Bowden: Kids different today

AP Photo/Phil Coale

Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker looks for running room during the first quarter as Syracuse's James Wyche moves in to the tackle last Saturday in Tallahassee.

The Associated Press

Published: Thursday, October 6, 2005 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, October 6, 2005 at 2:24 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE - Coaching today's athletes is not the same as it was a half century ago, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Wednesday.

''I can sure tell a difference,'' Bowden said in response to a question during the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches' weekly teleconference.

''You're dealing with children who are brought up different than they were when I started coaching,'' the 75-year-old coach said. ''Kids continually get more liberal ... maybe not as disciplined as they once were.''

Besides the thousands of athletes he's coached, Bowden has also been in on the raising of six of his own with wife Ann.

''There are changes,'' Bowden said. ''Just like all times, there are good boys and some who are mischievous.''

CHRIS DAVIS, CHRIS DAVIS: When Florida State and Wake Forest meet Saturday both teams feature a receiver named Chris Davis and both players are from St. Petersburg.

Wake Forest's Davis, a senior sociology major, played at Gibbs High School while the Seminoles' Davis, a junior social sciences major, played at Catholic. They graduated from high school in 2002 and each is listed at 180 pounds.

Wake Forest's Davis is third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in receiving with 19 catches for 112 yards while Florida State's Davis, who was redshirted in 2002, has 17 catches for 267 yards and a touchdown.

Even their career numbers are similar. Florida State's Davis has 54 catches for 759 yards and four touchdowns while the Demon Deacons' Davis has 58 catches for 613 yards and 3 touchdowns.

TWICE AS GOOD: Tailback Leon Washington, needs just 29 yards Saturday to move past former Florida State star Dexter Carter as the 10th leading runner in school history. Washington, incidentally, set a single-game record for punt return yards with 159 against Wake Forest in the 2003 game here.

Washington, who has also handled kickoff and punt return duties, has 3,275 all-purpose yards during his Florida State career.

His alternate, junior Lorenzo Booker, ranks 15th in all-purpose yardage in the ACC with 311 yards. With 29 carries and 11 catches, Booker averages better than 7.75 yards a touch. In his Florida State career, Booker has 1,778 yards catching and running.

Greg Allen holds the school's single-season record with 1,605 all-purpose yards in 1982 and Warrick Dunn has the career record with 5,321 all-purpose yards. The category also includes kick return yardage.

BY THE NUMBERS: Florida State has been ranked 60 straight weeks in The Associated Press poll. The Seminoles haven't been shut out in 214 games since the 1988 opener at Miami. That's the fourth longest streak in the country.

Drew Weatherford's 874 passing yards lead all freshmen nationally.

Wake Forest's Chris Barclay and Micah Andrews rank 1-2 in the league's rushing statistics while Florida State doesn't have anyone in the top 15.

The Seminole's leading rusher, Lorenzo Booker, is averaging 39.1 yards a game.

While Wake Forest leads the conference with an average of 211.2 yards rushing, Florida State has allowed an average of 73 yards - second in the ACC behind Boston College.

AMAZING: The winningest coach in major college football, Bowden stands at 355-102-4, earning 160 of the victories since the start of the 1990 season. If the Seminoles didn't win another game this year, Bowden would still average 10 wins a season over that span. Bowden remains seven victories ahead of Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who is second on the Division I-A list.

Jim Grobe, meanwhile, has a 57-61-1 career coaching record, including a 24-28 mark at Wake Forest.

THE SERIES: Florida State enjoys a 20-2-1 advantage in its series with Wake Forest, including a 13-0 mark since joining the conference in the 1992 season. Duke and Georgia Tech have also not beaten the Seminoles in league competition.

FOR THE DEFENSE: The Seminoles continue to rank in the top 10 nationally in several key defensive categories, including points allowed.

Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson leads the team with 30 tackles, including 24 solo. Kyler Hall ranks second with 25 tackles while Pat Watkins and Tony Carter are tied for second in solo stops with 13 apiece.

DEMON DEACONS: Wake Forest lists 21 players from Florida on its roster, including redshirt freshman wide receiver Demir Boldin, younger brother of former Florida State star Anquan Boldin, who is now with the Arizona Cardinals. Micah Andrews - the ACC's second leading rusher - is the son of former Auburn and Atlanta Falcons star William Andrews and starting quarterback Cory Randolph is from Lake City.

MISSED ONE: Wake Forest sophomore linebacker Jon Abbate was named the ACC and Bronco Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his 13-tackle, two interception performance that helped the Demon Deacons defeat Clemson last Saturday. Florida State's A.J. Nicholson captured the same honor two weeks earlier. Abbate's parents, Steven and Maryann, are Florida State graduates.

OH VIRGINIA: Florida State will visit Virginia for a 7:45 p.m. game Oct. 15, continuing the tradition of playing the Cavaliers at their place at night.

The Associated Press

Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker looks for running room during the first quarter as Syracuse's James Wyche moves in to make the tackle last Saturday in Tallahassee.