6-6 (3-5), 5th Atlantic Coast - Atlantic
vs
7-5 (5-4), 4th Pacific-10
The year started out good for Florida State as they beat their archrival Miami Hurricanes, but everything went downhill from there. Offensively they have struggled all year. Those struggles lead their offensive coordinator, and son of the head coach, to step down. There were also boosters calling for Bobby Bowden’s head, saying the game has passed him by and it was time for a change.
This was supposed to be Drew Weatherford’s coming out party. He showed flashes of brilliance in his freshman year, but many factors led to him struggling. First the Seminoles could not establish a rushing attack. Lorenzo Booker had all the tools to be a 1000 yard rusher but could not find any holes to run. That caused the Seminoles to pass a lot more than they wanted. Weatherford also fought the injury bug throughout the season which brought in the athletic Xavier Lee.
Lee had some good games but they weren’t good enough to unseat Weatherford as he will start in the bowl game. Even with all their struggles offensively, their defense kept them in most of the games and is the reason they are going to a bowl game.
UCLA is another team that has built its year on defense. They showed that in their last game holding their archrival USC to their lowest point output all year. Bruin fans are still gloating over that victory that kept USC out of the BCS Championship game. Let’s not forget they took Notre Dame to task in South Bend. If not for a breakdown in the last minute, the Bruins would have two wins over Top 10 teams.
Most thought, including me, that the Bruins were in big trouble when Ben Olson went down. But athletic and versatile Patrick Cowan has stepped in and done an admirable job. He went through some growing pains early but now he is playing like a seasoned veteran and even with Olsen healthy it is Cowen that will start in the bowl game.
If you like defense, make sure to tune into this game. If UCLA has refocused on the Seminoles they should be able to beat them. Florida State has some talent at the wide receiver position but let’s remember that the Bruins shut down Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith, and Patrick Turner. So I don’t think they are afraid of what the Seminoles will throw at them. The Bruins’ great defensive ends will be in the backfield all day, causing Weatherford to make mistakes.
UCLA 17-3.
Brian -
UCLA
Husker Mike -
UCLA
Ron -
UCLA
Mountain Lair -
Florida State
Mr. Cornnation -
UCLA
Brian from CFR-
Florida State
Charlie -
Florida State
Chris -
Otto-
UCLA
Mrs. Cornnation -
UCLA
