Quote:Orange Bowl Has Teams Looking Ahead
By DOUG CARLSON
The Tampa Tribune
Published: Dec 29, 2003

MIAMI - With no championships to play for and not much more than pride to get them excited, some Florida State players see Thursday's rematch with Miami in the Orange Bowl as much as a beginning to next season as it is an end to this one. Ten starters are expected to return next season on offense, plus eight who have started a game on defense. The core of the special teams units also returns. All considered, the Seminoles no doubt will return to Miami on Labor Day to face the Hurricanes again - this time as Atlantic Coast Conference rivals - carrying a lofty preseason ranking.

They'd just as soon arrive without any emotional baggage.

"We don't want to go into it having a four-, five-game losing streak against them, or whatever it is,'' FSU junior center David Castillo said.

"This is big for us,'' quarterback Chris Rix said. "It plays a big role in the mental advantage aspect of the first game of next year, whether Miami has that momentum carrying into next season or we do.''

For the Seminoles, the temptation to treat the Orange Bowl as the prelude to next season is real. Try as they might, there's less to get excited about in facing the 'Canes for a second time this season than for what's to come.

"We don't really talk too open about it, but it's been discussed a couple of times,'' sophomore safety Pat Watkins said of the abundance of talent returning next season for FSU. "I get real excited when I see our linebacking corps. I believe we're going to have one of the top linebacking corps in the nation next year.''

Ironic that Watkins would choose the linebackers to talk about. That's the position where FSU will be hardest hit by graduation, losing seniors Allen Augustin, Kendyll Pope and Michael Boulware. Boulware and Pope were on the Butkus Award watch list this season.

But taking over will be sophomore Ernie Sims, junior A.J. Nicholson and either junior Sam McGrew or sophomore Buster Davis at middle linebacker.

Along the defensive line, where the 'Noles also will lose three starters (tackles Darnell Dockett and Jeff Womble and end Kevin Emanuel), there also is little concern about the dropoff. At least according to Emanuel.

"Eric Moore [7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss in '03] is going to be even better, and at the other end, Chauncey Davis is really underestimated. People don't know what he can do yet, but trust me, he's going to be really good,'' Emanuel said.

"There's so many other guys, like [freshman] Darrell Burston and young guys that came in this year who redshirted, like Willie Jones and all that crew.''

As much as he'd like to, Coach Bobby Bowden said he won't turn the team over to its future players in Thursday's game, because he said he owes it to his seniors, whom Bowden credits for helping to drastically improve morale and leadership.

Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews already started the cycle of utilizing younger players in key situations to get them ready.

"It's easy to put them in when you're 30 points ahead,'' he said. "You can't tell what they can do then. You need to know what they can actually do when the game's on the line.''

But Andrews said he won't take his substitution patterns another step toward the future this week. He believes a victory would be just as valuable.

"It kind of sets the stage. It gives you momentum [for next year's season opener against Miami] if you win a football game,'' Andrews said. ``But I think basically all this is, this group earned the right to play in the Orange Bowl, a BCS bowl, and to play against Miami again.''

Offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden doesn't have that problem, because the only senior he's expected to lose is tailback Greg Jones, who is only one part of a rotation with sophomore Leon Washington and freshman Lorenzo Booker. Bowden has the luxury of trying to win the Orange Bowl while also using it as preparation for next year.

"Here's the way I presented it to the offense,'' Jeff Bowden said. "If we're going to win a national championship [next season], if we're going to be good enough offensively, this is the type of defense we're going to have to play against, and we're going to have to make plays against.''