Football team readies for Florida State

The only thing worse than facing a Goliath is facing a Goliath that is extremely furious. Such is the case for the Duke football team (0-5, 0-2 in the ACC) tomorrow at 7 p.m., when it faces No. 7 Florida State (5-1, 3-0), a squad that was the top-ranked team in the nation last week. The Seminoles fell from the top spot in the polls after a 27-24 loss at rival Miami last Saturday, halting their nation-best 17-game winning streak and seriously damaging their hopes of a national championship repeat. Clearly, coach Bobby Bowden's squad will be looking for retribution when it returns home to Tallahassee to take on the Blue Devils at Doak Campbell Field. And Duke is more than aware of this situation. "Looking at that game, with the loss they had, they'll definitely come in with a chip on their shoulder," junior cornerback Ronnie Hamilton said. "Any time you play FSU, it's a chance to measure yourself against one of the best teams in the country." Duke will have difficulty containing the nation's most potent offense, which averages 523 yards per game and has continually kept the chains moving with 160 first downs this season. It features a Heisman trophy candidate, quarterback Chris Weinke, who averages 318 yards of total offense per game and engineers a passing offense that leads the nation with 375 yards per game. However, if the Blue Devils can take solace in one fact, it is that Florida State was unproductive running the ball in its game last week. The Seminoles gained only 69 yards on 27 running plays, by far their lowest output of the season, and leading rusher Travis Minor was held to 36 yards on 12 running attempts, nearly 40 yards below his average. As a result, the Duke coaching staff has attempted to prepare its defense to attack this potential weakness. "I think Coach Bowden is going to try to restart the running game and make an example out of us," defensive tackle Troy Austin said. "We definitely noticed [their running difficulties], so our defensive staff came up with a game plan that should continue their running woes." The Blue Devils also remain optimistic because they finally feel rested after enduring a tough five-game stretch to start the season. After its most impressive offensive outing of the season against Clemson two weeks ago where it scored 22 points against the Tigers, Duke was able to enter the bye week slightly upbeat and relieved at the chance to recover from minor injuries. "I'm probably about as healthy as I'm going to get," senior quarterback Spencer Romine said. "It was good to get a little time off, a chance to settle down." While Romine is happy to be injury-free, he might not have the opportunity to display his newfound health if Franks decides to start quarterback D. Bryant. Bryant made his first career start two weeks ago in Romine's absence and turned some heads with his performance against Clemson-one of the nation's top defenses-as he compiled 168 yards on 16-of-35 passing attempts. Thus, it is likely that Franks will have a difficult decision to make in terms of naming a starting quarterback for the contest against Florida State. Regardless of Franks' decision, though, Romine just wants to contribute to the team in any way he can. "It would be nice to be the guy, but when it comes down to it, we need to win a game," Romine said. "If it takes me doing the things I can do or D. doing the things he can do to put it together, that's fine. I'm not trying to base my life and my future on football, but if we can win some games I'll be happy about it. "Whenever they want me to play, I'll be ready to play and do my best. Whatever happens, happens."