ESPN College Gameday #1 Florida State vs. #2 Notre Dame 1993

Here it finally is! The first ever ESPN College Gameday road show in its entirety from the November 13, 1993 #1 Florida State vs. #2 Notre Dame football game.

©ESPN 1993.

[Music] welcome to a special college game day from the sight of the latest Game of the century the tomahawk chop arriving yesterday the pilot getting into the spirit of it a quiet bus drive for the seol as they get a glimpse of the golden dome then go through a very loose workout and face the media Crush Charlie Ward and the seols pleased by the condition of the field not worried about the weather forecast then The Madness of the pep rally last night Florida State said they don’t know anything about mystique and they’re not worried about the mysti at Notre Dame and I find no problem with them saying that I respect that they’ve never been around Mystique how would they recognize it alss with the Salvo last night this morning thousands of fans still looking for tickets young and old getting pumped up not worried about the cold and Misty weather the players another Dame arriving about an hour ago they get to the stadium 3 hours before kickoff earlier than any team in America they had their game faces on we are just the across the street from Notre Dame Stadium at the Ed Joy Center Live for a special college game day and surrounded by all kinds of memorabilia a reminder of the great tradition of this not Dame program and today’s game just the latest chapter in that great history hi everybody Chris Bor along with the coach Le Coro the pony Craig James and about 2,000 Irish and S old fans they have been yelling they are revved up these guys are definitely reved up only in college football can you have a regular season event of this magnitude because other sports settle things with the playoff and it’s much more special of course to have it on a college campus ham Oliver also joining us this morning on campus she’s over at the stadium with the latest on that critical issue the weather well thanks Chris I am no Lee Coro when it comes to reporting the weather but we’ll give it a shot the National Weather Service says temperatures should be in the mid-60s around game time right now it is dank and overcast and Misty with temperatures in the 50° range the biggest problem for both teams today could possibly be the winds right now it is 15 to 20 mph gust could reach up to 30 mph of course that would be a difficult situation especially for the kickers so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that today let’s go back to you all right Pam we’ll talk a lot more about how the weather might affect the game coming up but now as Florida State’s players are arriving about two hours before a kickoff Craig set the scene for us in the minds of guys on both teams well for Notre D and you mentioned it they go three hours to the stadium before the football game kicks off that would drive me nuts as a football player Notre Dame it works for them but you look at the Irish sitting in a locker room the biggest games of their lives Florida State they show up put their shoes on the helmet on they go on the football field and they play I could not have dealt with a three-hour weight well it’s about let’s see 11:40 let me tell you what Lou Holz is doing he’s in the dressing room and he’s doing math that’s right he does math to keep his mind focused and he keeps sharp that way what’s Bobby balen doing he gets nervous he eats when he gets nervous he’s got about 25 sweet rolls and man he’s eating those things left and right that a obviously a huge moment for both coaches for Bobby Bowen so close so many times to a national championship hadn’t gotten it done but this year he’s cleared a major hurdle he’s beaten Miami now he’s presented with perhaps the all-time scheduling challenge for a coach is time running out for Bowen is this the Good Year meanwhile in the one versus two games Bowden 0 and one that would be the loss to Miami L Holtz 2 and0 in one versus two games he’s in his element his team is an underdog at home and he’s had two weeks to prepare now these coaches are old friends they’ve known each other since 1959 and in 196 three Lou Holz and his new bride even crashed at the Bowen household on their honeymoon we didn’t have any money on a honeymoon so we went to Florida and stayed with some friends and one of the families we stayed with was Bobby and an and their five children and went to the office with Bobby I stayed with him two or three days and actually all we talked about was football and uh some honeymoon yeah some honeymoon I know his wife enjoyed those film and it was no laughing matter the first time their teams met in 1970 in his West Virginia debut bowed and paced holtz’s outman tribe from William and Mary 43-7 he felt like we scored a touchdown him at the end and we shouldn’t have scored and and at that I mean I didn’t man I just went to coach as hard as I could coach you know and uh so boy he came out there and got all over me and I’m thinking hey I thought we were friends or something you know I can’t believe you ran up the score I thought we were friends and he said I want to tell you he said ju you can only coach one team in a game you coach yours coach mine two it’s your job to hold the score down it’s not mine Holtz never forgot that first encounter he moved on to North Carolina state in 72 and only needed to wait until New Year’s Eve in the Peach Bowl for a chance at Payback against bow their third meeting was a showcase for each other’s Ingenuity but State blew open a close game in the second half and routed the M near 4913 we were favored and he beat us to death and I mean late in the game I’m talking about fourth quarter he’s ahead and he’s got the game right he on he on side kicks gets it and scores again you know so he got me put in my place pretty quick now even though it’s been 18 years since their last meeting Bowen claims there are no Mysteries no surprises when he meets a lol’s team he is going to try to physically beat Florida State now I don’t I ain’t saying he ain’t going to cut some something loose on he’s going to cut some stuff loose but I know this he’ll be jumping up and down he’ll be eating that grass over on that sideline if that if that running game is pounding us