Bobby Bowden

Charlie McClendon

Charlie McClendon's (forced) retirement was announced prior to the 1979 season. This allowed AD Paul Dietzel time to find "a new head football coach ... the best available from among the ranks of proven head collegiate football coaches."

It is now known that the man Dietzel had his eye on was Bobby Bowden who was in his fourth year at Florida State. As luck would have it, Bowden brought his unbeaten Seminoles to Tiger Stadium on October 27 for a regionally-televised afternoon game.

• Bowden: "At that time Florida State wasn't thought of. I had the support here [FSU], but it was kind of like Southern Mississippi – do you think they can do it? No. ... I was kind of in a quandary in Tallahassee, because I'm not sure we can do it. It wasn't just my thinking but anybody's thinking. It was like, 'Bobby, if you get the LSU job, take it.'"
• According to Bowden, Dietzel had inquired as early as September about his interest in the job. Bobby made it clear that he wouldn't make any decision until after the season. Dietzel promised to call back every two weeks or so. So they agreed on a code. Dietzel would say, "This is his brother Paul" when contacting Bobby. The week before the LSU-FSU game, Dietzel told Bowden "We want you."
• Bobby decided to base his decision on the outcome of the game in Tiger Stadium. "If we go in with this undefeated football team and we can't beat them, they might just be a better program. We'll never be able to beat them. If they beat us, I just might take the job. But if we beat them, hey, maybe we can be as good as them."
• Florida State won 24-19, a victory some called the biggest in school history. (Little did they know what had been going on behind the scenes.) Bowden usually alternated two QBs. But with Wally Woodham recuperating from dental surgery, Jimmy Jordan completed 14 of 31 for 312 yd and three TDs.

Bowden signed a new contract with FSU shortly thereafter with a raise to $46,000 base salary and a 10% increase each year.

• Bobby went on to unprecedented success at FSU, including 12 straight years ranked #4 or higher and two national championships.
• Dietzel hired Bo Rein, the head coach at North Carolina State. However, Bo was killed in a plane crash 42 days after taking the job.

Ben Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including one in his second NFL year (2005). Tiger fans may remember that Big Ben came with his Miami (OH) Red Hawks to Tiger Stadium on September 14, 2002.

This was Miami's third trip to Baton Rouge. The first had brought a stunning upset in 1986. After upsetting #7 Texas A&M in the opener, 35-17, the #8 Tigers had fallen to the Redskins (as they were known then) 21-12 "for the biggest upset in school history" according to the Miami 2002 Game Notes. Bill Arnsparger's third and final LSU team shook off the setback to win the SEC and go to the Sugar Bowl. LSU gained revenge in 1990 over the Mid-American Conference foe 35-7.

Nick Saban's third Tiger team, defending SEC champions, had begun 2002 inauspiciously with a 26-8 loss at Virginia Tech. A ho-hum 35-10 cakewalk over The Citadel had begun the home season and put LSU at #25 in the AP and #22 in the ESPN/USA Today polls. Miami had lost a tough one at home to Iowa 29-24 after winning at North Carolina 27-21.

Domanick Davis (31) and LeBrandon Toefield (22)

Roethlisberger, a sophomore, had already attracted the eye of football insiders like Mel Kiper of ESPN. However, the Tiger D held him to 195 yd passing (34-22-1) in a 33-7 victory before 90,010.

• LSU led 13-0 after Q1 on two John Corbello FGs and an 8-yard TD pass from Matt Mauck to Michael Clayton.
• The Tigers made it 16-0 before Roethlisberger hit Korey Kirkpatrick on a 7-yd scoring aerial. Ara Parseghian's grandson, Jared, kicked the PAT to make it 16-7. That would be the extent of the Red Hawk scoring.
• Mauch connected with Clayton for a second TD, this one from the 24, to make it 23-7 at the half.
• Second half scoring was confined to ten Tiger markers in Q3: another FG by Corbello and a 6yd pass from Mauck to TE Demetri Robinson with 0:10 left.
• Junior TB LeBrandon Toefield led all Tiger rushers with 111 yd on 17 carries.

