The 1999 Florida State Seminoles football team represented the Florida State University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 24th-year head coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles compiled an overall record of 12–0 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the ACC title. Florida State was invited to the Sugar Bowl, the BCS National Championship Game, where they defeated Virginia Tech to capture the program's second consensus College football national championship. The team played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.
Florida State entered the season with high expectations after losing to Tennessee in the inaugural BCS Championship game. The Seminoles were ranked No. 1 in all national preseason polls, picked unanimously to win the ACC and expected to contend for a national championship. The Seminoles finished 11–2 in 1998, extending their NCAA record to 13 straight seasons with at least 10 victories and ranked among the nation's top four teams.
The Seminoles were first team in NCAA history to go "wire-to-wire" ranked continuously as the nation's No. 1 team from the preseason through the bowl season. This marked the 13th consecutive season that the Seminoles finished in the top 5 of both the AP and Coaches poll. 1999 was also the 17th consecutive season in which Bowden led the Seminoles to a bowl game.
Schedule
Rankings
Before the season On November 12, 1998, quarterback Chris Weinke underwent surgery at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital to repair damage to his C6 vertebrae. The surgery repaired ligament damage, corrected a ruptured disc and removed a bone chip which was lodged against a nerve in his neck. There was much uncertainty as to whether or not Weinke would be fully healthy for the 1999 season as there was a six-month recovery period and much weight loss.
Preseason outlook The Seminoles ended the 1998 season with a defeat in the inaugural BCS Championship game to Tennessee and finished with a No. 3 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls and winning their seventh consecutive ACC title. Bowden had two returning Consensus All-AmericansConsensus All-America Selections, 1889-2010 , distributed by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and two other All-Americans FWAA All-America , distributed by Football Writers Association of America among his 16 starters along with 19 fifth-year seniors. "This time a year ago, I said we had a talented football team, but it's the least experience we've had in a long time", Bowden said. "Now we've got most of the same guys back. Most of those guys started. That's the reason for so much preseason optimism." As expected, FSU was at the top of the first Coaches Poll of the season, released August 5, 1999 with 36 of a possible 59 first-place votes; other teams receiving first-place votes were No.2 Tennessee with 13 votes, No. 3 Arizona with 2 votes, and No. 4 Penn State with 8 votes. FSU was also atop the AP poll, released August 14, 1999 with 48 of a possible 70 first-place votes; other teams receiving first-place votes were No. 2 Tennessee with 15 votes, No. 3 Penn State with 4 votes, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 Florida, and No. 13 Virginia Tech with 1 vote each. Seminoles came into pre-season camp with a healthy Chris Weinke who had to miss the 1999 Fiesta Bowl BCS National championship game due to a season-ending cervical herniated disc sustained during a sack against Virginia.
Despite being a top NFL draft pick, Peter Warrick stated his desire to earn his undergraduate degree and to win a national championship after the Seminoles lost the 1999 Fiesta Bowl BCS National Championship game. Warrick would begin the 1999 season as a preseason Heisman front runner alongside Drew Brees, Ron Dayne, and Joe Hamilton. Warrick was considered the front-runner for the Fred Biletnikoff award for the nation's top wide receiver. The Weinke led offense that scored 31 points a game in 1998 would find himself with a corp of wide receivers with Warrick, Laveranues Coles, and Ron Dugans.
Recruiting class
Due to FSU having 74 scholarship players on the roster and the maximum per NCAA is 85, FSU signed 13 players on National Signing Day. The recruiting class included four players named to USA Today's All-USA high school football team: Nick Maddox (RB), Kendyll Pope (LB), Darnell Dockett (DL), and Anquan Boldin (QB) who chose FSU over Florida and Miami. During preseason practice, Anquan Boldin moved from quarterback to wide receiver at his request. Coach Bobby Bowden stated "I told him he'd be a great quarterback, (His decision) surprised all of us. He is an excellent prospect wherever he lines up."
