Bowden Benches Rix, Will Start McPherson

Well, it's not an injury. Florida State's Chris Rix, who has started all the Seminoles' games this season, is in fine physical condition.

And Bowden said the players who seemed to blame Saturday's loss against Notre Dame on Rix and call for a new starter did not factor into his decision-making.

"One thing, I won't let them decide," Bowden said Sunday. "I know that. They will not decide. We will look at the film objectively."

So why did Bowden opt to start unproven sophomore Adrian McPherson at QB against Wake Forest this week?

"I've put (McPherson) in games, but nothing's looked any better than Chris," Bowden said. "We put him in against Clemson at a crucial time, and what happens? 0-for-6. You're thinking, 'Well, we're still Chris.'

"We see Chris as the best quarterback we have that still has everything ahead of him. He's still going to get better, better, better. I do believe that. Anyway, that's what I see. The thing I saw yesterday was A.D. come in at the end of the game and really do some good things for the first time, did some good things. You must realize they were in their prevent defense, probably. And they were probably pretty tired. Still, even then, he did some good things."

Sounds convincing.

And what about the unrest in the locker room? Is Bowden concerned that the players don't respect and won't support Rix?

"That's a doggone good point," Bowden said. "But how would you put your finger on it? Did they drop (five first-half) passes because they don't like Chris?

"'I want to be a professional football player. I'm not sure about this quarterback, I like this one better. I'm going to drop the ball.'

"That don't happen. Is that an after-game feeling, or is it during the game? This is what happens when another quarterback does good. Again, go anywhere in the country and you'll hear the same conversation. The second-string quarterback is always the most popular football player on the team. It's probably the same thing in pro football. 'Give him a chance! Give him a chance! Boo, boo that other one.' You can't say something's not there, but what can you put your finger on? Do you think they don't block as hard if he's back there at quarterback? I think that our problem yesterday, where everyone's concerned, was we threw an interception and we fumbled the ball."

And so McPherson will start Saturday.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@email.unc.edu.