and knocking us out of there keep an eyee out for Holtz eating grass today I think some teams and some coaches will be psyched out by Holtz and Notre Dame we don’t think Bobby Bowen one of those coaches no I don’t think so Chris remember Bowen is No rookie in this situation Bobby Bowen is nine and3 in big games in big stadiums up north Florida state will not be intimidated by Notre Dame for one simple reason they beat Miami this year and Florida state has a lot of confidence so they have confidence but that that big victory they had against the University of Miami I think the thing that they have going for them right now is that Bobby is consistent his jovial relaxed attitude carries over to his football team yesterday at practice the players were out on the field relaxed having fun you cannot have an uptight football player and perform to his utmost capabilities Le L Holtz an interesting situation yeah well Lou Holtz is a great motivator but people forget also that he’s an outstanding football coach fundamentally sound they give you an example for that Lou holtz’s football team in Notre Dame has not had a single turnover in the last 14 quarters that guy can coach football there’s no question about it this has been a typical year uh we have not had a yearly since my second year here that we haven’t started off the season with a national controversy now what happens is people forget what controversy happened last year because it’s replaced by the controversy this year did you ever think you’d get into a situation where they would write a book about you that that kind of bothered you as much as this one did I uh I never said it bothered me I’ve never read it and haven’t going to read it how did you react to it from your own side inside you know this is a difficult situation how did you handle it inside inside I think that’s very very personal and I don’t talk about my personal life and what I do here and I am not going to let false accusations affect the way I react it was painful that I know what he stands in I know what he believes and I know he’s lived his whole life trying to live by his rule doing what’s right doing what he thinks best and believing in it instead of straddling the fence adversity usually will bring you closer together as I told our players so many times the only friends you have in this world when things don’t go well those you eat with sleep with bleed with pray with and cry with and that involves your teammates and your family I think he does a great job of bringing the team together and circling the wagon so to speak and putting a a centerpiece in the Middle where they have something to stand against since I’ve been here Navy always has played this very very tough beginning of the week the other team looks like the Dallas Cowboys to you they do that’s right and and you tell everybody in the world this is the greatest team and they got this and that do you really think people believe you I don’t care whether they believe me or not Lee uh I’m sure people didn’t believe Jean Stallings last week when they were a 23o favorite over LSU uh I don’t think that they believe me at Navy And yet when we’re behind 24 to 17 we don’t pick up the paper here basically we we try not to read um what’s in the newspaper we try to stay away from what’s going on we’ll look at pictures here and there but honestly we try not to believe too much of what he says in the paper because it could say anything we don’t have great speed at the tailback position we aren’t very big at the fullback position and I don’t think we’re as good fundamentally as what we really and truly need to be we are not a uh a very good football team Lou you started the year with a young team and what did you really expect from these guys I probably been a little bit more patient uh at times than I normally have but uh it’s just the fact that there weren’t Great Expectations it was let’s just find a way to win we don’t need to impress anybody we don’t need to worry about honors let’s just play it for each other adversity certainly his element we talked about how we get a kick out of him saying every week we can’t pass we can’t run we can’t punt what about the players how do they react well you heard him they try not to read the newspapers that’s one thing for certain but the biggest part about Lou holon his coaching career is that he understands today how to handle today’s mentally delicate athletes that’s a tough job maybe the toughest part of coaching in today’s environments he uses all kinds of methods to motivate his football players and that’s why he’s successful who you call mentally delicate yes the egos too much pride well Lee told us how Mr Holt spends the morning at the game doing multiplication tables Pam Oliver interrupted that math homework to talk to him just a little while ago over at the stadium baby morning coach how you feeling today I’m all right thank you are you glad this is almost about to be over for you well I don’t try to rush things nor do I try to delay them you know whatever happens happens what’s your motiv motivational message for your players today I think that just basically uh we’re playing well let me just start that over okay I hadn’t really given an awful lot of thought but I think that the mistake about Notre Dame is a faith and a belief our players have to believe in ourselves I think we’re good enough to beat Florida State a lot of people think we need a miracle I just think we have to play very very well why’re not too bad a bit cold but windy is the wind concern you at all I I want to tell you this is not cold now this is going to be 62° uh and I think the Field’s going to be dry uh the wind is always a factor I really dislike the wind particularly when you have some problems with the kicking game okay Coach I really appreciate your time good luck today well thank you we’ve sure enjoyed having you up here this week than a lot we appreciate it byee certainly gracious host to us this week now our Tour on campus this week stops on just two campuses this one and in Tallahassee looking at some seals and some Irish with mutual ties literally and the closest thing that Florida state has to an old [Music] tradition deep in the heart of Tallahassee lies an ancient burial ground well at least it’s been there since 1962 