Since Florida State became an ACC football team in 1992, the rest of the league's football teams have been biding their time, waiting for a chance to rebel and oust Tallahassee's titans from the top of the conference.
Sometimes it's a key injury that gives the others hope. Other times, it's a Seminole loss during the regular season.
This year, the departures of Chris Weinke, Travis Minor, Jamal Reynolds and Tay Cody to the NFL have lent new optimism to practice fields and coaching offices from College Park to Atlanta.
But despite losing the nucleus of an 11-2 squad that fell to Oklahoma in last season's national championship FedEx Orange Bowl, FSU coach Bobby Bowden isn't running for cover quite yet.
"In the 47 years I've been coaching, this is not the first year I've been through a situation where I've lost everyone," Bowden said. "I've always found it more exciting when you have a lot of question marks. We've got more question marks this year than in the last four years."
Many of FSU's concerns lie with its usually high-scoring offense. Adding to Bowden's worries is the fact that longtime offensive coordinator Mark Richt took the head coaching job at Georgia.
None more troublesome is the void Bowden has to fill at the quarterback spot. The Heisman Trophy-winning Weinke started for the Seminoles during the past three seasons and threw for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2000.
Bowden has tabbed freshman Chris Rix as his favorite to start the Seminoles season opener on Sept. 1 at Duke.
At wide receiver, FSU finds itself unusually thin, as starters Robert Morgan and Anquan Boldin both sustained season-ending knee injuries in the preseason. Atrews Bell and Javon Walker will see significant playing time at wideout for the Seminoles.
