Fish come on.....there is no way that USF is even on the same tier as FSU. What Leavitt did has been nothing short of remarkable but let's remember that FSU still has had Top 5 recruiting classes the past 5 years and the defense has been stellar. The problem has been the offense ever since Richt left.
hno:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_fsu/2009/12/bobby-bowdens-greatest-.html
Bobby Bowden's Greatest ...
posted by Andrew Carter on Dec 3, 2009 10:00:00 AM
We ran this in the paper the other day but it deserves mention here … look for an expanded version closer to the final game Bowden coaches.
GREATEST TEAMS
1. 1993
BUZZ: Bowden’s first national championship team, the ’93 Seminoles, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Charlie Ward, were likely Bowden’s most dominant.
2.1999
BUZZ: The Seminoles were ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire and won another national championship on the strength of Chris Weinke, another Heisman-winning quarterback, and receiver Peter Warrick.
3. 1987
BUZZ: Might have been Bowden’s best team, in terms of talent and especially defensive talent. That defense included the likes of Deion Sanders, Paul McGowan, Leroy Butler and Martin Mayhew.
GREATEST PLAYERS
1. Charlie Ward, QB, 1989-93
BUZZ: There’s a reason why Bowden thinks Tim Tebow is no better than Charlie Ward and that reason is this: Ward was probably better. Ward won every award for which he was eligible as a senior – and he only started at quarterback for two years.
2. Deion Sanders, DB, 1985-88
BUZZ: Likely the best athlete in Florida State history, Sanders won the ’88 Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, and then inspired a legion of young players to grow up and play like “Prime Time.”
3. Marvin Jones, LB, 1990-92
BUZZ: In terms of football ability, FSU might never have had a better player than Jones, a two-time consensus All-American.
GREATEST MOMENTS
1. First national title
BUZZ: After so many close calls, Bowden finally had his moment when the Seminoles won the big one against Nebraska in the ’94 Orange Bowl.
2. Hall of Fame Induction
BUZZ: With his brilliant career not even yet over, Bowden in 2006 was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
3. “Puntrooski”
BUZZ: The gutsy trick play, a fake punt at Clemson on fourth down in the fourth quarter of a tied game in 1988, led to a Seminoles victory and further solidified Bowden’s reputation as the “riverboat gambler.”
GREATEST BOWDENISMS
1. “Dadgum.”
BUZZ: His go-to expression, used as an adjective. As in, “That dadgum Spurrier.”
2. “You know it.”
BUZZ: Used often as a way to punctuate a sentence, and said with quickness and all at once. Like: “Tebow is no better than Ward, youknowit?”
3. “Dadgum.”
BUZZ: Yeah, we listed this one first, but it makes us dadgum sad we won’t be hearing these dadgum dadgums anymore, you know it?
GREATEST ADVERSARIES
1. Steve Spurrier
BUZZ: The Florida State-Florida rivalry was at its best during the 1990s – great games, great moments, great players – but it would have lost something without Bowden and Spurrier going back and forth at each other.
2. Joe Paterno
BUZZ: C’mon, Bobby, admit it. A part of you is a bit mad that Penn State’s Joe Pa will beat you out as major college football’s most victorious coach. Unless, of course, Bowden coaches elsewhere in 2010.
3. Tom Osborne
BUZZ: Osborne and Bowden are actually close friends, but don’t let that spoil their rivalry. Osborne’s Nebraska teams and Bowden’s teams at FSU were some of the nation’s best in the 80’s and 90’s.
GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Wide Right(s)
BUZZ: How many more national championships would Bowden have if his kicker could make a dadgum field goal against Miami? At least one more. Two more? Three more? It’s possible.
2. The scandals
BUZZ: Fair or unfair – and whether he was accountable or wasn’t – the Foot Locker scandal, the Dillard’s shopping spree and the recent academic fraud scandal all tarnished Bowden, who held close his values and ethics.
3. His ending
BUZZ: This isn’t the way Bowden wanted to go out, nor the way Bowden deserved to go out. Sadly, no one knew that FSU’s 29-26 home victory against Maryland on Nov. 21 would be Bowden’s final game at Doak Campbell Stadium. What a disappointing end.
Bobby Bowden's Greatest ...
posted by Andrew Carter on Dec 3, 2009 10:00:00 AM
We ran this in the paper the other day but it deserves mention here … look for an expanded version closer to the final game Bowden coaches.
GREATEST TEAMS
1. 1993
BUZZ: Bowden’s first national championship team, the ’93 Seminoles, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Charlie Ward, were likely Bowden’s most dominant.
2.1999
BUZZ: The Seminoles were ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire and won another national championship on the strength of Chris Weinke, another Heisman-winning quarterback, and receiver Peter Warrick.
3. 1987
BUZZ: Might have been Bowden’s best team, in terms of talent and especially defensive talent. That defense included the likes of Deion Sanders, Paul McGowan, Leroy Butler and Martin Mayhew.
GREATEST PLAYERS
1. Charlie Ward, QB, 1989-93
BUZZ: There’s a reason why Bowden thinks Tim Tebow is no better than Charlie Ward and that reason is this: Ward was probably better. Ward won every award for which he was eligible as a senior – and he only started at quarterback for two years.
2. Deion Sanders, DB, 1985-88
BUZZ: Likely the best athlete in Florida State history, Sanders won the ’88 Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, and then inspired a legion of young players to grow up and play like “Prime Time.”
3. Marvin Jones, LB, 1990-92
BUZZ: In terms of football ability, FSU might never have had a better player than Jones, a two-time consensus All-American.
GREATEST MOMENTS
1. First national title
BUZZ: After so many close calls, Bowden finally had his moment when the Seminoles won the big one against Nebraska in the ’94 Orange Bowl.
2. Hall of Fame Induction
BUZZ: With his brilliant career not even yet over, Bowden in 2006 was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame.
3. “Puntrooski”
BUZZ: The gutsy trick play, a fake punt at Clemson on fourth down in the fourth quarter of a tied game in 1988, led to a Seminoles victory and further solidified Bowden’s reputation as the “riverboat gambler.”
GREATEST BOWDENISMS
1. “Dadgum.”
BUZZ: His go-to expression, used as an adjective. As in, “That dadgum Spurrier.”
2. “You know it.”
BUZZ: Used often as a way to punctuate a sentence, and said with quickness and all at once. Like: “Tebow is no better than Ward, youknowit?”
3. “Dadgum.”
BUZZ: Yeah, we listed this one first, but it makes us dadgum sad we won’t be hearing these dadgum dadgums anymore, you know it?
GREATEST ADVERSARIES
1. Steve Spurrier
BUZZ: The Florida State-Florida rivalry was at its best during the 1990s – great games, great moments, great players – but it would have lost something without Bowden and Spurrier going back and forth at each other.
2. Joe Paterno
BUZZ: C’mon, Bobby, admit it. A part of you is a bit mad that Penn State’s Joe Pa will beat you out as major college football’s most victorious coach. Unless, of course, Bowden coaches elsewhere in 2010.
3. Tom Osborne
BUZZ: Osborne and Bowden are actually close friends, but don’t let that spoil their rivalry. Osborne’s Nebraska teams and Bowden’s teams at FSU were some of the nation’s best in the 80’s and 90’s.
GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Wide Right(s)
BUZZ: How many more national championships would Bowden have if his kicker could make a dadgum field goal against Miami? At least one more. Two more? Three more? It’s possible.
2. The scandals
BUZZ: Fair or unfair – and whether he was accountable or wasn’t – the Foot Locker scandal, the Dillard’s shopping spree and the recent academic fraud scandal all tarnished Bowden, who held close his values and ethics.
3. His ending
BUZZ: This isn’t the way Bowden wanted to go out, nor the way Bowden deserved to go out. Sadly, no one knew that FSU’s 29-26 home victory against Maryland on Nov. 21 would be Bowden’s final game at Doak Campbell Stadium. What a disappointing end.