since then it’s been a sein old tradition to remove a piece of turf following an important Road wind the side is returned home where it’s given a proper burial including a headstone not surprisingly there is a plot reserve for the Irish Turk there’ll be some Tallahassee Ties on the Notre Dame Sidelines today Irish secondary Coach Joe wessell played under Bobby Bowen in 1984 when he set an NCAA record with three punch blocked returned for touchdowns also skip Holtz got his start as a graduate assistant under Bowen he also met Florida native Jennifer Fitzgerald who later became his wife and quickly changed her colors she keeps telling me she’s given birth to a baby Domer so she’s transferred over now she she’s that blue and gold FSU true freshman running back Warick Dunn has overcome adversity with some help from his friends after his mother a Baton Rouge policewoman was killed in the line of duty this past January War turned to his new roommate Charlie Ward who helped him fill a void in his life he treats me like a brother we treat each other like brothers I mean this is to me this is a special relationship it’s been a prosperous one as well with Warick second on the team in rushing while averaging more than 8 yards for carry all right the countdown to kickoff continues no shortage of wackos on this campus this week and on the subject of wackos Mr Bal his prediction on the game he lives in Florida didn’t make a difference I’ve been to every home game in the last four years and my heart says nor Dame because my two girls Terry and Sher go here to nor Dame and certainly I have to cheer for the golden domers and the Fighting Irish I think if you look at the situation State the better team but for one game the lady on a dome is going to smile and unfortunately they’re going to go back to Tallahassee baby with a big L what does he know about the uh ball with the points on it when we come back on Game Day Scott Bentley certainly under pressure in South Bend and Kevin Pendergast a football Nea fight they could play a part also we’ll look back at the long history of the Irish in one versus two games including AAS Tai and we’ll break down the game plans the scrambling the mobility of Charlie Ward for Florida State and what did Joe Montana and dant have in common look at a comparison of these two schools a lot more coming up as we continue on a special college game day from the sight of the big game we’ll visit that field the tarp still on on a misty day one versus two in South B more in a minute college game day is brought to you by Wrangler the most comfortable jeans known to man and welcome back inside the house that rockney built the fabled stadium basically unchanged since 1930 based on a design for Michigan Stadium by the way it’s not that intimidating a stadium as you come in here the stands are not down on top of you like they are at Florida field or nand Stadium some other places but the sidelines are very congested it’s very close to the field kind of claustrophobic for a visiting player correct I think though the really the thing that I look at this stadium is the tradition the history and the players when they come down the tunnel play Like A Champion there’s an honor they have to uphold here at Notre Dame there is a responsibility for each and every one of those players but Florida State’s football team could care less about the golden dome Touchdown Jesus or anything else they’re worried about playing the football game only as a Florida State coach I’d be concerned on the quality of those players coming out of that tunnel they can play another thing that would be my factor in this game would be the fact that the student body sits from the 50 all the way around here 10,000 of them so if it’s the fourth quarter and I’m trying to win the game I want to be going that way away from the student body into the wind absolutely away from this student body they could disrupt everything if you’re the Florida state kicker Scott Bentley you definitely want to be away from the students he figures to be a target of a lot of their ey of course the heavily recruited kicker who was going to go to Notre Dame his entire life until he changed his mind in January meanwhile Notre Dame’s kicker Kevin Pendergrass also a very interesting story he wasn’t supposed to be here today he was supposed to be a soccer player here’s a look now with the two guys who will decide this game if it comes down to a kick if everything had gone as expected Scott Bentley would be Kevin Pendergast today I was upset a year ago and uh it did it didn’t work out then my dream came true and I went to Notre Dame but uh there’s no hard feelings on my part if he had come here you know I would have done the best I could to to compete with him for a job but uh you know I guess if his going to Florida state was the reason I’m kicking now then then i’ would have to say I’m I’m glad Bentley’s recruitment made national news an SI cover boy before he ever played a game Pendergast was a cover boy as well but on the soccer media guide an emergency two years ago forced hols to try out soccer players and with no football experience since the age of five Pendergast won the job I can’t believe I’m seeing this kid who’s played soccer his whole life out there even with a football uniform I have to get a chuckle each time I see this I’ve kind of been been thrown into this without too many expectations you know I think everybody looked at Notre Dame’s kicking game this year as a big question mark and you know if we made a single field goal this year it would be a bonus Bley freshman year has had its ups and downs but today’s game is special his father Bob was a two sport Letterman at Notre Dame and wanted Scott to attend there as well but he rejected the Irish offer and got the well publicized tongue lashing from Holtz he says that’s not a factor today a lot of people say you know this is the big one I get to prove myself P the Revenge Factor on Lou Holtz but in my mind it has nothing to do with that I don’t know that I’m going to cheer against Notre Dame I do know that I’m going to cheer for Florida State the kicker’s father’s differ not only on who to root for but also on how close the score should be as the clock winds down I’d hate to see a game of this magnitude come down to a kick