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BOX SCORE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- They call it tough love, and Bobby
Bowden doled out a bundle to his son Tommy on Saturday night.
Chris Weinke threw for 521 yards and No. 4 Florida State rolled
to a 54-7 victory, turning Bowden Bowl II into a complete
embarrassment for No. 10 Clemson and coach Tommy Bowden.
|  | | Slowed by a sore left ankle, Clemson QB Woodrow Dantzler was sacked four times and threw two interceptions against Florida State. |
"I felt bad, I really felt bad," Bobby Bowden said after
improving to 2-0 in the father-son coaching matchup.
"But the only thing I could tell him is that I've been through
it. I said, `You're young. You ought to go through it.' I know
exactly how he feels and there's not a thing you can say or do when
something like this occurs."
The Seminoles (9-1, 7-0) improved to 37-0 in Atlantic Coast
Conference games at home, and clinched the ACC title for the ninth
straight time.
Clemson (8-2, 6-2) lost its second straight after an 8-0 start,
and will spend an off week soothing egos. The Seminoles finished
with 771 yards, the most ever allowed by Clemson, and drilled home
just how far Tommy Bowden's rebuilding project has yet to go.
Somebody asked Tommy if he still loves his daddy after such a
beating.
"Yeah," he said. "But not as much."
Because there is very little to build on after a loss like that.
It's unlike last season, when Clemson led by 11 at halftime before
falling 17-14 to the Seminoles in Death Valley, where Bobby Bowden
earned his 300th career victory.
"I didn't predict this," said Tommy's mother, Ann, who watched
with mixed feelings from a luxury box, wearing a shirt with garnet
and gold on one side and Clemson's burnt orange on the other.
"But Bobby felt like if we played as good as we could, it could
end up like this."
Of course, winning is one thing, and pouring it on is another.
That's what Bobby Bowden seemed determined to do, as he left
Weinke in to lead the Seminoles to their 47th point, then kept his
starting defense in to prevent what would have been a consolation
touchdown.
"Did we keep him in in the fourth quarter?" Bowden asked
innocently about Weinke. "Yeah, that might have been too long."
When the starters finally came out, Clemson had basically quit
anyway.
FSU backup Davy Ford broke an 82-yard touchdown run that left
Tommy Bowden in shock, kneeling on the sideline, head in hands as
the Florida State crowd chanted, "Who's your daddy? Who's your
daddy?"
It was a victory that should impress poll voters, and surely
keep Florida State well in the race to defend its national title.
The Seminoles will try to cap a seventh perfect ACC season next
week against Wake Forest (1-7), before closing the regular season
Nov. 18 against No. 6 Florida.
"They throw very talented, fresh bodies at you for 60
minutes," Tommy Bowden said. "We can eventually get to that
level, but obviously, we have a ways to go."
And Bobby Bowden has only one piece of advice for his son.
"You've just got to recruit and keep recruiting," Bobby Bowden
said. "That's the only thing you can do."
Florida State's excellence may have been defined by Weinke's
98-yard touchdown pass to Snoop Minnis in the first quarter.
Using a wonderful play-action fake in which he stood flat-footed
in the end zone with his back to the line of scrimmage, Weinke
turned suddenly and fired a laser downfield to Minnis, who had the
fooled Clemson defensive backs beaten by 20 yards.
It was an easy sprint to the end zone from there, as Weinke and
Minnis broke the record for Florida State's longest touchdown pass,
set by Jimmy Jordan and Kurt Unglaub in 1976, Bobby Bowden's first
season at FSU.
"That's called a `gym' play," Bowden said. "That means we
don't work on it outside where someone might see it. We work on it
in the gym. It worked, and we had a feeling it would."
The touchdown gave Florida State a 10-0 lead. More telling -- it
offered a textbook example of the way good teams respond to bad
breaks, stealing the momentum Clemson had just gained when punter
Jamie Somaini nailed a 74-yard kick to the Seminoles' 2.
Clemson had other chances to be competitive, but squandered most
of them.
Trailing 10-7 in the first quarter, the Tigers used a good punt
return to take over on Florida State's 18. After three plays netted
minus-2 yards, Tommy Bowden called a fake field goal, but it fooled
nobody.
Late in the first half, Jason Holloman recovered a fumble in
Florida State territory. Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler
answered with an interception on the next play.
The Tigers opened the third quarter with a nice defensive stand,
but Dantzler fumbled on the first play after the punt. Florida
State drove 50 yards and Randy Golightly scored his second
touchdown to put the Seminoles ahead 30-7.
"They're a good team, but we're are own worst enemy," Tommy
Bowden said.
Dantzler played the first 2½ quarters despite the sore left
ankle that has limited him the last two weeks. He finished 7-for-21
for 91 yards.
Weinke completed 27 of 43 passes and has 3,490 passing yards
this season, breaking Thad Busby's single-season record.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Clemson Clubhouse
Florida State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Florida State's Davy Ford breaks one loose for an 82-yard touchdown run.
avi: 1020 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Florida State's Marvin Minnis scores on a 98-yard pass from Chris Weinke in the first quarter.
avi: 1860 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jeff Chaney goes 42 yards on a screen pass from Chris Weinke.
avi: 995 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Clemson's Travis Zachery rumbles into the endzone for a touchdown.
avi: 567 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Marvin Minnis dodges several tacklers helping set up another Seminole score.
avi: 1470 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Atrews Bell makes a spectacular catch, leading to another Seminole touchdown.
avi: 1310 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 ESPN's Adrian Karsten talks with Bobby and Tommy Bowden after their father-son meeting.
wav: 309 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Chris Weinke tells ESPN's Adrian Karsten Florida State was looking to make a statement.
wav: 341 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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