"Welcome to our universe."
That was all my father said when he called Saturday night immediately after Florida State blocked Sean Johnson's first quarter punt. My father is a die-hard North Carolina fan, and many of my childhood fall weekends were spent in Kenan Stadium, cheering on the Heels.
Since my arrival at Virginia he has struggled with my Cavalier conversion, but he didn't call to rub the Cavaliers' misfortune in my face. He's no bad sport, and besides, he is a season ticket holder here as well as at North Carolina.
He only called out of sympathy because he knew I was going through a terrible case of déjà vu. This isn't the first time I'd witnessed Florida State dismantling an up-and-coming unbeaten challenger. I'd seen the exact same scenario play out seven years ago as a high school freshman on Nov. 8, 1997.
That year, Mack Brown was still North Carolina's head coach, about a month before he jumped ship to coach the Texas Longhorns. The Tar Heels were unbeaten and ranked No.5 in the nation to the Seminoles' No.2. The game was a national event -- both teams were unbeaten and it was the first time in ACC history that two teams who were ranked in the top five played each other.
There was an electric atmosphere that night during pregame, and Carolina fans were confident the Heels would prevail. Handlers escorted live mascot "Ramses" the ram through Florida State's pregame warm-up lines, showing disrespect to the visitors as the Carolina faithful cheered wildly. I personally remember watching "the beer keg with a leg," Sebastian Janikowski, kick a 75-yard field goal with ease in warm-ups, an event I still have a hard time believing. I was also fascinated with how older, more mature Tar Heel fans' interpreted the Seminoles' traditional Tomahawk Chop with an extended middle finger.
The excitement ended shortly after kickoff, as Florida State never let North Carolina get into the game and won by 17 points. The 'Noles didn't rely on one superstar who the Heels couldn't stop. In fact, quarterback Thad Busby, who went on to an illustrious one year career with the Arena League's Tampa Bay Storm, only threw for 159 yards that night. And while freshman Travis Minor rushed for 128 yards, he wasn't an unstoppable force. FSU just played well in all aspects of the game and put together an excellent team effort to win.
So, the similarities between the two games began to mount quickly Saturday night, beginning with the blocked punt. In 1997 the culprit was Seminoles linebacker Brian Allen, who broke through UNC's punt team for a block in the second quarter. Fast-forward to 2004 and Ernie Sims comes flying around the right side of the Virginia line.
Lorenzo Booker went on to play the role of Travis Minor, rolling up 124 yards and wearing down a Cavalier defense that seemed to be on the field the entire game. The Cavalier rushing attack fell apart as well, not as bad as Carolina's 1997 total of negative 28 yards, but 20 positive can properly be termed a disaster when you come in averaging 275 yards a game.
The point totals for the two losing teams were also exactly the same, each posting just a field goal. Both games were relatively lopsided, a 20-3 final for Carolina, and 36-3 for the Cavaliers Saturday.
Each time FSU does this, which is fairly often, people start to look for answers as to how, and why. Many point to the talent pool the Seminoles enjoy in Florida, but Virginia seems to have the talent to match FSU at most positions. The pundits certainly seem to think so, just as they did when Carolina hosted the Seminoles in 1997. Maybe when it all comes down to it, Florida State just knows they're that good, and somewhere, deep down, that worries other teams. Few Division I college players will admit publicly to being intimidated, but maybe Chief Osceola and his burning spear act combined with the Chop are just as effective as FSU fans seem to think.
In both cases, the stage seemed set for a power shift in the ACC, and the Seminoles just weren't ready and willing to play the part.
With all the similarities between the two games, one might wonder how Carolina finished out the season after their demoralizing loss. They ran the table finishing 10-1 before demolishing Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl, 42-3. Five tough games lie ahead for the Cavaliers, but recovering after being torn apart by FSU has been done before.
As long as Al Groh isn't planning to relocate to the Big 12 in early December, I wouldn't mind watching a season similar to Carolina's in 1997 from here on out.
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