FSU’s former coach speaks truth to power… er, mediocrity.
“My message would be stay in the ACC,” Bowden told Arute in a transcript provided by SiriusXM. “Do you want to win a National Championship at Florida State? You’ve got a better chance in the ACC than you have in the Big 12, or even the SEC.
“You say, ‘Well, gosh, they’re much stronger in those conferences.’ Yeah! They beat up on each other and you can’t hardly get there. You know what? Florida State, wait ‘til you get good enough to rule the ACC then you start looking for someplace to jump. But my opinion? They should stay right where they are.”
The man knows what he’s talking about. After all, that’s the real reason FSU chose to join the ACC over the SEC in the first place.
Get The Picture 
Let’s don’t forget, before Tubby’s first year, Auburn paid FSU 1M not to play them, to the everlasting disgust of the rest of the SEC.
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And that, my friend, is at the heart of what is really wrong with CFB today. It isn’t about seeking top level competition, or what the fans want, it is about how to manipulate a faux title. That is why Tubby chose gutlessness to manning up, why Bowden ducked the SEC, why the SEC would give up long standing rivalries before playing a nine game schedule, why fans endure a horrible home schedule and watch mismatches on TV games they have to pay for, why Delany is so protective over the Rose Bowl, etc., etc.
Having a true playoff with earned participation, not popularity/poll spots would eliminate much of this. Also laughing (as I do) at anyone claiming a faux title under the current, and past, process. Conference titles are the only awards that mean anything to me. UGA needs another this year to tie for 2nd all time in the SEC. Given the long-term prowess of the SEC, that would be very respectable indeed.
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“Having a true playoff with earned participation, not popularity/poll spots would eliminate much of this.”
Watch every decent team that doesn’t dominate their conference jump ship to another one they think they can once a conference title oriented playoff begins.
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You seem pretty sure that conference titles are going to play a major role in the playoff. Got the winning lotto numbers tonight?
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Pretty much the reason why you won’t see Virginia Tech jumping ship to the SEC, either.
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FSU was a truly great team in the 1990’s. However, if you think that they would have won all of those consecutive conference championships or all of those consecutive conference games in either the SEC or the Big 12, you’re crazy. And, before a Seminole fan objects, Bobby Bowden is basically agreeing with that statement right here.
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I could be wrong, but didn’t FSU own UF in the 90s? 8 of 10 or something like that?
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FSU was 7-4-1 against UF in the 90s.
And as we all know, one game a year proves one conference is just as tough to get through as the other.
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Were there 12 years in the 90s? No wonder that decade seemed to last so long.
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Well, there might be another explanation, Major. Could there be a logical reason Florida and FSU met 12 times in a decade? Think about it for a minute and then write us a paper about it.
But before you start, please finish the “How playing Florida in Jacksonville puts Georgia at a disadvantage” paper. The last treatise you submitted on that topic was graded as incomplete.
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It was a joke, you moron. You have got to be the stupidest MF who posts on this blog.
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P.S. That’s a really great picture of you on the header for the string below. The caption sure fits.
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2 Sugar Bowl matchups – the 1994 season and the 1996 season
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And who says the vaunted ACC is not a football power?
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Nice to see Bowden finally come clean. When he turned the SEC down in ’91, he kept his soft schedules intact by joining the SEC. But what was his public mantra? “Academics”.
And we all knew, even back then, how much Bowden really cared about his players “academics”.
~~~
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Sorry, typo. Obviously, I meant Bowden kept his soft schedules intact by joining the ACC.
~~~
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I love the fact that they now regret their decision. Just like GT.
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“… kept his soft schedules? You must be kidding. FSU played anyone, anywhere in the 80’s to gain the respect of college football. Bowden wasn’t protecting anything.
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Two tough games a year doesn’t make the entire schedule tough.
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Agree with your statement. The statement doesn’t describe FSU’s schedule through the 80’s, though. On the road at Mich.OSU, Neb, Auburn, Mich St., ND, Oklahoma, plus Florida and Miami to close most seasons didn’t make for a soft schedule.
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They played all those teams the same year?
Again, a couple of tough games each year does not make the schedule tough.
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Sorry, correction coming for the young and uninformed…” didn’t make for soft schedules”.
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Way to prove your point…
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Didn’t prove my point but did speak to teams FSU played in the 80’s. I don’t see any evidence of your point at all. You just lazy, stupid or both?
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All you’ve done is list 9 teams that they played during a 10 year span. Aside from the schools you’ve listed, the rest of their schedules were littered with easy games.
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Is it possible that the ACC puts a gag order on anyone connected to FSU?
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Bowden is basically slamming FSU, the ACC and the current FSU coaching staff. He has said, in effect;
“Try consistently beating the likes of Wake Forest and NC State before you try and get into a big boy conference.”
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The trifecta. Nicely done Bobby.
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Mike, I thought his wins over FU qualified his statements. In effect: ” If we can beat the SEC champ and twice NCs almost at will, why join the SEC, except to ease up on our schedule?”.
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FSU began to go downhill when Richt left and I know some FSU fans who are still miffed about that.
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Why would they be miffed Big Ones? We all know that CMR cannot beat ranked teams.
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Sometimes it’s just as much fun being the straight man as using another’s quote. Good one, shane.
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