because I was trying to reach some goals, but I didn't. So I haven't missed the coaching. I miss the players and I miss the association with the coaches. I look back on it and there were fond memories with the ACC. They're such a classy group of people."

Can you believe some of the things that are going on with Jim Tressel and Butch Davis?

"Well, yeah, we got hit with that if you remember," he said. "And it was inadvertent. It was something the coaches had absolutely nothing to do with, or the administration, and when we found out about it, we reported it. But they still stuck us pretty good. But yeah, hey, they've got rules, you've gotta enforce them."

I'm sure you're paying attention to Florida State, even though you didn't go to any games last year, right?

"No, I'm staying away purposely," he said. "I feel like it would be a distraction. I'm not interested in going to the game and somebody says, 'Oh, Bobby Bowden is here.' I'm not interested in that. I want to sit back and enjoy it. I follow them, everything they're doing, keep up with them. I haven't been back to campus one day since I left, but I keep up with what they're doing and I'm pulling for them."

1. A few years ago, head coaches began bestowing exalted titles on their top assistants to make the program look good and make the assistants feel better. But I wonder if that came back and bit North Carolina. John Blake was more than Butch Davis’s top recruiter. Blake was “assistant head coach.” Blake got busted for lying to the university and to the NCAA, and for taking money from the late agent Gary Wichard. When your “assistant head coach” does that, it looks bad before the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

2. Temple coach Steve Addazio told me a nice story on the ESPNU College Football Podcast on Wednesday about his son Louis, a 6-3, 232-pound tight end who signed with Syracuse in January. When I asked Addazio how he let his son get away, he laughed. Turns out that when Addazio was an assistant at Syracuse a decade ago, eight-year-old Louis told him that someday he wanted to play for the Orange. What dad is going to mess with his kid’s dream?

3. ACC blogger Heather Dinich’s item this week about the large number of former FBS players now playing for Division II North Alabama coach Terry Bowden reminded me of a story that Terry’s dad loves to tell. When Bobby Bowden coached at Howard (Samford) some 50 years ago, he would get a call from Tuscaloosa to come watch Alabama practice. Bear Bryant had decided which players he couldn’t use. Bobby would watch practice, evaluate, and ask them to play for him. It’s almost Life Father, Like Son.

There was no confusion about what Jimbo Fisher had to do in his first season replacing legendary coach Bobby Bowden -- win. Quickly.

Mission accomplished.

In his first season as a head coach -- not just at Florida State, but anywhere -- Fisher has brought the program back to national relevance with a win over rival Florida and an appearance in the ACC championship game. Not even Bowden was able to win his season opener or beat Florida on his first try. Replacing a coaching legend isn’t easy, but Fisher said some of the pressure has been lifted thanks to the immediate success. Then again, that success has re-established the standard at a program where championships were once the norm.

“I think at Florida State the bar is always high,” Fisher said. “That's what you're expected. That's one of the reasons this is such a great job. I think it takes [the pressure] off in the part they realize that our staff and the things we're doing do work and we can have success. Hopefully, that will bring in more recruits and more things.

“The bottom line is you've got to win anyway. That's the name of the game. And hopefully it will just help us move in the direction and have the confidence and the expectation to win, like our players do.”

After this year, the fans will expect it, too.

With his Oct. 16 win over Boston College, Fisher became just the second coach at FSU to be assured of a bowl appearance in his first season, along with Larry Jones. Fisher led the Noles to a 3-2 road record this year and a 6-1 mark at home, but no win was bigger than the one over Florida this past weekend. Despite the fact Florida is having a down year, it was still a sign in a shift of balance of power within the state. The No. 21 Noles are the only team in the state still ranked in the BCS standings.

“I think it's huge,” Fisher said. “I think it's huge because, you know, Florida – usually Florida is at the top of the country right in the last few years, and that's the standard we're trying to get back to and where we want to be. But it's also your archrival. So you have to keep up with the guy who's your neighbor and your rival. That's how you measure Florida State, not only with the ACC and your divisional championships and all that within the conference, but you have two great state rivals in Florida and Miami. So you have to keep up with them because the Florida State fan base, that's what you're measured by.”

