Florida State Seminoles: The departures of assistant coaches Chuck Amato, (to North Carolina State), and Mark Richt, (to Georgia), along with upgrades in the Atlantic Coast Conference both in competition from new members and improved old ones had begun to combine and take their toll on Florida State and legendary coach Bobby Bowden‘s program.
The Seminoles had slipped a noticeable notch
A program that annually posted double-digit win seasons had done it just once in the prior four seasons that led up to 2005. Beyond the aforementioned factors in FSU’s decline was the favorite target and whipping boy of Florida State Seminoles boosters and many gamblers alike, offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden, who oversaw the least productive FSU offense since 1981! The Seminoles had slipped a noticeable notch as they had posted just one, (7-6), winning season against the betting boards out of the previous four, a considerable drop for a team that was well above 60% year in and year out in prior years.
Winning Ugly Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles kicked off the 2005 campaign at home in a Monday Night nationally televised ACC/intrastate showdown against Miami . FSU was an enticing 3.5-point dog as the oddsmakers set the line based on Miami ‘s reputation for owning the Seminoles. Bowden scored a 10-7 triumph thanks to a botched Miami field goal attempt, ironically filling the role usually played by FSU in this series! A 62-0 home win over the Citadel followed in a game that was not lined.
Next was a trip to Boston College for the Eagles’ Saturday Night ACC national TV debut. The Seminoles were a 1-point chalk and won in spite of themselves 28-17. This was followed by a pair of home wins, first over Syracuse 38-14 as 22.5-point chalks and then over Wake Forest 41-24 as 21-point favorites. While the Florida State Seminoles were 5-0 straight up and 3-1 against the spread they were winning ugly and inspired little confidence with their inconsistent offense.
Reality finally hit
Next was a trip to Virginia against a Cavalier team that was down significantly from prior years and coming off a two-game losing streak both straight up and against the spread. FSU was a 6.5-point chalk but reality finally hit as UVA scored a 26-21 upset win.
Calm before the storm Florida State Seminoles
FSU seemed to be back on track in their next game at Duke where they won and covered 55-24 as 30-point chalks. But the Florida State Seminoles were sloppy in their next game against Maryland , winning only 35-27 as 15-point home chalks. The two game winning streak boosted FSU to a deceptive 7-1 straight up and a more accurate read of 4-3 against the spread. As it turned out the wins over Duke and Maryland were the calm before the storm.
The Bowdens found themselves in a raging fire
Amato’s struggling NC State Wolfpack visited Tallahassee on senior day and the game began quite a storm for FSU as the Florida State Seminoles lost 15-20 as 11.5-point chalks. This was followed by a stunning 14-35 loss at Clemson as 1-point chalks against another inconsistent team. All hell broke loose in the regular season finale at Florida , where the Seminoles were completely out coached, outplayed, humiliated, and exposed in a 7-34 loss as 3-point dogs. The Bowdens found themselves in a raging fire after this third consecutive straight up loss, and fourth straight failure against the board as papa Bowden was accused of being too old and having the game pass him by while his son was being called a puppet incompetent that was totally unqualified to coordinate a big time offense.
The Bowdens found redemption
Florida State backed into the ACC championship game thanks to playing in the weak Atlantic Division and was a hefty 14.5-point dog against 10-1 powerhouse Virginia Tech. The Bowdens found redemption in a 27-22 upset win to claim the ACC championship and stun gamblers who were blindsided. In the Orange Bowl against fellow grandpa Joe Paterno, Papa Bowden covered in a 23-26 loss as a 9.5-point dog, which again put heat on himself and his son for the off-season.