Football
Associated Press 16y

Seminoles look to regroup after second ACC loss; Miami next

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- With archrival Miami up next, Florida
State's Bobby Bowden is searching for answers.

At the season's midpoint, questions abound at Florida State
around inconsistency at quarterback, a young offensive line, a
nearly nonexistent running game and excessive penalties.

"We are not a sharp football team right now," Bowden conceded
in a Friday teleconference. "We're a team that still makes
mistakes and in a close game it's going to get you."

It did in Thursday night's 24-21 loss to Wake Forest, when the
Seminoles (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) matched their game
average of 10 penalties.

"It's the foolish penalties that you hate, like jumping
offside," Bowden said. "We're trying to teach go, go, go, but
we've got to be more disciplined."

Coaches were also frustrated with quarterback Xavier Lee, who
faltered in the third quarter and was briefly benched for his
erratic play.

"He started the game and he has got to learn to finish it,"
offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said.

Bowden said Lee missed Tuesday's practice to catch up on some
academic work and it turned out to be costly.

"It's kind of feast or famine," Bowden said. "He makes those
big plays, everybody gets real excited and then he'll miss a
couple. Until we get all that together we're going to have to
struggle every Saturday."

But Bowden sounded like Lee was still his man for the Miami game
Oct. 20 if not the rest of the season.

"He does have the basic tools," Bowden said. "He's got to
eliminate errors."

With the toughest part of the schedule ahead, injuries are
mounting too.

Bowden said guard Rodney Hudson is out for a couple of weeks
with a sprained right knee and linebacker Marcus Ball is slowed
with a left ankle sprain.

The Seminoles will get a couple extra days to heal and prepare
for the visit from Miami, which hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.

While the Florida State-Miami game was once a marquee contest
usually televised across the country and a national title at stake,
the two schools are now in quest of a little respectability.

"It kind of reminds me of Alabama," Bowden said Friday. "Both
of us trying to get back to where we were."

For the 77-year-old Bowden, it's starting to be a long climb --
seven years now since Florida State's last championship bid.

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