Chooo-oooo-ooooke

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Chooo-oooo-ooooke
By PHIL UNWIN, MOP Squad Sports Basketball and NCAA Editor
Sep 12, 2004 - 6:30:00 PM

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Everyone has their own favorite college football game. For some it�s Army-Navy, for some (perhaps our esteemed ed-in-chief) it�s Michigan-Ohio State. For me, it�s Miami-Florida State. It�s hard not to like Bobby Bowden, what with the folksy manner and down-home wisdom he often dispenses. It seems like only Steve Spurrier has ever managed to get old Bobb-uh riled up. That�s no mean feat considering how consistently and thoroughly the University of Miami has owned his program. Heck, even I like Bobby Bowden, and I�m as avid a Hurricanes fan as you�ll find.

A familiar sight for Seminole fans: a Miami interception of a Chris Rix pass. (Luis Alvarez, AP)

I like Chris Rix, too, but for a completely different reason. The head shot of Rix that appears on the sidebar of every graphic and stat display has a completely vacant look that�s matched only by the average FSU cheerleader. Actually, that�s not fair. Most of FSU�s cheerleaders could probably catch a shotgun snap.

The fact is this: Chris Rix is the most overhyped college quarterback since Ron Powlus. Remember Ron Powlus? Powlus was the greatest college football recruit in years, and was supposed to revolutionize the QB position, wake up the echoes, call down the thunder and lead Notre Dame to five national titles in four years. Math doesn�t add up, you say? It doesn�t matter, he was that good. Or so everyone thought. Powlus was a FEMA-level disaster his freshman year, and a mere catastrophe his sophomore year. Powlus turned out to be so bad that his mediocre senior season was hailed as a major triumph. Rix had a good freshman year, unlike Powlus. But also unlike Powlus, he regressed steadily. Coming into this year, we heard the standard excuses. Old chestnuts like, �he�s gotten the mistakes out of his system�, and �he�s matured immensely� were dusted off for Rix�s benefit. Coming into Miami-FSU, the Seminoles were loudly proclaimed to have a big edge at QB, and that edge could decide the game. I knew better.

Brock Berlin is no superstar, and like Rix, he was overhyped coming out of high school. But Berlin seems to play his best when his back is to the wall. He�s much more comfortable in the 2-minute drill than he is at any other time. So much so that I wonder if Miami should institute a no-huddle offense for his benefit. Rix, meanwhile, has a disturbing tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The final numbers: 12-28, 108 yards, 2 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles for Rix, 20-36 for 255 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception for Brock Berlin. Berlin is 3-0 against FSU, Rix 0-5 against Miami.

The story here was the same as it�s been before: Florida State�s defense did more than enough to win. All Rix had to do was not blow it. But that�s precisely what he did. The FSU defense put forth a heroic effort in holding Miami to just 10 points in regulation, with seemingly half the team limping around with cramps. Meanwhile, Rix was making throws that a freshman should have known better than to attempt.

To be fair, the Florida State game plan didn�t exactly put him in position to succeed. The Seminoles insisted on running sweeps and pitches all day, despite the fact that this played to the strength of the Miami defense, its sideline-to-sideline speed. Why not try running into the middle, control the clock and run straight at the defense? You certainly can�t run around them.

No matter. Rix is now 0-5 against Miami, which makes him the only QB in college football history to drop 5 games to an opponent. One gets the feeling that Rix is so cursed against the �Canes that he could stay in school longer than John Blutarsky, and still have a goose egg in the win column.

It�s too bad for Rix that Tennessee never met Florida in a bowl game or the SEC Championship. At least then he would have had some good company in Peyton Manning.