ArmchairQB.com Reviews The Sugar Bowl

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updated 1:36 a.m. Wednesday

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Sugar Bowl Review
ABC Had Only A Few Sour Moments During FSU's 46-29 Win.
By George Stahl
NEW YORK (AQB)--ABC, like Florida State, had its ups and downs Tuesday night but did enough right things to come out on top in its coverage of the Seminoles 46-29 win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.
Brent Musberger and Jack Arute had strong games, and analyst Gary Danielson had his moments. However, ABC's telecast lacked the revealing stats or key replays to make it an "A" broadcast.
Musberger, though, was the star of the telecast. He showed early that he came to play by correctly foreseeing Florida State's block of a Virginia Tech punt in the first quarter. Seminole Jeff Chaney picked up loose ball and returned it six yards for Florida State's second touchdown.
On the Seminoles first touchdown, a 64-yard pass to receiver Peter Warrick, Musberger once again proved that he is capable of raising goose bumps with his voice. "Hello, Mr. Warrick ... In a foot race ... Hello, Mr. End Zone," Musberger said in a way that sounds a lot more exciting than it reads.
He later repeated his "hello, end zone" on Warrick's 59-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Musberger, though, fell into his overly dramatic mode when, after a field goal by Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski made it 39-29 in the fourth quarter, he pondered, "Who knows maybe that was his last field goal for Florida State?" He turned out to be right but aren't there better things to talk about at this moment?
That, however, was one of Musberger's few missteps in the lengthy four-hour-plus telecast. Earlier, the 60-year-old pulled his partner out of potentially embarrassing faux pax, when Danielson called Virgina Tech quarterback Michael Vick possibly "the best running back that ever played."
Musberger, a veteran of many big-time sporting events, including 16 Super Bowls, quickly and slyly clarified Danielson's message by saying that Vick might be "the best running back at quarterback." Danielson agreed with the revision and called Vick "the wild card in this football game."
Vick turned out to be Virginia Tech's ace in the hole as he led the Hokes to 22 unanswered points and to a brief 29-28. Along the way, he picked up a couple of fans in Musberger and Danielson.
"He's Houdini. He's absolutely Houdini," Musberger said. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"There's no re-voting in this Heisman thing, right?" Danielson asked. Vick finished third in the voting.
While Vick was bringing the Hokies back, Danielson was questioning Florida State's play-calling.
"I don't understand this," Danielson said as Florida State continued to be fancy on offense instead of directly attacking Virginia Tech's defense. "The heck with the trick plays and the fancy - let's find this guy right here [Warrick]."
Later in the quarter, Weinke tried to find Warrick and threw an interception that Danielson termed "inexcusable" because the 27-year-old failed to look off the safety.
Eventually, though, Weinke found Warrick on a beautiful 43-yard touchdown reception. Warrick made a fantastic catch, which ABC's cameras did a nice job capturing.
Overall, though, ABC's camerawork and replays were disappointing at times. The telecast, which Bob Goodrich produced and Drew Esocoff directed, occasionally left viewers frustrated when it failed to have the proper replay on a few key plays or penalties.
The other big production problem was the lack of stats. Numbers explaining the game's progress were slow in coming from ABC. Too slow. For example, it took Virginia Tech to amass 236 yards rushing before the network compared the Hokies total to Florida State's average of allowing 98.8 yards on the ground.
ABC did do some things well, such as its triview, which showed three camera angles at the same time - one on the quarterback and isolations on two receivers. This gave the viewers a good idea of what the quarterback was seeing. Also, the live locker room shots before the game were interesting.
Another thing that was interesting were the reports from the sidelines. Once again, Arute proved Tuesday night why ArmchairQB.com named him the best sideline reporter in college football.
In just the first half, Arute reported that Tech tailback Shyrone Stith was icing down his right knee, quarterback Micheal Vick refused treatment for an injured thumb and defensive coordinator Bud Foster told his troops after Florida State's first touchdown that "it's only one play."
Unfortunately, for Hokie fans, there were more such plays. Nonetheless, as Arute later reported, Virginia Tech defensive end Corey Moore urged his teammates to hang in there and play harder.
Arute got off to a good start by asking Beamer about the biggest unknown at the start of the game - the status of receiver Ricky Hall's injured foot. Beamer said, "We think he could play, but we're going to find out in a few moments." Hall didn't play.
On the other sideline, Swann had three interesting talks with Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden - not including the giddy postgame chat. In the first conversation, Bowden told Swann that "we're going to open it up, Lynn." FSU eventually did with three touchdown passes of 40-plus yards.