The recruiting class of 13
Name Position Hometown High School Height Weight Anquan Boldin QB Pahokee, Florida Pahokee HS 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 205 lb (93 kg) Rufus Brown DB El Paso, Texas Austin HS 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 185 lb (84 kg) Cornelius Collier LB Miami, Florida Palmetto HS 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) 220 lb (100 kg) Darnell Dockett DL Burtonsville, Maryland Paint Branch HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 260 lb (120 kg) Kevin Emanuel DL Waco, Texas Waco HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 240 lb (110 kg) Randy Golightly FB/LB Tallahassee, Florida North Florida Christian 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 237 lb (108 kg) Alonzo Jackson DL Americus, Georgia Americus HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 245 lb (111 kg) Nick Maddox RB Kannapolis, North Carolina A.L. Brown HS 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) 190 lb (86 kg) Kendyll Pope LB Lake City, Florida Columbia HS 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 212 lb (96 kg) Fabian Walker QB Americus, Georgia Americus HS 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 205 lb (93 kg) B.J. Ward DB Dallas, Texas Kimball HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 200 lb (91 kg) Corey Whitaker OL Pace, Florida Pace HS 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) 290 lb (130 kg) Jeff Womble DL Dunwoody, Georgia Dunwoody HS 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 295 lb (134 kg)
Game summaries Louisiana Tech 1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 7 0 0 7 No. 1 Seminoles 7 7 17 10 41
Georgia Tech 1 2 3 4 Total No. 10 Yellow Jackets 7 14 7 7 35 No. 1 Seminoles 7 21 10 3 41
N.C. State
1 2 3 4 Total No. 20 Wolfpack 3 0 8 0 11 No. 1 Seminoles 3 15 14 10 42
North Carolina 1 2 3 4 Total No. 1 Seminoles 28 7 7 0 42 Tar Heels 0 3 7 0 10
Duke
1 2 3 4 Total Blue Devils 0 0 13 10 23 No. 1 Seminoles 21 23 0 7 51
Miami (FL) 1 2 3 4 Total No. 19 Hurricanes 14 7 0 0 21 No. 1 Seminoles 14 7 3 7 31
Wake Forest 1 2 3 4 Total Demon Deacons 3 0 0 7 10 No. 1 Seminoles 6 3 14 10 33
Clemson
1 2 3 4 Total No. 1 Seminoles 3 0 11 3 17 Tigers 0 14 0 0 14
Virginia 1 2 3 4 Total No. 1 Seminoles 0 7 14 14 35 Cavaliers 0 10 0 0 10
Maryland 1 2 3 4 Total Terrapins 0 3 0 7 10 No. 1 Seminoles 7 21 14 7 49
Florida 1 2 3 4 Total No. 1 Seminoles 7 6 10 7 30 No. 3 Gators 0 6 10 7 23
Virginia Tech—Sugar Bowl
Personnel Coaching staff Name Position Seasons atFlorida State Alma mater Bobby Bowden Head coach 24 Howard College (1953) Chuck Amato Assistant Head Coach, Linebackers 19 NC State (1968) Mickey Andrews Defensive coordinator, Defensive backs 16 Alabama (1964) Jeff Bowden Receivers 6 Florida State (1983) Chris Demarest Graduate assistant, Defensive backs 1 Northeastern (1988) Steve Gabbard Graduate assistant 2 Florida State (1988) Jim Gladden Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Ends 25 William Jewell College (1962) Odell Haggins Defensive Line 6 Florida State (1993) Jimmy Heggins Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line 14 Florida State (1978) John Lilly Tight Ends, Recruiting Coordinator 4 Guilford College (1990) Mark Richt Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks 10 Miami (1982) Billy Sexton Running Backs 22 Florida State (1974) Dave Van Halanger Strength and Conditioning 17 West Virginia (1976)'Reference:
Roster 1999 Florida State Seminoles rosterQuarterbacks 6 Anquan Boldin – freshman 10 Rich Maher – junior 11 Jared Jones – sophomore 14 Marcus Outzen – junior 16 Chris Weinke – junior
Running backs 20 Raymont Skaggs – senior 20 Nick Maddox – freshman 22 Davy Ford – sophomore 23 Travis Minor – junior 24 Jeff Chaney – junior
Fullback 10 Dan Kendra – senior 36 William McCray – junior 39 Chad Maeder – sophomore 43 Randy Golightly – freshman
Wide receivers 7 Laveranues Coles – senior 9 Peter Warrick – senior 13 Marvin Minnis – junior 19 Greg Moore – freshman 21 Talman Gardner – freshman 26 Atrews Bell – sophomore 80 Ron Dugans – senior 83 Jarret Gardner – junior 84 Gennaro Jackson – junior 86 Germaine Stringer – senior 87 Robert Morgan – sophomore
Tight ends 81 Nick Franklin – senior 82 Patrick Hughes – sophomore 85 Ryan Sprague – junior 88 Carver Donaldson – sophomore Offensive line 51 Ronald Boldin – junior 52 Antoine Mirambeau – freshman 54 Jarad Moon – junior 57 Eric Thomas – senior 60 Tarlos Thomas – junior 61 Montrae Holland – freshman 64 Justin Amman – junior 67 Josh Baggs – sophomore 68 Jason Whitaker – senior 70 Corey Whitaker – freshman 71 Jerry Carmichael – junior 72 Brett Williams – freshman 74 Otis Duhart – sophomore 75 Char-ron Dorsey – junior 76 Ross Brannon – junior 77 Jeremy Brett – senior 78 Donald Heaven – junior 79 Todd Williams – freshman
Defensive line 45 Darnell Dockett – freshman 53 Corey Simon – senior 56 Roland Seymour – junior 58 Jamal Reynolds – junior 69 WD Rodeffer – junior 89 Alonzo Jackson – freshman 90 Kevin Emanual – freshman 91 Jeff Womble – freshman 92 Jerry Johnson – senior 93 Chris Walker – senior 94 Octavis Jackson – freshman 95 Rian Cason – freshman 96 Randy Wilkins – junior 97 Tony Benford – freshman 98 Chris Woods – freshman 99 David Warren – junior Linebackers 5 Theon Rackley – senior 5 Cornelius Collier – freshman 29 Tommy Polley – junior 32 James Lewis – freshman 42 Jerel Hudson – freshman 44 Bradley Jennings – sophomore 46 Michael Hamilton – freshman 49 Bobby Rhodes – senior 55 Brian Allen – junior
Defensive backs 1 Reggie Durden – senior 3 Malcolm Tatum – freshman 6 Derrick Gibson – junior 7 Rufus Brown – freshman 8 Clevan Thomas – junior 12 Abdual Howard – sophomore 15 Mario Edwards – senior 18 Sean Key – senior 27 Tay Cody – junior 28 Chris Hope – sophomore 28 BJ Ward – freshman 30 Stanford Samuels – freshman 32 Jean Jeune – junior 35 Todd Frier – senior
Punters 47 Keith Cottrell – junior 37 Chance Gwaltney – freshman
Kickers 38 Sebastian Janikowski – junior
Long snapper 73 Clay Ingram – senior
Depth chart
Awards and honors Lou Groza Award – Sebastian Janikowski, K
Statistics QB Chris Weinke: 232/377 (61.5%) for 3,103 yards (8.23) with 25 TD vs. 14 INT (3.71%). RB Travis Minor: 180 carries for 815 yards (4.53) with 7 TD. 16 catches for 102 yards and 0 TD. WR Peter Warrick: 71 catches for 934 yards (13.15) with 8 TD. 16 carries for 96 yards (6.00) and 3 TD. WR Ron Dugans: 43 catches for 644 yards (14.98) with 3 TD. WR Marvin Minnis: 19 catches for 257 yards (13.53) with 3 TD. WR Laveranues Coles: 12 catches for 179 yards (14.92) with 1 TD. WR Anquan Boldin: 12 catches for 115 yards (9.58) with 2 TD. 4 carries for 33 yards (8.25) and 0 TD. K Sebastian Janikowski: 23 FGM and 47 XPM. P Austin Haywood: 1 punt for 73 yards
References