for either team I kind of like that Miami 28 to 7 I think any parent would I think the ideal scenario would be with seconds left on the clock and two points down and the game on the line that he gets a chance to go out there and bang one through and there we are you know we’re uh now number one and to me that’s the ideal and certainly uh would would have to be in the end we’re Touchdown Jesus is saying it’s good sent a nice letter to Bentley this week wishing him well but maybe he also sent him a message last night when he introduced Pendergrass at the pep r as the best kicker on the field today hey one thing the kickers will not have to worry about is a sloppy track they kept the tarp on overnight until midm morning it rained all night but the grass has cut very low Craig yesterday at Florida State’s practice they were all excited especially especially the wide receivers about it being a tight carpet these guys will fly around they like that mentally but don’t be deceived cuz it’s also going to help Notre Dame’s offensive line it’ll give those big Hogs a chance to get their cleats in the ground move people out on that Florida State defensive line as a coach of a passing team I’m not concerned about the ground as much as I am the wind this Stadium goes north and south the wind’s coming from the south but it doesn’t swirl the reason it doesn’t swirl is because the Stadium’s not high enough but I tell you what if you’re throwing a ball that way deep it could cause a problem but if you’re Notre D defensive back you’d kind of hope that wind picks up floaters interception well if history is any guide the wind’s going to start to swirl if Florida State tries a kick it’ll calm down if not her name is is set up for a game-winning field goal in history a big part of this place this happens to be the 25th anniversary of the last one versus two game of Notre Dame stadium and the 50th anniversary of the very first let’s take a look back at some of the great games here as game day looks back [Music] [Applause] [Music] November 20th 1943 number one Notre Dame had beaten number two Michigan 6 weeks earlier when they faced the new number two Iowa pre-flight All-American Angelo Bertelli LED Notre Dame to a 1914 victory in their fourth National Championship exactly 25 years later the upi’s number one Irish hosted the ap’s number one Purdue boiler maker All-American Leroy Keys ran for two touchdowns as the Irish fell 3722 and finished eighth in the country two years earlier era Parian sparked a controversy that Still Remains unsettled trailing in Michigan State 10 nothing the Irish rallied to even the score but ran out the clock and settled for a tie perhaps Paran knew what he was doing as the Irish would still claim their eighth National Title after beating USC in his first one versus two a year earlier Lou Holtz faced Boys in week two of 89 shim beckler’s refusal to kick away from the rocket cost the Wolverines as ismile returned two kickoffs for touchdowns the Irish won 2419 but later lost to Miami to finish number two this another epic chapter about to unfold we’ve got the buildup now let’s see what the game brings Florida say players arriving about 15 minutes ago when we continue on college game they will break down that Irish running game strong inside game of the Irish can they overpower the smaller quicker NOS defense nobody has yet this [Music] year old friends reunited a lot of that this weekend on a big game weekend in South Ben welcome back to a special college game day the Irish and the seminal the countdown continues epea didn’t look too good on the left there do welcome back inside the joy Center the L Dame Heritage Hall Chris F along with Le course and Craig James now there’s a certainly a Florida connection on this Notre a team Oscar McBride the tight end Clinton Johnson also from the state of Florida and so is their quarterback Kevin McDougall a little while ago he spoke with our Pam Oliver hey good morning Kevin how you doing today all right I’m doing pretty good how you feeling pretty good just uh you know ready to get the game on did you sleep pretty well last night did you sleep pretty well last night oh definitely I’m you know I’m relaxed I’m just ready to play today what do you think is the most important thing for you to do today I think just stay calm and stay focused and you know just have fun and show a lot of confidence in my teammates thanks a lot Kevin really appreciate it all right welcome back inside how dominant have the seols been so far they are number one in the country in both scoring defense and scoring offense remember one time about four games into the season their defense was outscoring the opponent’s offense the seminal offense meanwhile scoring 44.3 points per game number one in the rankings number one in scoring Defense number one in scoring offense they also have of course the number one player in college football so far Charlie Ward a big game for his Heisman chances today and L Holtz knows that all of that scoring offense stems from number 17 a good ball game today you can just about hand deliver that chunk of bronze at Tallahassee if he struggles there may be a Heisman race here’s Holtz on the effect that ward has on that NOS offense nobody is inhuman and 16 touchdowns and one interceptions is rather incredible and that’s because he’s got great peripheral vision and he has the ability to scramble and the receivers do a great job of find in the open area so they make a lot of big plays I know they run a fast break offense and sometimes you have to use a full court press I I think we’re going to have to pressure him a little bit to keep it in a basketball mode yeah when you full court press sometimes you give up an easy layup it’s a gamble with a guy that good well let me tell you about Charlie Ward when he scrambles he’s got such a great athletic ability he can dismantle even the most defensive and disciplined football teams and let me tell you how he does it the defensive backs have a tendency to look at Ward and forget the receivers and as soon as they do that boom those receivers are gone drill this is not just a halfhazard thing when Ward does scramble these receivers know when he takes off gets out of the pocket and guys start to trace him they have a very specific assignment don’t