One of the most intriguing matchups of the college football weekend takes place Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville, where traditional powers Alabama and Florida State meet for the first time in 33 years.
The main thread running through this game is that of Bobby Bowden. The 77-year-old legendary Seminoles coach almost took the Alabama job years ago. Bowden grew up in Birmingham, Ala..
"Alabama was my school," said Bowden, who will be facing the Tide for the first time in his 42 years as a head coach. "I moved away from Alabama 40-something years ago, but that's always been my team."
Behind his desk, Bowden still keeps a scrapbook he compiled as a kid, diligently cutting out every photograph and story he could about his beloved Tide. He was offered the head coaching job in December 1986.
"I was ready to take it," Bowden said. "I was from there. I just thought that's where I was supposed to go. I thought that's the way God meant it to be, to end up back at my home."
On the field, this game could determine each team's fate going forward. No. 22 Alabama (3-1) is coming off an emotionally draining overtime loss to Georgia, while Florida State (2-1) still can't seem to find any offense, but the Noles have the benefit of coming off a bye week.The Seminoles managed a 16-6 win at Colorado in their last game Sept. 15, but the offense gained only 221 yards in a performance that coordinator Jimbo Fisher called "the most ridiculous demonstration of football I've been around in my life."
Embattled starting QB Drew Weatherford was just 8-for-18 for 126 yards and no touchdowns, and was sacked three times. Anton Smith had 19 carries for 66 yards and scored Florida State's lone touchdown, but Bowden said he was worse than his numbers would suggest.
Florida State did pile up 520 yards a week earlier in a win over UAB, but managed only 256 in a season-opening loss to Clemson. Fisher said that he wouldn't hesitate to make changes if the Seminoles, who rank 10th in the ACC with 22.7 points per game, don't improve.
A lot of the blame has been put on Weatherford for the fact that FSU is averaging only 332.3 total ypg. Weatherford is only completing 54 percent of his passes with only four touchdowns.
"We've got to get better," Bowden said. "If we don't, we'll get killed."
Alabama is averaging 35.0 ppg despite struggling some against Georgia. The running game is producing 205.2 ypg and 5.1 yards per carry for Coach Nick Saban. Terry Grant has rushed for 483 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. Meanwhile, QB John Parker Wilson has connected on 54.1 percent of his passes for 851 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
The ground attack should be the difference in this game. Alabama needs to run the ball to be effective, but FSU is allowing only 74.7 yards per game on the ground. Between that defense and the fact the Noles have had an extra week to prepare, look for FSU to cover the 1.5-point spread on WagerWeb.com.
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