FEDEX ORANGE BOWL: OKLAHOMA v FLORIDA STATE

December 29, 2000

Bobby Bowden

COACH BOWDEN: We practiced today in full pads. Probably the last time we'll put full pads on. And had a little scrimmage, not much, but enough to make you sit there with your fingers crossed hoping that nobody gets injured. I think that's your main fear as the head coach, during your preparations; hope nobody gets hurt. So anyway, so far, we have been fortunate in that regard. Cold day. Other than that, not very eventful.

COACH BOWDEN: I think the most improvement has probably come in our kicking, and it is still not National Championship kicking, but it has improved. When we played the University of Miami, we had so many questions that we turned down -- I think we turned down, one, two, three opportunities to kick short field goals. We felt like our odds of making the first down was better, and it was. So I think at this point, we are more settled in to kick, and probably kick a little bit better. Other than that, we have played well up to that point since then and have executed good -- have made improvements like you're supposed to make with 12 ballgames.

COACH BOWDEN: You could say that. You sure could say that. I think -- I know this: We found out what they were made of the second half of that ball game. There comes a time in every year where you find out what your team is made of. Maybe it is after a loss. Maybe it is after coming from behind, something like that. Last year's football team that won the National Championship, I think we came from behind about four or five times, and that's really a good sign. That's why it never bothers me, if I can come from behind, even though you won a close game and you're supposed to win it big, but still there's some value you gain. So I feel that being 17-down against Miami, the last time that occurred was 1988 when we were preseason No. 1 and we played Miami down there, down in the Orange Bowl. They got ahead of us 17-0 and ended up beating us 31-0. So we didn't come back. But they ended up winning the National Championship -- no, I think Notre Dame won it that year. Anyway we ended up winning the rest of our ballgames. That ballgame, we were down 17, you're going to find out what your kids are made out of; somebody might fold, no confidence. But our kids actually did come back and get ahead, but then they came on back and beat us. I know this: I found out all I needed to find out about my ballclub at that time.

COACH BOWDEN: Probably finding the right guy that is more consistent, you know and settling in on him. I think Brett was coming around like we hoped would happen at the first of the year.

COACH BOWDEN: You don't know whether you can make up for that, 1,100, 1,200 yards catching the ball. Can you make up for that with another receiver? The advantage we have with that is we play so many receivers. We've never been a team that goes out and plays two receivers. That's not us. Were going to play six, seven; so when we lose a guy, we just take one of these guys and move him over here. So there could be a drop-off there, unless somebody decides they want to play as good as he played, you know, and that could happen. It has happened to us before. Last year against -- when Peter Warrick was ruled -- we had to spend him for two games. He and Coles were two starters and Dubins (ph) might have missed one of those games, Chris Weinke went out and just spread the ball around more and we didn't miss a lick. Will that happen in this game? I don't know. But we are counting on that happening. We're counting on that happening.

COACH BOWDEN: You hope it will be an advantage, but I really think that's up to Oklahoma. Oklahoma might not want that big advantage for us. But when you look at it from a preparation standpoint, you have been there. You've hit the field with everything riding on it. You've hit the field to the loudest noise you've heard. You've hit the field with cameras all over the sideline and in your face. At least you've been through that. It is kind of a learning experience. You would hope it would be, but we ain't depending on it. We can't do that.

COACH BOWDEN: How does our team approach that?

COACH BOWDEN: We've been favored -- I can't remember the last time we were underdogs. I mean, it might have been three or four years ago -- I can't remember the last time we were underdogs. So we're kind of used to that. We've played teams that are ranked higher, yet we're favored. We've had that happen quite a few times. So at least we have been through that, and we know that that doesn't mean a thing, you know. I was trying to look at yesterday's game, trying to see how many teams won that were not favored, and it seems like there were quite a few of them. So we won't pay any attention to that. I don't know how they come up with that. But again, we have to approach it like every week; so, we're used to that.

