|
Jan. 5, 2000 By Jim Litke Associated Press |
NEW ORLEANS -- There are very few things left in life that will turn
Bobby Bowden's hair grayer than it already is. Michael Vick did.
Warrick turns Sugar Bowl into personal highlight film Vick's footwork can't carry Virginia Tech Audio: Bobby Bowden says the Seminoles won a wild Sugar Bowl Audio: Bowden says he was amazed by Michael Vick
Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29 will be remembered for a long time, for
all kinds of reasons. For delivering the kind of jolt few games that are hyped
this much ever provide. For giving the Seminoles a second national championship
season and their 70-year-old coach his first perfect one. For providing Florida
State's Peter Warrick a spotlight that had nothing to with mug shots and a
chance to display talent that had nothing to do with deep discounts.
Related Links:
Florida State survives Virginia Tech scare
Real | Windows Media
Real | Windows Media T O P N E W S
But it may one day be remembered best for something else: the coming-out party for the next great quarterback, and a worthy successor to Warrick as college football's most electrifying performer.
"I knew he was good," Bowden said, referring to Vick. "But I didn't know he was that good."
By the time Tuesday night had rolled into Wednesday morning, Vick had joined the mutual admiration society.
"He's one of the finest coaches in the nation," Vick said, "next to Coach Beamer. I think he has a lot of respect for me, too. I know his players do."
And well they should.
The 19-year-old Tech quarterback, a redshirt freshman, completed 15 of 29 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He led both teams in rushing, carrying the ball 23 times for 97 yards. Some of the runs were by design, some were busted plays and some were improvisations; nearly all of them left a few Seminole defenders feeling like they were trying to tackle a rumor.
But more than anything, more than the sum of all his numbers, it was the leadership Vick displayed that won the most respect.
It was the maturity he showed by pulling his teammates out of one crater after another. It was the way he made them believe they could play on level terms with a Florida State team so deep and talented that its fans called about Sugar Bowl travel packages right after spring practice. Finally, it was Vick pulling himself off the carpet over and over, putting Virginia Tech a point ahead 29-28 late in the third quarter, through the sheer force of his will.
"This isn't the best team we've played," Seminoles defender Chris Woods said afterward, "but Michael Vick is the best we've played against this year. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't have got here."
 | |
| Bobby Bowden is carried off the field after his first undefeated season.(AP) |
And if it wasn't for Vick, Bowden's night would have gone a lot smoother.
Florida State roared out to a 28-7 lead in the first half and the old coach looked nearly unflappable. He patrolled the sideline with a look that suggested Frank Sinatra was being piped in over his headset instead of the Florida State assistant coaches. With 9:38 left in the second quarter, Bowden actually appeared for a live interview with ABC sideline reporter Lynn Swann, even though the game was still going on.
It made for a great picture; while those two talked, just over Bowden's shoulder, Warrick picked up 33 yards on a flea-flicker pass. At that moment, if you were a Seminole fan, life couldn't get much grander.
But then Vick went to work.
He ran 43 yards in the middle of a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive just before halftime to pull the Hokies within 28-14. In the closing 10 minutes of the third period, he drove Virginia Tech to a field goal and two touchdowns. Suddenly, one of the youngest men on the floor of the Superdome was making things very uncomfortable for the oldest.
"He didn't seem like a kid out there," Bowden said. "He played like a man all the way. He was super. He nearly beat us by himself."
Nearly.
Showing some maturity of their own, the Seminoles answered the barrage with a touchdown, a 2-yard pass from 27-year-old quarterback Chris Weinke to Warrick. On the ensuing Tech drive, Florida State linebacker Bobby Rhodes took some of the starch out of the Hokies by punching it from Vick's grasp with his helmet.
Sean Key recovered for Florida State, and five plays later, Sebastian Janikowski hammered a field goal from the 15-yard line and the Seminoles started pulling away.
"They deserve to win," Vick said. "We did everything in our power to win the football game, but that wasn't good enough. In my heart, we're still champions."
Watching Vick, you get the sense it will happen on the field someday, too, and sooner rather than later.
Jim Litke is the national sports columnist for The Associated Press.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved