FSU extends record
bowl winning streak

The Osceola
Special to the Florida State Times

11th straight bowl win

Florida State scored 17 points in the final 9:47 for a dramatic 31-26 victory against sixth-ranked Notre Dame in the 62nd Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. A crowd of 72,198 watched as FSU (10-2) extended its NCAA-record bowl winning streak to 11 games and earned a ninth consecutive 10-victory season.

One day later, the Seminoles learned they finished in the top five for a record ninth straight season, placing No. 4 in the Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the USA Today-CNN Coaches' poll.

In the big picture, FSU hasn't lost a bowl game since 1981 and, counting a 1984 tie with Georgia in the Citrus Bowl, has played in an NCAA-record 14 in a row without a defeat.

"We have not been a very emotional football team this season but we were really darned close to where we had hoped to be after starting the year at No. 1," coach Bobby Bowden said. "There were only two bad quarters or we might be playing Nebraska (in Fiesta Bowl)."

The Seminoles trailed, 26-14, after an Irish touchdown with 11:43 remaining. However, two touchdown passes from Danny Kanell and a safety caused by the FSU defense helped the 'Noles outscore Notre Dame 17-0 over the final 9:47.

"If we would have lost this game, people would have said the Seminoles are going downhill," said Kanell, the senior quarterback. "We wanted to show the program was still on the rise."

Dunn to stay in school

Record-setting tailback Warrick Dunn will return to Florida State for his senior season rather than enter the NFL.

Dunn, the only FSU running back to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, said a desire to complete his degree in compuater science was a major factor.

"I haven't had money for 21 years," said Dunn, a projected first-round draft pick, "so what's another year?"

Congrats to grads


The following FSU football players earned their bachelor's degrees during the fall semester: All-American center Clay Shiver, offensive tackle Jesus Hernandez, walk-on linebacker James D'Amico, and walk-on quarterback Tony Librizzi. Former Seminole Pete Prinzi, the son of FSU great and radio commentator Vic Prinzi, also earned his degree. He is an assistant strength coach for FSU.

All-American honors


Center Clay Shiver was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. Earlier, the senior was named to the Football Writers' first team. Shiver and senior quarterback Danny Kanell were named to Football News' second-team All-America squad. Shiver also made second team Associated Press All-America. For the first time since 1986, no Seminole was named to the AP first-team.

Rebol scholar-athlete


Linebacker Todd Rebol was one of 23 players named to the Hitachi/CFA Scholar-Athlete team and was one of four Seminoles named to the GTE District III Academic All-American team. The others were center Andy Crowe, safety Marlin Green and linebacker Daryl Bush.

Bobby Bowden was named coach of the year for Region 1 (Atlantic Coast) by the American Football Coaches Association.

Danny Kanell was named Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year by a group of ACC sports writers. The Florida State quarterback earned 31 votes. Warrick Dunn finished third. Kanell was also named the conference offensive player of the year.

Record-breaking year

This season Kanell completed 257 of 402 passes (.639) for 2,957 yards, 32 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in leading FSU to a 9-2 record (7-1 ACC). He broke ACC records for single-season and career touchdown passes (57).

Kanell's 184 passing yards against Florida left him six yards short of Gary Huff's (1970-72) career passing mark of 6,378 yards. Kanell completed a record 529 passes and 57 touchdowns.

Kanell's 6,176 yards of total offense is second only to Charlie Ward's (1989-93) total of 6,636.

Kanell also broke Ward's FSU and ACC records for points responsible for (194) in a season.

Scott Bentley set the ACC record for extra points in a season (67), tying an NCAA record. Punter Sean Liss averaged 43.9 yards, second only to Rohn Stark, who averaged 45.2 yards in 1981 and 45.1 in 1980. Liss' career mark is now up to 41 yards per kick. Only Stark and Louis Berry (1983-86) have topped that average.

First 1,000-yard tandem

Andre Cooper and E.G. Green became the first pair of receivers in FSU history to top the 1,000-yard mark in the same season. Cooper finished with 71 receptions for 1,002 yards and 15 touchdowns. Green totaled 60 receptions for 1,007 yards and 10 TDs.

Prior to Cooper and Green, only two receivers in Seminole history, Ron Sellers and Barry Smith, reached the 1,000-yard plateau. Sellers did it twice, in 1967 (1,496) and 1968 (1,228), on his way to the College Football Hall of Fame. Smith did it in 1972 (1,243).

Cooper's 15 touchdown receptions set a single-season record.

Offense FSU's best

The 1995 offense became the best in FSU statistical history in eight regular-season categories and second-best in nine others.

The Seminoles averaged 551 yards per game, breaking the old record (548) set by the 1993 national champions. The Seminoles broke the record for passing average (328.7 vs. 325.8 yards per game), also held by the 1993 team, and the rushing average (5.835 vs. 5.69 yards per carry) held by the 1985 team. The 1993 records for scoring (531 points vs. 518) and touchdowns (72 vs. 70) were broken. The 35 rushing touchdowns broke the previous mark set in 1987.

Hoops on the rebound

The Florida State basketball team appears poised for a run at the NCAA Tournament field, standing 9-3 as of Jan. 10.

The Seminoles signaled their resurgence with a 69-64 win at Virginia, then dropped a 75-73 decision to 12th-ranked Wake Forest after overcoming a 19-point deficit.

FSU's record could be even better if not for a bit of bad luck. Pat Kennedy's Seminoles dropped a 78-77 decision at Tulane when the Green Wave's Jerald Honeycutt drained a desperation three-point shot at the buzzer to send the `Noles home empty-handed.

Early-season highlights included a resounding 74-52 victory over arch-rival Florida and an 85-80 win over a solid DePaul team. The Seminoles were trounced by 8th-ranked UConn, 79-61, before rebounding to beat the Gators.

The Seminoles have been led in scoring by junior guard James Collins, who is the leading returning scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The season's most pleasant surprise has been junior center Kirk Luchman. Luchman averaged just 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds last year but has upped that to 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Florida State hopes to improve its showings of the past two seasons, when the 'Noles finished no better than sixth in the powerful ACC.


Women's sports wrapup

The Florida State women's soccer team tasted some success in its inaugural season under coach Heather Kerby, but found little mercy in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference. The Lady Seminoles, a freshman-dominated squad, finished with a 4-14-1 record, including three wins in their first five contests and a 1-0 overtime defeat to perennial power North Carolina.

The FSU volleyball team, another youthful bunch, struggled to a 10-19 record but knocked off host Clemson in the ACC Tournament.

In golf, the FSU women posted three top-10 finishes in four fall tournaments, including a second-place showing in the Lady Seminole Invitational, en route to a top-25 ranking by Golfweek magazine. The FSU men, coming off a seventh-place finish in last year's NCAA Tournament, placed ninth or better in all four fall outings. Both teams will resume play in the spring.

The FSU women's basketball team was up and down to start the season, falling hard at Duke, 92-30, before whipping cross-town rival Florida A&M 90-65. The Lady Seminoles entered ACC play with a 4-4 record.

In swimming and diving's fall season, freshman Brendon Dedekind turned in the ACC's top time in the 50 free (20.45) and 100 free (45.14) events and Stephen Parry was the conference's best in the 200 fly (1:47.66) and 400 IM (3:57.11). For the women, freshman Samantha White was the league's best in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.30) and 200 breaststroke (2:21.65).