"Obviously, there's problems or I wouldn't be there," said Bowden. "Problems didn't happen overnight, and problems can't be fixed overnight. I think that's the biggest things I've had to get across to the Clemson people."

Whether that message has gotten across to the Tiger faithful is another matter.

"'Patience' and 'rebuilding' are not words that are used very often at Clemson," said Bowden.

"You've got two guys bracketed number one," said Bowden. "(Brandon) Streeter has more experience and he's been in front of live bullets before, but (Woodrow) Dantzler is a little more deadly and has a lot more weapons. Then you've got (freshman) Matt Schell who's got some talent but is young. So each one of those guys bring something to the table."

Whoever gets the nod needs to be sharp.

"When we go no-backs, the quarterback is going to get hit," said Bowden. "Not only do you need to make a good decision, you need to make a quick decision. We have five offensive linemen. If they rush six, you're going to get hit."

"We've got the fewest returning starters in the ACC," said Bowden. "We have an offense that was second to last in every single category except one, the most important one -- we were last in turnovers. We lost all five offensive line starters. We probably have the smallest line in Division I-A. We don't have a difference-maker at tailback and we lot six guys off our defense to the NFL.

"We have five home games and play seven bowl teams -- we ought to be playing seven home games and five bowl teams. We're the opposite. Then we don't have a kicker that has kicked in a game. I'm afraid they're going to wet their drawers, kicking in a game in front of 85,000 fans. So there's tremendous question marks in every area."

CARL FRANKS, DUKE

"I think we've got some good receivers," said Franks. "If we can spread the field out, I think it's going to help our running game."

Franks said he intends to emulate the offense run by Spurrier, who guided Duke to a share of the ACC title in 1989.

"I played in it, I coached in it, that's the system I know the best," said Franks.

"I think you need to have a guy that you can tell him, 'Hey, this is your game, you're our quarterback, go out there and play,'" said Franks. "But he needs to understand that there's somebody behind him if he's not performing.

"As coaches, you're in the opportunity business. I told our guys that every position is wide open, and it's not because I'm a new coach. It's going to be this way every year. You're going to have to earn your job, every day and every week on the practice field."

Who would Franks put under center right now?

"They are close, but Spencer Romine, if we had to play tomorrow, would be our starting quarterback," said Franks. "Right now, he's a little bit ahead of Bobby, but I expect there to be a great deal of competition."

"Ben and I have stayed in touch through the years," said Franks. "Ben was in my wedding. He was coaching the last year in arena ball. He's played in our system, and I felt that he would be a great communicator for our quarterbacks.

"He's played that position, he's been there, he knows what they're looking at, and I think he can instill in them a great deal of confidence. I mean, he certainly never lacked for any of that himself. And that's good, as a quarterback. When you step into the huddle, you've convince the other 10 guys on your team that this play is going to work and we're going to move this ball down the field."

"You can look at so many things as obstacles or excuses, but if you give lip service to them, then your players start to buy into them," said Franks. "One of the things I intend to do is eliminate the excuses. Let's not worry about what we do or don't have or can or can't do. Let's try to do the most we can with what we've got."

CHUCK AMATO, FLORIDA STATE

"I was shocked," said Amato.

"I liken it to years and years ago, when David Thompson at NC State turned down the chance to go to the 76ers because he wanted to play with Monte Towe and Tim Stoddard and maybe win another national championship. Peter has never won one, but the players in our program who have stayed another year have benefited tremendously.

"Andre Wadsworth almost went out, but him mom said he wasn't going anywhere, and he probably made himself $30 million by sticking around for 12 months. Warrick Dunn made himself a better pick by sticking around. Reinard Wilson made himself better.

"Then you look at the ones who went, like a Derrick Alexander or a Devin Bush. Had they stuck around, they would have done even better."

"Last year at this time, we had 10 seniors on scholarship on our football team," said Amato. "This year, we have 20. Last year was a team of potential. This year, that team returns after playing for the national championship.

"There is no question that it's always good to have 20 returning seniors, because they're the leaders of your team. It's their team. Of the 10 we had last year, probably half of them didn't even start. Of the 20 we have this year, a good many of them start."

However, the Seminole coaches have made sure that the players realize that no one will hand them the national championship.

"As we've hammered it to them from the beginning of the offseason, Florida State hasn't won a game this year," said Amato. "Right now, Florida State is 0-1 in 1999."

With speed, depth and experience, what could FSU possibly improve upon?

"We feel very strongly that we have to cut down on the penalties," said Amato.

However, that doesn't necessarily apply on the defensive side of the ball.

"(Penalties) aren't all that bad, because of the aggressive nature of defense," said Amato. "I know when I coached the defensive line, if we had one penalty a game for lining up offsides, it would be more than worth the two extra sacks we got or the fact that they'd jump."

"If this was basketball, we would have been in the Final Four 12 years in a row," said Amato. Indeed, the Seminoles have finished in the top-four in the final polls every year since 1987.

GEORGE O'LEARY, GEORGIA TECH

None of those goals seemed attainable after Tech stumbled out of the blocks, losing at home to Boston College in the season opener. But O'Leary knew his team was on the right path when it responded to adversity at UNC in the third game of the year.

"They took the (second half) kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and the crowd really got into it," said O'Leary. "But the next series, we took it 70 yards for a touchdown. That was the difference, I thought. The team was very resilient. They kept coming back and coming back and were very confident."

"If there was a bomb in this room, he would be the one to say, 'I can defuse it,'" said O'Leary. "If it's 4th-and-3, he wants to go for it. He's a good kid."

Tech has been touting Hamilton as a Heisman Trophy candidate, as evidenced by a promotional movie which is almost as flashy as the quarterback himself. But don't look for Tech to make any changes to artificially inflate Hamilton's stats.

"We're not going to change anything for him," said O'Leary. "If he's fortunate enough to win that, it's because we're winning."

Fortunately, Hamilton may be stepping into the spotlight at the right time, when another diminutive signal caller is proving that heart can overcome height.

"I told him, 'The only (NFL) games you should be watching are the ones (Doug) Flutie plays, and hope he has a great year again," said O'Leary.

"I think we can compete with everybody I've seen in the top-10," said O'Leary.

Indeed, the Yellow Jackets will have few weaknesses. But if you're looking for an Achilles heel, start at the feet, as in the kicking game. Tech must replace two-time All-ACC punter Rodney Williams and placekicker Brad Chambers.

"You look at these kids, and the last big crowd they saw was at their junior prom," said O'Leary of his young kickers. "So I'm going to spend a lot of time with them and if they do well, I'll take the credit. If they don't, I'll blame the special teams coach."