Bowden Singing New Tune

There is a ritual involving opposing coaches who play Miami. It is a ritual as old as the Hurricanes’ first national championship ring, won in 1983.

Coach praises mighty Hurricanes.

Coach says his team probably doesn’t have a chance.

Coach is usually right.

Of course, all that changed when Miami eked out an 8-7 victory over Arizona at the Orange Bowl last week. The Hurricanes dropped from No. 1 in the country to No. 2, only 41 points ahead of No. 3 Florida State in the Associated Press balloting.

Now as the Hurricanes and Seminoles meet today at Miami, there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of genuflecting being done by Florida State’s Coach Bobby Bowden. For the first time in years--and that’s how long it has been since Florida State beat Miami . . . years--the Hurricanes aren’t considered invulnerable.

According to Bowden’s checklist, Florida State compares favorably with Miami in nearly every category. That is encouraging news for Bowden, who has only one victory over the Hurricanes in the last seven seasons.

Conventional wisdom: Miami’s wide receivers are too fast.

Bowden’s answer: “They’re like a time bomb--they can explode at any minute. They can fly, but we can match them there.”

Conventional wisdom: Miami knows how to run against Florida State. In three of the last four games, the Hurricanes have rushed for 184, 176 and 165 yards. Forget last week’s two-yard effort against Arizona. It was a fluke.

Bowden’s answer: “That’s where they really jumped us the last two years. But now they’re having to rebuild the offensive line and their back (Stephen McGuire) is not back at 100%.”

Conventional wisdom: First-year starting quarterback Charlie Ward will need a sedative by game’s end. The Hurricanes will completely fluster him.

Bowden’s answer: “They have a veteran quarterback (Gino Torretta). That experience there will be a factor. Charlie will have to equalize that by improvising. You might say he’s going against the fastball this week.”

Actually, the teams are similar--terrific wide receivers, swift defensive players, so-so kickers, inexperienced offensive lines.

But for a rare change, the Hurricanes have performed like a team unsure of itself.

“Do I have to talk about the game last Saturday?” Miami Coach Dennis Erickson asked. “It was probably the poorest performance we’ve had since I’ve coached here.”

Erickson isn’t Lou Holtz Jr. He doesn’t exaggerate the talents of the opposition. When Erickson says Florida State’s defense might be the best in the country, he says so from the heart. When he says the Seminoles are better than last year’s 11-2 team, there is reason to pay attention.

As for his own team, Erickson isn’t so sure. Miami’s running game is suspect and he recently lost star defensive end Rusty Medearis for the season because of a knee injury.

“It would be like the University of Washington a year ago losing Steve Emtman,” Erickson said. “That’s how important he was to our team.”

Erickson had better find a way to compensate. If not, he can kiss another national championship goodby. The same goes for Bowden’s team, which can’t afford another annual lapse against the Hurricanes.

“This is as big as any of them,” Bowden said. “Whoever wins it definitely has the chance to win the No. 1 prize. The one that don’t win it, I don’t think does.”