they right let me tell you what happens when Ward goes their way the outside receiver’s responsibility is to go down and out and his inside receivers is to go to the inside now as we watch this play here watch the outside receiver as he starts out and up while the inside receiver is going across the field as Ward scrambles towards them the outside receiver’s rule is immediately go up the field while the inside receiver goes to the nearest sideline watch Ward as he scrambles to the right here he sees Matt frier against Miami it’s a designed play he hits Matt Fri for a touchdown that play was designed I think I think that that will be one of the key things in this ball game I think Charlie Ward is Head and Shoulders above anybody in college football and the ability to make the big play off the scramble of course though if you’re Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator and they’re secondary you’re really worried about this but they have faced a running quarterback before first game of the season against North will North Western it was ly Williams their quarterback who presented a little bit of a problem for them you see what I’m talking about here Williams he made them struggle because of his athletic ability yes it is similar to Wards but this guy’s nowhere near as quick once that secondary makes their move then somebody’s going to beat them it’s going to be a real challenge but there is a huge difference between Williams and Ward once Williams leaves the pocket he runs the football once Ward leaves the pocket the guy may pull up at the line of scribbage on the outside and throw the football just as you saw in that tape but the big scrambled to De beat Miami for the touchdown there a big question for me can the sophomores on Florida State’s offensive line handle the experienced seniors of the notame defensive line for the State’s offensive line as healthy as they have been for a big game in a long long time meanwhile for the Notre Dame offense we all know it’s power football and something that Bobby Bowen says reminds him of Lou holtz’s Mentor Woody Hayes oldfashioned Smashmouth but I watched his offense it remind me of the o Ohio State teams of Woody Hayes back in the late 60s and early 70s you know they just took the ball and physically took it to you and tried to beat you physically you know and they were so good they they did it most of the time one thing Notre Dame does and they do do it well is Drive the defensive line downfield face a lot of eight men fronts but they still Excel look how the backside Garden Tackle open up a huge hole for the running back even Corso could have gotten through this thing no that is stretching it just a little bit but the bottom line against USC they had eight men on the line of scrimmage again yet they still Smashmouth killed to the football players these two football teams are undefeated because their offensive line plays hard smart tough aggressive football and today Battle Stations will be [Applause] manned M together engaging combat the battle to be decided in the es by foot soldiers dug in in the line of scrimmage we got to attack attack attack attack and we got to move people around know we can’t attack the same people all game so we’re going to we’re going to spread out the the black and blue marks on our football players with an average weight of 290 lbs across the front the Irish offensive line will enjoy a robust Advantage but no one’s light Notre Dame Notre Dame knows how to continue to pound the ball at you and eventually you’re going to break and they just keep pounding and pounding we’re going to get tested in a dimension we have not been tested before uh we’ve played against big athletes but these are big uh athletic football players they got ability people have uh kind of looked down on us all year and and here’s another challenge know the D people think they’re going to run all over us and that’s just not going to happen the seminal front seven will compensate with what at times will appear like 15 men on the field as their quick pursuit to the the ball will be a real Advantage no team has really had a bunch of success running the ball on them and we’d like to do that um they we’re going to have to play pretty much Flawless football if if we hope to move the ball on them especially on the ground we’ll throw the ball a little bit to keep people off balance just to make sure they’re playing us honestly and not trying to cheat the run but if they come up and take away the run I feel very comfortable we can throw the ball to win we we’re not just a un dimensional team and we do have an aerial tack when Notre Dame has been able to has they’ve done it effectively only after they’ve established the run through play action the key remains though the hand toand combat you know he’s got these gorillas on the offensive line I mean you know I mean uh and and and and and we’re going to go after them with gazel I who’s going to win the battle when they run into each other I don’t know anything about gazelle’s and Zoo Warfare but I do know that Notre Dame can run the football they will run the football today therefore I think the play action pass will be a key part of that offense Nice Shot about that running situation but let me tell you something I was a quarterback I was too smart to be a running back right let me tell you about Notre Dame Notre Dame’s key play first and 10 they average over six yards per Rush on First and 10 Notre Dame is can run the ball against Florida State on First and 10 the Noles are in trouble here’s what must happen Florida state must Blitz or do something to get noted aim in Long yard and situations Advantage Florida State I did not sense the same Confidence from the Florida State defensive coaches this week they did from their offensive coaches you’re right it’s a major concern there’s another Bowen by the way who’s busy today on the road in hostile territory Terry Bowen at Auburn down between the hedges it’s a game that Georgia must have to keep their ball hopes alive they also have to beat Georgia Tech but once again Terry is not going to be able to watch a big game involving his dad for nine years I’ve been coaching in uh college and and every year there’s one game of the century that’s going that’s being played the same time