The summer before the 99 season, Bowden said he hardly had to coach anymore, because if you have the fastest horses, you're going to win the dog-gone race. He was shocked, as were their fans, after we gave them a scare in 99. I was sitting surrounded by FSU fans, and they kept asking me, "Is that guy a senior?" They were very uncomfortable when I told them "freshman" and "sophomore" over and over. They were nice about it, but they were shocked. They all saw the writing on the wall, and they didn't like what it said.
By the time Bowden realized what was going on, it was too late. He'd win the title in 99, but he saw that he had slept on Miami, and it was going to bite him hard.