The second interview was interrupted as Florida State attempted and completed a pass on a flea-flicker. Before the play, though, Bowden revealed that he wanted to keep the pressure on the Hokies. "I don't want to sit on the damn thing. I want to go after them."
Finally, at end of the half, Bowden told Swann that "if we can contain him [Vick], then we can beat them." Florida State eventually got control of Vick, and thus the game, in the fourth quarter.
Other thoughts, notes and observations on ABC's coverage:
Good lines:
1. Danielson on 27-year-old Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke. "I had been in the NFL three years and had been benched three times by the time I was 27."
2. "I don't know what's scarier - them being on the same team together or them being roommates," Danielson said about Warrick and former Seminole receiver Randy Moss, who later left Florida State.
3. "If you're going to miss curfew, you better kick the ball out of the end zone," Terry Bowden said at halftime about Sebastian Janikowski after the Florida State kicker failed to force touchbacks on three of five first-half kickoffs. He kicked the ball deep in the end zone on all his second-half boots.
4. "Talk about a confident coach. He [Florida State's Bowden] can do an interview and run a flea-flicker at the same time," Danielson said after a Florida State pass interrupted the coach's interview with Swann.
5. "The most celebrated shopper since Amelda Marcos," Musberger called Warrick.
6. "He's not running against Temple here. He's running against Florida State," Danielson said after another long scramble by Vick.
7. "I think Michael Vick is ready to move to the next level," Musberger said after Danielson said the 27-year-old Weinke is ready to move onto the pros.
Top stats:
1. For the most part, top stats were slow in coming - too slow - from ABC. For example, it took Virginia Tech to amass 236 yards rushing before the network compared the Hokies total to Florida State's average of allowing 98.8 yards on the ground.
2. Virginia Tech attempted its first two-point conversion of the season in the third quarter. It tried a second attempt minutes later - much to the chagrain of Danielson - and failed both times. Danielson, on both occasions, said he wouldn't have gone for two points.
Good points:
1. Danielson explained that you have to attack Florida State's man-to-man defense. Tech finally did and scored a touchdown on a 49-yard bomb.
2. "I don't like that - a tight end running an option to the kicker," Danielson said after Virginia Tech botched a fake field goal attempt.
3. Danielson broke down the Virginia Tech breakdown on defense that led to Florida State's fifth touchdown.
Good shot:
1. ABC showed clearly how Stith reinjured his left knee late in the first half.
Things that make you go hmm:
1. ABC studio analyst Terry Bowden, sounding a little bitter about the positive publicity that Beamer has generated this week, suggested that Virginia Tech's first-half problems in special teams were due to the Hokie head coach spending too much time with the media and not enough time with the special teams. Bowden said his father could get away with spending that much time with the media because he doesn't also coach the special teams.
2. "I think he's a little more effective when he doesn't step into the ball," former quarterback Danielson said about Vick.
3. "You cannot cut back on this defense," Musberger said about the Seminoles defense.
4. A 54-year-old Florida resident can nail a toss from 20 yards away, but a former NFL quarterback (Joe Theismann) can only go one of four from the same distance.
Nice touch:
1. ABC showed three camera angles at the same time: Vick dropping back and isolations on two receivers. It showed viewers exactly what Vick was looking at. At one point in the third quarter, though, ABC had technical problems presenting that view.
2. ABC opened the telecast by showing a live shot of the two teams preparing in their locker rooms.
3. Musberger noticed Florida State defensive lineman Roland Seymour's first play. The Seminoles had suspended Seymour for a few plays after he missed curfew earlier this week.
Glitches:
1. Lynn Swann's microphone fading in and out as he reported on Florida State before the game.
2. Camerawork problems after Virginia Tech's 49-yard touchdown pass.
3. Consistent problems with the camera shot from the blimp.
4. Danielson agreed with Tech head coach Frank Beamer's decision to go for it on a fourth-and-goal on the Hokies first possession. "I think he sends a message to his team and goes for it." Tech failed to score, but Danielson didn't criticize the decision.
Didja notice that...:
...Musberger referred to Florida State kicker and noted goodtimer Sebastian Janikowski as "the King of Bourbon Street"?
...ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was seen standing on the sidelines throughout the second half?
Predictions:
ABC's Terry Bowden, son of Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, said, "The 'Noles by a field goal."
From ESPN, Lee Corso and Tony Barnhart picked Florida State, while Kirk Herbstreit pegged Virginia Tech, 24-20. Chris Fowler, on ESPN's web site, wrote "FSU wins ... in a close, low-scoring game."
Grade: B. The announcers were solid, but ABC's production has been better.
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