mine’s being played so uh usually just have to listen to the loud speak to see when it’s announced at the stadium and uh see if my dad’s winning uh the big game meanwhile back to Georgia now the players had a gripe session when they were 0 and four in the SEC and their input in the offense was they wanted to throw the ball more ever since that meeting they’ve thrown the ball two-thirds of the time they had run the ball more than half the time before that meeting well let me tell you why they didn’t throw it so much when coach Ray go was a quarterback at Georgia in the mid-70s he threw the ball 74 times in three years Eric zy has thrown the ball three times that much in four weeks with 17700 yards I like Georg in this one and a big upset big upset yeah no not so fast Auburn may be undefeated Georgia is favored in this game a slight favorite at home to me it’s an upset I don’t care anything about statistics or all those things that whoever that guy was did back in the 60s or 70s Auburn’s on a mission this team wants to win the National Championship in the AP poll they have a way to do it they’ve got to beat Georgia they have Stan white Eric Zar is a great quarterback but alurn has that tough defense they’re smart and they have a will and a way wrong Auburn loses the ball game GE wins see watch the game Norman hitk checks in with his predictions when we continue on this special college game day the tomahawk chop folks warming up outside of Notre Dame Stadium we’ll continue from South B right after [Applause] this vict welcome back the T-shirt Wars continue kiss my Shamrock meanwhile some guys checking in with some predictions on today’s game no I think the closest game is is Miami game if I’m not mistaken that was 2018 and this not to Dame game it’s going to at least be about 14 if Notre Dame plays his best ball as a man from Florida let me tell you you’re a traitor anyway you just bad cuz we didn’t recruit you I tell me this I could have played for Florida State but I wanted to win a National Championship thank you Pat Carter Pat Carter can I have your on the game matter of fact I’d rather take over the M great great great and there you have it folks Notre Dame by six South V Indiana watch it be there there welcome back we’ll trade a f day vacation to Orlando for two tickets was that five days at Corso’s house out in Orlando I’d trade that for some tickets for this game as well you can tell this is not just a football game this is a happening Paul asinger Roger Clemens Spike Lee lots of folks are going to be here Al Gore Andre Agy some others got turned down as further proof that this is transcended game setatus all kinds of special things going on this week matter of fact if you’re here at the game you want to send a postcard or a letter home to fol folks you can get a special postmark that they’re doing the US Postal Service involved in the promotion of this game and the golden dome station will stamp your envelope for a keep sake permanently also they’ve chosen this weekend as a chance to unveil a brand new scent it is seminal smells like a national championship they say I don’t know it’s producing an arbor what’s next Wolverine smells like a small rodent we know one thing this stuff does not smell like a national championship course I bought my partner a bottle you need it thank you we make no correlation between the terrible scent of this cologne and the quality of Norm hitch’s predictions but he does join us now from Dallas trying to get up over the 500 Mark Norm we’ve talked about all kinds of aspects and angles to this game what about a handicapping angle Chris if history teaches us anything about these games of the century it’s to take the underdog the last nine years number one’s faced number two nine times from a handicapping perspective The Underdogs 9 and0 fabulous Florida state has one tiny weakness stopping the Run Miami control the ball on the ground for large chunks of time and Notre AES a vastly superior running team to the canes the seminol on the road versus winning teams are just four and seven recently the Irish ground game plays keep away and they take away the top ranking can you imagine a team whose offense hasn’t scored in three games and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass All Season being a big favorite that’s Vandy today Navy’s fabulous is a road Underdog coming off huge losses like their last one of Notre Dain 22 and2 versus the line Vandy looking ahead to Florida and Tennessee gets sunk by the Navy one of football’s most fundamental aspects leads to Georgia Tech’s blowout of Wake Forest Tech can run the ball nearly six yards a carry the last five games wake allows over 5 yds per Rush Wake Forest gets run over we get to take one of our favorite underdogs again today New Mexico’s not won five games in a season in a decade but the feisty Lobos get number five today making them 4 and0 as a home Underdog finally has a running back ranked number two in rushing yards in major college football ever gotten less publicity than Texas Tech bam Morris over 1300 yds 14 touchdowns today Tech explosive offense featuring the Southwest conference’s number one Runner passer and receiver keeps giving it to Bam Bam and eventually reduces smu’s defense to Pebbles all right Norm thank you look for your pro picks tomorrow once again going against the ponies team but going with norm and the Notre Dame pick beo cook paper playing pick GES of Notre Dame for 70 years he will join us later new rock be a big part of that tradition what does Florida State have for tradition Lee Corso it’s a mismatch we look at these two universities comparison coming up in the meanwhile the fans here have upped the anti longer just 5 days down in Orlando now it’s a Mercedes Benz for two tickets that’s how big it is Lee wants to trade his Mercedes for press F come back with more from South B in a [Music] minute welcome back the Bowen H Showdown coming up two of the more animated coaches in college football get it animated Lou doesn’t look good there he looked a lot better this morning when he talked to Pam but you say there’s something that’s factually outdated about that cartoon especially with Bobby bow Bobby Bowen has turned over the play calling calls right now offensively to offensive coordinator Brad Scott Bobby