The 26-point loss was the worst the Red Hawks had suffered and the seven points were fewest they had scored under six-year coach Terry Hoeppner

Ben Roethlisberger

Michael Clayton

• Casanova starred at Notre Dame High School in Crowley LA. However, he says, "I was only recruited by three schools to play ball after I graduated. I picked Tulane, even though they weren't recruiting me because I was young, idealistic and had family in the New Orleans area."
• Nelson Stokley, then LSU's QB and a family friend from Crowley, kept Tommy from making a big mistake by telling him, "You are insane for thinking to go to Tulane. Why don't you come to LSU and play with us?"
• Tommy played freshman football in Baton Rouge in 1968 for Coach Mel Didier. "Coach Didier made Charlie Mac look like Mother Teresa," says Casanova.
• When Tommy joined the varsity, the staff had to decide where to play him since he had both O and D skills. He was used as a CB his sophomore season. It didn't take him long to make a splash. He made a tackle behind the line on a fourth-down play inside the Tiger five in a 21-20 nationally-televised victory over Auburn in Tiger Stadium.
• Casanova also ran track during his years at LSU. That may have contributed to his gliding running style that made him seem to be several inches off the ground.
• For his junior year, Tommy switched to RB. However, he separated his shoulder in the Texas A&M game. So McClendon returned him to CB. #37 again saved his best for a national audience in the last game of the regular season against Ole Miss. With the SEC title and an Orange Bowl bid on the line, he set a school record and tied the NCAA record with punt returns of 61 and 73 yards for TDs in the 61-17 rout.
• In its college football preseason issue, Sports Illustrated tabbed Casanova as the nation's top player for 1971. He didn't disappoint, ending his career with seven INTs, 44 punt returns for 517 yards, and 72 carries for 302 with five TDs.
• Tommy's big disappointment his senior year occurred in the Notre Dame game at South Bend. In Q4, with the game scoreless, he dropped an INT in the EZ. Two plays later, ND kicked the winning FG.

Tommy was drafted in the second round (#29 overall) by Cincinnati. He played six years in the NFL. The legendary Paul Brown, his coach with the Bengals, said of him:

Just plain special. We never had anyone else like him. On defense, he played the ball like a center fielder. On punt returns, he was excellent. A very good football player and always a gentleman.

During his time in the NFL, Tommy completed his degree as an eye docctor. He returned to Crowley, where he has practiced ophthalmology ever since.

Dr. Casanova was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the first LSU player to receive that honor since 1971, when Doc Fenton ('08) was inducted.

Reference: "Field of Dreams," Elizabeth Stuart, LSU-Florida Game Program 2009

Tommy Casanova

• Dickson is a 6'3" 246 lb senior TE on the 2009 Tiger team. He leads both by word and example.

  This group of seniors, after having a down year last year, we don't want to repeat it again.

• One testimony to Richard's leadership is his jersey number. He wore 82 his first two seasons. But his junior year, he inherited 18 from Jacob Hester who had in turn received it from Matt Mauck. The number has come to symbolize the team leader. Dickson plans to pass the torch to someone else when this season ends. (Chad Jones if he returns for senior year? Kelvin Sheppard?)
• Dickson is in process of breaking every LSU TE record. As this is written, he has already exceeded the previous career record for receiving yards. He is tied for first in career TD catches and needs only seven more catches to exceed the previous high for a TE.

Dickson saw plenty of action beginning in his freshman season.

• Filling the gap when Keith Zinger suffered a season-ending injury in 2006, Dickson started the last nine games of the season. He made second team All-SEC Freshman Team and was honorable mention on the freshman All-American team.
• Richard will forever be remembered in Tigerland for his two TD receptions in the 2007 BCS Championship Game against Ohio State. Those were his fifth and sixth TDs of his sophomore season, which saw him playing in all 14 games, starting three.
• As a junior, Dickson started all 13 games and made second team all-SEC. He had 31 receptions for 324 yd and five TDs.
• Entering his senior year, he was placed on the watch list for the John Mackey Award given to the outstanding TE in the nation.

The NFL is probably in Dickson's future as he is an accomplished blocker as well as a receiver.

• nfldraftscout.com ranks Richard as the #2 FULLBACK (out of 106) among seniors.
• Other draft sites list him as a TE prospect.

Another Dickson may soon be cavorting at Tiger Stadium. Younger brother Travis committed to LSU in August 2009. A four-star prospect like Richard, Travis Dickson plays TE, FB, and DE for Ocean Springs High.

Reference: "Burning Desire," Ryan Ginn, LSU-Auburn Game Program 2009

Richard Dickson