NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher says winning the national championship was the culmination of a four-year process that began when he replaced Bobby Bowden as the head of the program in 2010. The next challenge is to sustain that success.
Fisher now finds himself in Bowden’s old shoes where titles will be expected from a passionate fan base. Florida State beat Auburn 34-31 Monday night to win its first crown since 1999.
“You’ve got to go back to ground zero and you can’t worry about expectations,” Fisher said Tuesday. “That’s the thing, once expectations get so high, is to not let complacency set in.”
“It’s human nature, you take winning for granted. You take success for granted,” he said.
A quick glance at the roster shows why Florida State (14-0) will enter 2014 as the favorite. The Seminoles return Heisman quarterback Jameis Winston for his sophomore season and lose just three senior offensive starters. Florida State must replace four senior defensive starters and Fisher said he thinks there are up to three underclassmen who have decisions to make about a possible move to the NFL.
“The future is bright,” freshman cornerback Jalen Ramsey said. “We know what it takes now. We know how it feels. We won’t be disappointed next year from not being here.
“We want to make this thing a dynasty. Florida State is back to where it should always be.”
That senior class was Fisher’s first as head coach and was the cornerstone of the new foundation. The 2011 class, however, was widely considered the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and one of the best in school history. Then there’s the 2012 class that includes Winston, another handful of starters and more young talent that had to wait their turn.
Twenty years after Florida State won its first national championship under Bowden, the Seminoles won the third in school history with his successor. The Seminoles broke a string of seven consecutive national champions from the SEC.
Now Fisher and Bowden both have an undefeated season on their resumes.
“It’s kind of fitting to me,” Fisher said. “It was Miami and Florida State every year. They had the teams. They were in it, the Nebraskas, the Oklahomas. The SEC couldn’t get in it. But I think it’s very fitting that Florida State come full circle back and like I say, maybe we don’t play in the SEC but we play in the South and we’ve got good football.
“It’s like the reckoning. Things are getting back in order again,” he said.
Close BCS title game draws fewer viewers
PASADENA, Calif. — The BCS title game’s wild finish couldn’t draw in more television viewers than last year’s blowout.
The game was watched by an average of 25.6 million viewers on ESPN, down 3 percent from the 26.4 million for Alabama’s 42-14 rout of Notre Dame in a matchup of two big-name programs. Auburn’s last-minute victory over Oregon in 2011 averaged 27.3 million viewers.
As the BCS era comes to an end, the 14.4 rating is the third-lowest for the championship game, ahead of Miami-Nebraska in 2002 and USC-Oklahoma in 2005.
Ratings represent the percentage of homes with televisions tuned to a program.
Report: Petrino talks to Louisville
A person familiar with the situation says Western Kentucky coach Bobby Petrino has interviewed with Louisville for its opening.
The person said the former Arkansas coach met Tuesday with Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich, who is seeking a replacement for Charlie Strong after the latter took the Texas job over the weekend. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the school has not announced candidates for the position.
The person also said Cardinals offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford are among “several candidates” that have interviewed for the position.
An announcement on Strong’s successor could come as early as Thursday morning, when the University of Louisville Athletic Association is scheduled to meet to review Jurich’s recommendation for the position.
Former Florida State player dies in hotel
BRADENTON, Fla. — Former NFL and Florida State offensive tackle Todd Williams has been found dead in a Tampa Bay area hotel.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies responded to the Sarasota Suites late Monday morning, just hours before the Seminoles won a national championship.
The 35-year-old Bradenton native had reportedly complained to his mother of feeling sick on Friday. She found his body Monday.
Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Bristow said they haven’t found anything suspicious, but an autopsy will be performed.
Williams was one of the state’s top prospects after his senior season at Southeast High in Bradenton. He was a redshirt freshman on the Seminoles’ 1999 national champion team. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 2003 NFL draft and went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers.
By wire sources