Bowen is now acting as a CEO he doesn’t call the plays as he has in the past notice him last year he’s in direct contact with the Press Box he was calling the plays this year more relaxed he makes the major decisions on the other side of the ball Lou Holtz is an active coach he doesn’t have headsets on because he doesn’t want to talk to anybody and have them distrust him but I think one of the major reasons that Florida State is doing really well on offense is the fact that they’ve got a new defensive offensive caller and Brad Scott and he’s got him really going wild there’s evidence of that in the Miami game and Florida State got ahead in a big game it had not just shut down the fast offense they kept after it now this morning Pam Oliver spoke with bow as the countdown continues to kickoff good morning coach how you feeling heyam how you doing feeling real good it’s about time a’t it any thoughts about the weather what concerns you looks like this look Sent From Heaven the weather as far as the winds are you concerned about the wind I don’t know we played the rain three times what do you think your team’s chances are today you seem everyone seems pretty relaxed well yeah we got to play the game see who’s the best okay than on got to play the game see who’s the best final coaches cliche before he heads inside the locker room let’s start to break down some of the aspects of this ball game now Florida State it’s really strength vers his strength cuz they have great big play receivers other names got good tackling secondary guys well Chris let me give you a stat it’s really astounding Florida State’s wide outs have caught 62% of all of the receptions this year but the thing they do best is after they catch the ball boom they turn into a ball carrier they do better that better than any other team in the nation if you’ll notice when they catch the ball on a short pass like Cass does right in here they like to throw the ball short to the receivers now notice count the yardage he makes after he catches the football there’s five there’s 10 they do this constantly what happens in this situation is they make little plays into big plays and I think Craig I think that’s going to be a major part in this ball game the yardage that Florida State makes after they catch the ball against those Notre aame defensive backs I’ll tell you what I did notice in that film right there I noticed that that was the University of Maryland that they were running against right there and it’s not note today it’ll be a much tougher secondary today that Florida State faces and they’re a secondary that has three or four good solid players led by number 21 Bobby Taylor and this guy on the outside controls things this guy’s going to play on Sunday afternoons notice how quick he comes out of his coverage to the receiver boom said a whoop there it is now when it comes to the inner of the field number nine Jeff bur he controls that secondary part there is nobody that’s going to have a big gap between the Notre Dame Secondary and the Florida state receivers one key issue here though is the health of the Irish secondary three of their defensive backs had to sit out practice this week they are expected to play but as you know Bobby Taylor has a pool growing which could affect him not so fast my friend I thought one of those plays were against Navy right yeah Navy was up State’s not Navy I can promise you that the secondary may have a t tougher task catching and tackling those FL State wide receivers I think one of the reasons why this is such a compelling match up maybe more compelling even than a Florida State Miami game as this is north versus South there’s so many things to compare and contrast with these two very diverse universities it is north versus South Cold versus warm small and Catholic versus large and public it’s Smashmouth versus shotgun leprechaun with shalele versus Chief with spear sensitive ’90s man Phil Donahue versus 70s man’s man Bert Reynolds now Notre Dame was staunchly all male until 72 from 1907 until 47 FSU was the Florida State College for women Notre Dame teams were called the Catholics then the Ramblers before becoming the Fighting Irish FSU students voted to become seol over Statesmen Senators golden falcons Indians and crackers crackers he she playing F out Notre Dame has a rich lore the Gipper and his coach Rock newy there two seminol called him this week FSU have the sunshine scooter the Irish have had seven Heisman Trophy winners and claim 11 national championships the nolles are working on their first of each they got us there there’s no doubt about it and uh we just have to hope they can’t match our speed Notre Dame had the four horsemen but Florida State feels a fearsome forsome Paul ainger Jeff sluman Hubert green and Jane gettis Florida state was recently voted number one party school by a national publication Notre name was not Irish students can Slug It Out at the annual Bengal bouss FSU students can join the school’s High Flying Circus and get one credit for it Notre Dame produced The Immortal Montana for the safe produce the immortal dantana Robert urri hey Cracker Jack just trying to make a living and not get killed huh oh yeah this is antenna H so it’s come to this a meeting of two colorful diverse universities bringing out the finest in school pride Linda Kaiser from Vero Beach Florida sent me this in honor of the game a toilet [Music] SE I don’t have we had a reges sighting yet today have not seen him he may show up for the game I know rockney and Montana against corso and dantana no it’s a mismatch no we have heard rumors that there are other games going on this weekend we’ll talk about those in a minute as the preparations on all fronts continue for this big Showdown it’s not cotton candy or the Cotton Bowl but the rose bow that we’ll talk about Ohio State another important test as they continue to control their own destiny in the race for Pasadena we’ll get to it in a [Applause] [Music] minute and welcome back inside the Notre name of Heritage Hall Roger Clum hanging around let’s take a look at him and this the second the countdown to The Showdown continues but as I said we have had reports of some other college football games scheduled for today outside of South Ben some of the most important ones evolving the