And in just one season, Fisher has stacked up. To those within the program, it came as no surprise.

“Being around him for the three years prior to taking over, we knew what he demanded from this team and what he demanded from me personally,” said quarterback Christian Ponder. “He’s got high expectations and he’s going to make sure the team reaches those expectations. He did a great job preparing us all year and pushing us to get to where we are.”

1. Oregon is cracking down on vendors selling unlicensed merchandise outside of Autzen Stadium. I understand the desire to protect a school’s trademark (and its cut of the take). But when I covered the Stanford game last month, I loved the variety of clever t-shirts that Ducks fans created for the occasion. Schools rarely sell T-shirts that veer from the obvious. Protecting the brand usually turns into protecting the bland.

2. This year’s best late-blooming teams, as I wrote yesterday, look to be Virginia Tech, Florida, Texas A&M and Penn State. The best late-blooming team of the last 25 years is Florida State in 1989. The Seminoles began the season 0-2 and won 10 straight to finish second behind Miami, a team that Florida State beat, 24-10. After that season, Alabama tried to hire Bowden. As he described in his book "Called to Coach," he turned down what once had been his dream job. “Too late,” Bowden said.

3. Not that the ACC Coastal Division is in much doubt -- Virginia Tech has a two-game lead on the field with three games to play -- but the apparent decision by Miami to hold out quarterback Jacory Harris for a second consecutive game because of a concussion means that his first game may be against the Hokies on Nov. 20. As Nick Foles of Arizona proved at Stanford last week, you can miss two games and need a half to get your timing back. Pencil Virginia Tech into the ACC Championship Game? Go ahead, use a pen.

1. Don’t underestimate the transition that Nebraska, Colorado, Utah and all those WAC-to-Mountain West schools must undergo next year. A coaching staff has a boatload of information about conference opponents that it builds from studying them year after year. Now the above schools must start from scratch. Huskers coach Bo Pelini said his staff will devote half of a week to each Big Ten team in the offseason. “When we look at them in the fall, it will feel like the second time we’ve played,” Pelini said.

2. The agreement between Alabama and Michigan to open the 2012 season at Cowboys Stadium will match the coach that Crimson Tide athletic director Mal Moore hired after the 2006 season (Nick Saban) against the coach who turned Moore down (Rich Rodriguez, then of West Virginia). Saban loves the recruiting help that these intersectional, neutral-site games provide. The game will be a showcase for Rodriguez and his spread option offense at Michigan, too.

3. Coaches who limit media access to their players do them a disservice. I agree with forrmer Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who believed that learning how to be interviewed should be part of student-athlete’s maturation. That said, for some reason, when North Carolina coach Butch Davis banned his players from using Twitter, it didn’t bother me. Typing one’s innermost thoughts in 140 characters at a time, is fraught with problems. I wouldn’t trust the players, either.

On Sept. 25, 1976, first-year Florida State coach Bobby Bowden took his unimpressive program across the country to face No. 4 Oklahoma. The odds seemed stacked against the Seminoles, as Bowden had inherited a program that had considered dropping the sport after a 4-29 overall record over the previous four seasons.

On Saturday, FSU coach Jimbo Fisher finds himself in a strangely similar situation. The No. 17 Seminoles have officially moved on to life without Bowden, but it’s hard not to draw parallels this weekend, as the matchup against the No. 10 Sooners will be an opportunity for Fisher to make a name for himself just as Bowden did with numerous signature nonconference wins.

“The difference in the parallel is the program wasn’t the same as it is now,” said Fisher, who was hired to restore the program’s championship tradition after three seven-win seasons in the past four years. “Florida State is a much bigger program than when coach Bowden had it back then, but there are some parallels as far as we haven’t won as much as we have in the past, and it would be a great game to get back in the national media and the national spotlight, but I don’t think it’s do-or-die. It’s a great opportunity, a great chance for our players to see where they’re at and to see where we stand right now in relationship to a great team like Oklahoma.”

Right now, only seven spots separate these programs in the Associated Press Top 25, but the disparity on the field has been much greater. The Sooners were playing for the national title with a Heisman Trophy winner as recently as 2008, while Florida State hasn’t been able to win its own conference since 2005. Oklahoma’s defense ranked among the top 10 in the nation last season in every major statistical category while Florida State’s was one of the worst of 120 teams.

It will take more than a win on Saturday for Florida State to be entrenched among the nation’s elite again, but it would bring instant credibility to the staff trying to get it there.

“I think this is a test for our whole organization,” Fisher said. “By the whole organization I mean that is the head coach, the assistant coaches, our players, our administration, the way we prepare, the way we do things and just our mindset at Florida State. Is about where we want to go and how we want to get there. I think it’s a test for everybody. Every game is a test, and this is just bigger because it is on a national scale, it is on the road with two nationally ranked teams.”

On the road with two nationally ranked teams is how Bowden put Florida State at the forefront of the college football landscape. In 1981, Bowden’s No. 20-ranked Seminoles defeated No. 7 Ohio State 36-27 in Columbus, his signature win in a “play anyone, anywhere” season that also included road trips to Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pitt and LSU. In 1980, No. 16 Florida State defeated No. 3 Nebraska 18-14, marking the highest ranked team the program had ever beaten at that time.

“You know I think Florida State’s program then, he was really establishing them in the limelight, and he established them, so now hopefully we can handle those pressures and go out there,” Fisher said.

Fisher enters this game with an offensive reputation as a coordinator, and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops built his resume as a defensive coordinator. To add to the twist for this staff, first-year Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is the younger brother of Oklahoma’s Stoops.

Florida State’s entire staff will be measured in part by the outcome of this game, though it's hardly a precursor to a career. Bowden lost that game in 1976, 24-9, in the third game of what went on to be a 34-year career in Tallahassee.

“Every game is a measuring stick for a coach,” Fisher said. “You want to do well. I don’t think that just because if we win this game all of a sudden I’m one of the best coaches in America, or if I lose it I’m the worst coach. I don’t look at it that way. It’s another game on our schedule, it’s one win or one loss, but it is a great opportunity for our staff and our organization to do that.”

So far, he's already off to a better start than his predecessor.

In a recent interview with The Sporting News, former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said he was fired -- he didn't resign or retire.

In a recent interview with the Palm Beach Post, former FSU president T.K. Wetherell said his relationship with Bowden is now "strained."

Well, you don't say.

What did Wetherell think was going to happen, he'd still be a BFF? (Bowden's Favorite Friend).

Wetherell actually states in this interview that he'd like to get back to the days of playing golf and having barbecues, but it's "going to take some time to get there."

Like, forever.

Regardless of how you felt about Bowden during his final seasons, whether or not you thought it was time for him to step aside, the way it happened was shameful. It was ugly. And it was embarrassing for Florida State. Are the Seminoles better off now with Jimbo Fisher at the helm? It certainly appears they're headed in the right direction, and more importantly, they have direction. But was it worth all of this to get there one year earlier? Some say yes. And yet many of those same people will be among the first in line for an autograph of Bowden's new book, "Called to Coach."

Wetherell said he won't read it. Why would he? He already knows how the story ends.

Here are five things worth watching in the ACC this fall:

First-year coaches: For the first time since 1976, somebody other than Bobby Bowden will be coaching at Florida State. The Jimbo Fisher era has begun, and expectations are already soaring for a program that returns all but one starter on offense. The Seminoles were picked by the media in July to finish first in the Atlantic Division, but in order for that to happen, the defense will have to show significant improvement under first-year coordinator Mark Stoops. At Virginia, Mike London has replaced Al Groh, who is now the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. London has changed the schemes on both sides of the ball and is tasked with facing Richmond, the program he left, in the season opener.

