Mark Richt remembers the weeks leading up to the 2001 Orange Bowl well.
It’s hard enough managing one job — as a college coach, no less — but to try and handle being Florida State’s offensive coordinator and Georgia’s head coach at the same time was too much.
Just weeks after being named the Bulldogs’ coach, Richt stayed on to coach FSU in the bowl game against Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated FSU 13-2 for the national title, shutting out the Seminoles’ offense. FSU got on the board in the final minute with a safety.
Nearly 12 years later, Mark Stoops has left FSU to be the coach at Kentucky. But he also has plans to help the Seminoles (11-2) on defense in the weeks leading up to the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1 against Northern Illinois (12-1).
“We didn’t score any points in the national championship game,” Richt said. “If coach Stoops can match my production, he will do great because he is coaching defense.”
And if Stoops doesn’t call plays for FSU’s defense, the responsibility could very well fall to defensive ends coach D.J. Eliot, who is also working overtime as Kentucky’s new defensive coordinator.
Richt said juggling the two jobs “was a challenge in every respect.”
FSU, Oklahoma State to play: The Seminoles will play Oklahoma State on Aug. 30, 2014, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. FSU had been looking for neutral-site games that would bring extra revenue to the athletic department.
“We have wanted to step up our schedule and improve our strength of schedule and this game gives us a great non-conference opponent,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. “To be able to open up our season at Cowboys Stadium will be a great experience for our players and fans.”
FSU is 3-1 in the series with Oklahoma State, but the teams have not played since FSU’s 34-23 win over the Cowboys in the 1985 Gator Bowl.
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