COACH BOWDEN: Oh, I think the Big 12 compares a lot more than they used to. I remember when we played Tom Osborne in the '92 Orange Bowl and we beat him pretty good that day. And Tom came up and spent some time with me. He came up, stayed two or three days and I let him go to our meetings. We've always swapped a lot of information with Nebraska, because we don't play them. Have to catch them in the bowl. So then the next year, we played Tom again for the National Championship, and all of the sudden he had gone out and got him some 210-pound linebacker that could play instead of those 235 -, 240-pounders that could not run as good, and all of the sudden he had got a lot of secondary guys that could play, and we were just very lucky to win that ballgame. So I really think that has been happening during the Big 12 since then. I think all of us are more speed conscious. Now it just happens that there's more speed down here than about -- nearly maybe Texas, I always feel like Texas -- Florida, Texas, California, I always felt were the biggest states in regard to having an abundance of speed. So all of the schools down here, if you wonder why Florida, Florida State, Miami, do as well as we do, we all can run.

COACH BOWDEN: I'm sure he will. I spent so much of my life being an underdog. When I came to Florida State, we were Homecoming University. Let's play Florida State for Homecoming. We'd be big underdogs, and I'm used to that. That's what I'm raised under. I can fire my kids up: "Look what they are saying, look what they are saying." When you're a favorite, you do that. I would. And I'm sure he's smart; you have to do that. It will challenge his kids. They don't like it. They don't like us being favored. I don't know if I'm that happy about it. (Laughter).

COACH BOWDEN: It's going to rank right up there with them. After this ballgame, I'll declare. (Laughs). I'll declare best or second best. But it compares. I've never had a year where I felt like seniors did a better job of taking over and leading a ballclub than this one. Very fortunate to have very good leadership and comparing it with some of the other teams, like I said, depending on how we come out.

COACH BOWDEN: First thing I found out about turning a program around, coming to Florida State 25 years, and Bob has done a lot better than I did. He does it in two years. The first thing you've got to do is this right up here (pointing to his head.) You've got to get those kids thinking they can win, despite the odds. And some coaches can't do that. Some coaches don't do that well. Bob must be perfect at it. But he got those kids believing they are got to win, and they win. So I really think that's the starting place, rebuilding them. Chuck Amatta has done a great job at NC State. He went up there and turned their thinking around that they can win and they are winning. So I think that is the best thing. That's the thing Bob has done a great job on.

COACH BOWDEN: No, that's not true. 27 not 27. 26 maybe. (Laughter). No, it would not be anything like that. We do have a lot of professional prospects on our team, but that's way too many.

COACH BOWDEN: I do not know. I do not know. The pros come in and talk and look at these kids and all that, but I've never asked one how many we've got.

COACH BOWDEN: Nasty. (Laughter.) So what is your question?

COACH BOWDEN: That's kind of the feeling you get -- well, it happens to other people besides us, you know. That's kind of the feeling you get. And you can really -- it is so easy to happen. It's just like the flare-ups we've had with University of Florida before games. Gosh, you've got 80 guys out there on both teams and trying to get a spot out there on the field, and a lot of them know each other, have known each other ever since high school. And it is hard to -- you just nearly have to -- last time we played to stop that, our coaches had to let our kids do their little warm-up and then say walk that direction to get to the dressing room, don't walk that direction over there. Walk that direction. So I can imagine on Bourbon Street, here comes a bunch of kids down -- I hate to say alley -- street, and running into each other. It's so easy to flare-up. Probably overblown.

COACH BOWDEN: As long as my kids can't fight on Bourbon Street here -- we don't have a Bourbon Street? If it is, it's off limits. I believe it is a little easier to run into each other in New Orleans than it is here. Plus I took the car keys away from them.

COACH BOWDEN: How much does he remind me of Steve? In some ways does he. In other ways, not close. (Laughter). You know, Steve is very optimistic. Steve always sees the golden lining out there. And when I met Bob at our get-together down here two or three weeks ago, it was very obvious that Bob always takes the positive look at everything, you know, and that's why his kids I think play with a lot of confidence. I do see that. I don't know how much passed that I see.

COACH BOWDEN: What would be some of the differences? Well, Bob probably wouldn't say that he rushes his passer -- (inaudible.) Bob probably wouldn't say that. Steve will say whatever he thinks. And Bob's probably a little bit more reserved in that line.

COACH BOWDEN: I don't think so. In fact, I met Steve's son today. I had not seen him in a while. Got to meet him this morning at the player breakfast and talk to him. Amazing thing is how young their staff is. You know, we're all over 40; they are all under 40. But I don't think, no. There wasn't be any carryover from the Florida association with him at all.

