2013 BCS National Championship: Legendary Auburn Coach Pat Dye Talks FSU
By Jack Crosby
Dec 7, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State Seminoles wide receivers Kenny Shaw (81) and Kelvin Benjamin (1) and quarterback Jameis Winston (5) and wide receiver Rashad Greene (80) react at the end of the game. The Seminoles defeated the Blue Devils 45-7 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
As the 2014 BCS National Championship Game between Auburn and Florida State rapidly approaches , the takes are going to be coming in from legends and alumni on both sides. With two legendary programs like these, you shouldn’t expect anything else. It’s always a joy to hear from some of the great names of the past talk about what’s happening today, especially with circumstances such as these.
From the Auburn side, you can’t really get much more legendary than Pat Dye.
Dye coached the Tigers program from 1981-1992. In that span, he compiled four SEC Championships, including three in a row from 1987-1989.
In his post-coaching career, Dye has been known to not really care much about what comes out of his mouth. He will give his opinion, whether you agree with it or not.
Since it’s been set in stone that the final BCS Championship will be decided between the Seminoles and Tigers, we really haven’t heard much from the former Auburn coach–until now.
On Thursday, Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat had a chance to speak with Dye, and he offered up some of his thoughts on this undefeated FSU team that his school will be facing on Jan. 6.
First, Dye spoke a bit about FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher, who we had the chance to spend some time with when he coached quarterbacks at Auburn from 1993-1998:
Coach Dye on Jimbo Fisher: "I was crazy about Jimbo when he was an assistant coach here. You can’t not like Jimbo. He’s that kind of guy.."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
Dye on Jimbo: "If you don’t like Jimbo you need to go look in the mirror because that’s where the problem is. It ain’t with Jimbo."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
Next, Dye compared FSU to some teams in the SEC that the Tigers have faced this season, mainly giving the ‘Noles the edge over them:
Coach Dye on FSU: "Florida State is better, in my opinion, than a lot of teams we’ve played in the conference...."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
"Because they are so good on both sides of the football."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
Henry then asked Dye about how it would have been to see Florida State play in the SEC this season:
I asked Coach Dye how cool would have it been to see FSU play in the SEC. "It would have been. I don’t know if Florida State..."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
"...would have gone undefeated if they had played our schedule. Having to play LSU in Baton Rouge, Texas A&M in College Station..."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
"...they might have been better than those teams and still lost. That could happen."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
Finally, Dye made the comparison between the two teams that will meet for the crystal ball in less than two weeks:
Coach Dye: "Overall, I would say FSU is more balanced football team offensively than we are. We get some big plays in the passing game..."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
"... but the running game is what sustained throughout the year. Defensively, I don’t know what we are. People hurt us running..."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
"..people hurt us throwing. But our defense, for the most part, has played pretty well in the second half and down into the fourth quarter."
— Jim Henry﮷ (@JimHenryTALLY) December 26, 2013
Definitely some interesting tidbits from the outspoken legend.