15 Florida State

Coach Bobby Bowden reflected recently on an off-season during which his Florida State team lost starting quarterback Wyatt Sexton (Lyme disease), All-ACC cornerback Antonio Cromartie (torn ACL) and promising defensive lineman Clifton Dickson (academically ineligible) for the season. Also, two starting linebackers, junior Ernie Sims and senior A.J. Nicholson, had been arrested and charged with misdemeanors in separate incidents. (The cases are pending; Bowden says that neither player will miss a game.) "We had some problems, but so did everyone else," the 75-year-old Bowden says. "The weak can't handle it."

After four straight seasons of finishing outside the Top 10, plus the off-season casualties, this team has as many question marks as any Florida State squad since Deion Sanders high-stepped through Doak Campbell Stadium. The biggest concern is an offense that last year turned in the program's worst averages for scoring (25.2 points) and total yardage (372.5) since 1981. Bowden brought in a new offensive line coach, former Marshall offensive coordinator Mark McHale, and is experimenting with putting backs and receivers in motion more often. But the key will be the new quarterback, either Xavier Lee or Drew Weatherford, both redshirt freshmen. "We have two young quarterbacks who are dedicated to making this offense better," Sims says. "I hope they do, because a defense can only do so much."

Last season Florida State ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense (14.1 points per game) and seventh in total defense (283.8 yards). The strength of the unit will be a set of linebackers led by the speedy Sims, who expects to be 100% following off-season surgery to repair a fractured right fibula. The availability of Sims and Nicholson enables the Seminoles to use more schemes with three down linemen instead of the usual four. "The players believe in this team," says Sims. "We have a new group of guys who are determined to put Florida State where it used to be." --G. M.