Rose Ball race the question is who will get a chance to hang out with that Rose Bowl Queen on January 1st in Pasadena well Ohio state is home against Indiana Ohio state has Raymond Harris the bucke guys love the run today they’re running for a shot at the Rose Bowl Illinois still very much in the race as well cardia kids facing Penn State carry Collins should do well because of the running game but Johnny Johnson and Illinois playing the cinder role in the Big 10 in the pack 10 the front runner UCLA hosts resurgent Arizona State Wayne Cook should be back ready to play he’s healthy but it doesn’t matter get the ball to JJ Stokes best in the country and at Washington Robinson needs help in the Rose Bowl race he can help themselves by beating the Huskies Washington has Napoleon coffin but don’t forget USD still has a shot at the Rose Bowl and those are all big games we’ll talk about those games on the scoreboard show at 7:00 update you what’s going on in other games besides what’s going on right here meanwhile Nebraska taking on Iowa State the Cyclones shocked them last year as 30-point underdogs the Huskers can clinch the orange blll by winning this game they’d be up a game and a half with one to play you know there are a lot of Nebraska people that are really on me right now but this is just my opinion and I believe that if it came down to Miami playing Nebraska Miami is the better football team Nebraska yes I would put you in the top five and I hope that makes you happy you’re a good football team and I respect the quality you have oh it’s too late now don’t waffle Miami’s number three Nebraska’s number four Nebraska’s number four I tell you why because the have no respect for them for one reason they lost all those bow games and that’s why they but Texas A&M that’s another one Texas A&M is 8th in a coach’s poll 11th with the media and the aies tonight hosting the Louisville Cardinals it’s our ESPN Prime Time game the Cardinals coming off with spanking at Tennessee and does that mean that the agies have to pound them to gain the same kind of respect and RC slokum he doesn’t have a reputation of wanting to run the score up he’s very concerned about upsetting other people which may hurt his team’s chances in the polls all right meanwhile other games today our big 10 game on ESPN Gary Mohler and the Wolverines visiting the Golden Gophers yes there’s some bold consideration to go in that ball game Muller getting warmed up that game coming up in just a little while on [Music] ESPN and a reminder ESPN on ABC Sports offering your pay-per-view quadruple option today starting at 3:30 Eastern time you’ll get one game in your area on an ABC station you have a chance to order the the other three by calling your local cable company back with picks in the final comment after [Music] this college game day has been brought to you by Budweiser the king of beers who reminds you friends know when to say when everybody headed out to South Bend Notre Dame stadium for the big Showdown let’s go down to Pam Oliver now in the stadium with a final report Pam well Chris a lot of the players have begun to come out and warm up uh they’re getting ready for the game of course Scott Bentley was one of those players to come out to try to get ready for this he’s going to be in a lot of trouble today probably especially from a fan standpoint he’s been out practicing and he’s missed a couple ride left ride right as as well and these people here fans have gathered to give him grief already want to talk quickly about the turf it’s actually in pretty good shape it’s uh it’s dry in some places it’s very slick and that should not be a factor they took up the T the tarp about an hour ago so to get the players out here and ready to go now we also saw Kevin McDougall he’s out here ready to go and I must tell you that everyone seems to be fairly relaxed ready to go get this game over with Chris all right Pam thank you got to be a lot of magic hanging around there let’s break it all down now we’ve talked about this game for about two weeks it seems all kinds of aspects and angles let’s break it all down corre I just look at the ball game simply as this neither team has great defenses out there it’ll come down to the offenses Kevin McDougall for the Irish Charlie Ward for the seminal if it gets in a shootout match the simal win I look at it 3631 that Florida State wins the football game they’ve got too much talent and speed Notre Dame has not faced this kind of speed at all this year okay I like Charlie Ward I like his scramble ability watch a goal line defense I like a block punt by Florida State I’ll take Florida State 3130 hey hey hey I think no to D [Applause] 313 I don’t know it’s tough to not be influenced by this environment here you’re pretty sure that Florida say can cope with the Mystique and cope with all the aspects of playing a game and undername until you get out here and until you see the pep rally in the spirit and all of a sudden I know you wanted to change your pick not now I’m going Florida State I think Florida State wins as well I think the key for the seminol is avoiding a special teams or defensive touchdown by the Irish under Holtz they’ve been absolutely amazing at creating a touchdown off that if they can do that they have to love Notre D’s chances if they can’t I like Florida State I think the 7 will win by Four Points Charlie Ward is the difference here’s our menu on ESPN our Prime Time game the game we kicked around the agies and the Cardinals from College Station very important if Anam is going to make a late run in the polls our scoreboard show follows that uh Big 10 football game which is coming up in a couple of minutes at 3:30 then at 7:00 the resident in show a full half hour of scores and highlights boo cook will join us then the fans have been calling for boo it’s Michigan and Minnesota coming up next from the Dome Big 10 football kickoff here not for an hour and 17 minutes so settle in watch some big football next in Mike too throughout the day with all kinds of updates from our studi so on from South Bend enjoy the big day of college [Applause] [Music] [Applause] fo the Minneapolis Metrodome home of the Minnesota golden golfers who today try to reclaim from Michigan one of the most celebrated game trophies in college football