Veteran quarterbacks: This is one of the main reasons expectations are higher for the conference this fall. Virginia Tech senior Tyrod Taylor is poised for a breakout season, Miami junior Jacory Harris has spent the summer trying to cut down on his mistakes, Georgia Tech senior Joshua Nesbitt has the best grasp of the triple-option offense since he took over the position, and Florida State senior Christian Ponder could be a Heisman Trophy candidate if the Seminoles win big. UNC senior T.J. Yates has one more chance to prove he can lead the offense, and it could be the final hurrah for two baseball stars in NC State’s Russell Wilson and Clemson’s Kyle Parker.

1,000-yard rushers: For the first time in conference history, the ACC returns five 1,000-yard rushers in Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams and Darren Evans, Maryland’s Da'Rel Scott, Boston College’s Montel Harris and Georgia Tech quarterback Joshua Nesbitt. It’s one of the deepest positions in the ACC this fall, and there are plenty of other skilled backs who could crack the 1,000-yard mark this season like Georgia Tech B-back Anthony Allen.

Injured stars returning: Possibly the most anticipated return of the season will be that of Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, who, after making a full recovery from Ewing’s Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer, was sidelined this summer with a fractured foot. He is still listed as day-to-day. The return of linebacker Nate Irving from a serious car crash last summer could also give NC State’s defense a much needed boost of both talent and leadership, and the return of Evans will make Virginia Tech’s backfield one of the best and deepest in the country.

Defenses in transition: London is switching the Cavaliers back to a 4-3 defense while Groh is taking Georgia Tech to a 3-4 as the Jackets’ new coordinator. Florida State first-year defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is transitioning the Seminoles to more zone coverages, and Duke coordinator Marion Hobby will be calling the plays for the first time in Durham. Virginia Tech’s defense won’t change, but the faces will, as the Hokies have to replace six starters from a year ago and will likely be missing staring linebacker Barquell Rivers for the season opener against Boise State.

If you haven't done so already, check out the college football front page, where my colleagues have put together an excellent series entitled "20 for '10." They have put together all types of lists for the 2010 season -- hot and not, Heisman Trophy candidates, must-see games and more -- and the Big Ten is featured in most of them.

Let's recap:

HOT AND NOT

• Expansion, Ohio State's Week 2 matchup against Miami, Penn State's Week 2 trip to Alabama, Michigan's Week 2 trip to Notre Dame, Purdue quarterback and Miami transfer Robert Marve, the Illinois-Northwestern game at Wrigley Field, Joe Paterno's improved vision and an expanded Michigan Stadium are listed among the "hot" items.
• Embattled Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Penn State's opener against Youngstown State, Minnesota coach Tim Brewster, Illinois coach Ron Zook, Illinois' struggles since the 2008 Rose Bowl and the Michigan-Ohio State series appear in the "not" category.
• Big Ten fans will be pleased to also see Big Ten bashing listed in the "not" category. Colleague Mark Schlabach writes, "The conference everyone loved to beat up during the past five seasons stood its ground during 2009 bowl season." That's certainly true, but the league needs to do so again in 2010.

MUST-SEE GAMES

• Miami at Ohio State, Sept. 11: Colleague Andrea Adelson writes, "This game is symbolic of so much -- the last time they met, Ohio State hung on to win the national title in a huge upset. That was the Buckeyes' last victory in the title game. For the Hurricanes, that game was the beginning of a downward slide."
• Ohio State at Iowa, Nov. 20
• Michigan at Notre Dame, Sept. 11: Adelson writes, "After the Wolverines' stunning come-from-behind win last season, this qualifies as must-see TV. Especially with Brian Kelly on the Irish sideline and beleaguered Rich Rodriguez on the other."
• Penn State at Alabama, Sept. 11
• Ohio State at Wisconsin, Oct. 16: Adelson writes, "Wisconsin has had trouble beating ranked Big Ten teams. Now the Badgers get the Buckeyes at home. They have beaten Ohio State only 17 times in 75 meetings."