COACH BOWDEN: I wish I didn't think what I thought, which is they are darned good. You know, you get to this ballgame here, or if you get to the Super Bowl, you'd better be able to play defense. You'd better be able to play defense, because that's really what's going to get you here. You, know you've got a quarterback like we've got; you've got a quarterback like they have got. You've got a runner like we've got; you've got a runner like they've got. You've got receiver's like they've got; you've got receivers like we've got. Good offensive linemen, you know, and you look at all that, and then you have to say, hold it. That ain't where it's at. It's on that other side of the ball that will determine who wins this ballgame, which defense can corral the others offense better than the other. So, I'm very impressed with their defensive football team.

COACH BOWDEN: Yes, I do. I really do. I see speed at their skill positions, in their secondary. Yes, I see good skill. To be honest with you, probably not many schools in the country will have more overall speed than Florida State, Miami and Florida, because of the type of young man raised here.

COACH BOWDEN: Winning has got to be a pig part. Winning has got to be a big part. Because the last 14 years, gosh, how young was I back in those days -- 57 or 58 -- back when I was young. But the last 14 years, we have been successful, and I'm sure at my age, that has been a factor in me having no desire to get out of coaching football. So people ask me: "When do you plan to get out, or if you won this game would you get out?" My thinking is, No. 1, I have no desire to quit coaching, and as long as I can stay healthy, I want to coach, unless we start losing. I don't think at my age, I could stand a lot of loses, you know. Now, does that mean if you have a losing year or don't have a great year like you're having now, will you get out then? No. I think if that happens, I would like to try to rectify it the next year. Then if I couldn't then, then it'll be just some young guy taking my place. But it's not like if I had a bad year, I'm going to hang it up. I'd try to find it one more year, to see if I could rectify it. But you hit something on the head there. You said does winning play a part. I guarantee you, there's no way at my age I could go through losing seasons. I couldn't. No.

COACH BOWDEN: I can just tell you how that is kind of evolved in my coaching, the "Bear" Bryant record. No. 1, when I started coaching, I never even thought about possibly being close to that. That was -- my goal was to do this, my goal was to do this; my goal was to do that. My goal never to be close enough to approach that record. And then I could remember coaching at West Virginia, probably around 1974, that there was an article in the Pittsburgh paper that says, "Bobby Bowden is 14th on the list of all-time wins." 14th. Gee, I'm 14th? I had not even thought of something like that. And then I thought, "Well, you're not even close. There's no way you're going to be able to make that." So I've never gone into a season saying, "Oh boy, I've got to have this many wins; I've got to do that." That has never even closed my mind. But I do say, this the closer it gets, then it will become on my mind some. But I always talk to our team about team goals and not individual goals, and so I've never let my players think that that would -- that's one of my big goals. However, their success would lead to this. So if I can live long enough and my health stays good and I continue coaching, I've got a chance for that to happen. I don't see any way I could top Joe, though.

COACH BOWDEN: It's not likely. He's going to keep winning. He didn't have a good year this year.

COACH BOWDEN: I really thought more that Oklahoma was going to have a better chance than we do. After Miami beat us, we felt like there was enough good teams out there for us to play that if we could win out, we still would have a chance to get into that game. But when I saw -- when Oklahoma beat Nebraska and Kansas State, I believe back-to-back, it was obvious that they had a good chance of being there, as one of the teams. And of course after we beat the University of Florida, I thought we were going to have a good chance of getting in there because I thought our schedule would justify it with the formula.

COACH BOWDEN: What would my thinking be of Florida's chances to beat Miami? When Florida is hot, they can beat anybody in the United States. When Florida is hot, they can beat anybody in the United States. I mean, us or anybody else. So it's just like when that pitcher has that edge of that plate; get that ball over that edge of that plate. Miami, we've played both of them -- Miami is a more solid football team from this aspect all the way to this aspect, you know. But Florida is dangerous. Dangerous. Those receivers they have got.

COACH BOWDEN: Well, Weinke is our key. When Weinke decided to come back this year, my first thought was: "Uh-oh, we might get back in this thing." That's how valuable he is. And yet probably no more valuable than Heupel is to Oklahoma. But he was is the key. He has a trait of getting behind and immediately coming back and putting up a touchdown on the board is just -- that's what he does. And so I feel -- I always feel more confident when he's here.