HEISMAN TROPHY CONTENDERS

• Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor: Colleague Ivan Maisel writes, "If the junior QB plays in the rest of 2010 the way that he played on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, then he will attend the Heisman ceremony in December."
• Penn State RB Evan Royster: Maisel writes, "A veteran line and a young quarterback translate into a lot of responsibility -- and opportunity -- for this senior running back." Completely agree here.
• Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi: Maisel writes, "The senior QB produced one great fourth-quarter comeback after another last season. Now he must learn to play better in the first three quarters."

It's interesting to see Stanzi make the list ahead of Hawkeyes star defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn. And no John Clay? You kidding me? He's the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. I might need to have a little chat with Mr. Maisel.

BEST SHOT AT NATIONAL TITLE

• Iowa (listed No. 1): Adelson writes, "The Hawkeyes get Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State at home. With 14 starters returning, that is quite a nice trifecta."
• Ohio State (listed No. 3): Adelson writes, "Though the Buckeyes have Terrelle Pryor and 15 other starters returning, the schedule is going to make their run to the title harder. They host Miami and have Big Ten games at Wisconsin and at Iowa."
• Wisconsin (listed at No. 10): Adelson writes, "They get Ohio State at home, and Penn State isn't on the schedule. The toughest road game is at Iowa on Oct. 23. But the knock on the Badgers has been their inability to win the big games against ranked teams in Big Ten play."

TEAMS TO BE WARY OF (yes, I know my grammar stinks)

• Ohio State, when trailing in the fourth quarter: Schlabach writes, "Some fans might argue that Ohio State's Jim Tressel is too conservative in his playcalling, but the man knows how to hold a lead. Since Tressel took over before the 2001 season, the Buckeyes are 82-6 when leading at halftime."
• Iowa, when hardware is on the line: Schlabach writes, "Iowa's Kirk Ferentz has led his teams to nine straight victories in games in which a trophy was on the line."
• Wisconsin, when your defense is tired: Schlabach writes, "Wisconsin has long been known for its dominant running game, and the Badgers tied with Navy for the national lead in time of possession in 2009. Wisconsin held the ball for an average of 33 minutes, 55 seconds and had 16 five-minute drives in 13 games."

WHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE?

• Rich Rodriguez or Ron Zook: Adelson picks Zook but writes, "The chances that both men are still employed by their respective schools at the end of the season appear slim at this point."
• Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden: Adelson picks Bowden, writing, "After the age of 80, life just seems better on the golf course."
• Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany or SEC commish Mike Slive: Adelson picks Slive.
• Michigan helmet or Notre Dame helmet: Adelson picks the winged headgear. Good call.

Schlabach also includes Ohio State defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and his late father, Craig, and Wisconsin receiver Nick Toon and his dad, Al, among college football's familiar surnames this season. Buck-I-Guy and other super fans from Michigan State, Purdue and Iowa appear on this top 20 list.

And, finally, Todd McShay lists Heyward, Clayborn and Wisconsin left tackle Gabe Carimi among his top 20 NFL prospects for the 2011 draft.

Safe to say, all this will keep you busy for a while.

Last month, Florida State launched its first Heisman campaign. Last week, practices began without former coach Bobby Bowden for the first time since 1976. It’s this whirlwind of change in Tallahassee that makes Florida State the ACC’s hot team for 2010, despite the overwhelming votes of confidence in the Virginia Tech Hokies, who were picked by the media to win their fourth league title since joining the ACC.

There seems to be more of a buzz about the start of the Jimbo Fisher era than anything else in the conference this summer, and expectations are soaring. The Seminoles, who were picked to win the Atlantic Division, will only live up to the hype, though, if the defense shows significant improvement under first-year coordinator Mark Stoops.

Just because the Seminoles are stealing the spotlight doesn’t mean that they’ll end up there. Miami should be getting more credit in the polls this summer, as preseason rankings should be about potential, not about past performances.

Canes coach Randy Shannon enters this fall with all of the pieces in place to contend for his first Coastal Division title and has fewer questions to answer this summer -- namely on defense -- than both Virginia Tech and Florida State. The Canes finally have staff stability at the coordinator positions, an experienced quarterback and talent up front on both sides of the ball. If they can cut down on their turnovers and play consistently, it will be Miami creating the most buzz in November.