Fisher says Irma's disruptions 'very similar' to 2005 season at LSU
In his first public comments since Hurricane Irma, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said Wednesday his experience during the 2005 season at LSU have given him a map of how to approach the rest of the season.
Fisher was the offensive coordinator at LSU in 2005 when the team's season was severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina and, later, Hurricane Rita.
"As far as the impact of distractions, it's very similar," Fisher said on the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coaches Teleconference. "I explained that to our kids and how we handled those things, and I hope that we'll be able to get through it."
The No. 11 Seminoles (0-1) have not played since their Sept. 2 loss to No. 1 Alabama (2-0) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. FSU was scheduled to play Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 9 at Doak Campbell Stadium, but the game was canceled due to the impending threat of Hurricane Irma.
The game will not be re-scheduled as the two teams do not share an open date. FSU was then going to host in-state rival Miami this weekend, but that game was moved to Oct. 7 due to concerns related to Irma. FSU won't play again until its noon kickoff on Sept. 23 against North Carolina State at Campbell Stadium.
Back in 2005, the LSU Tigers were coming off a 9-3 season. The program hired Les Miles to replace Nick Saban, who left for the Miami Dolphins, as well as a new defensive coordinator in Bo Pelini.
The team was going to open the 2005 season with consecutive home games against North Texas and Arizona State at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Those games were rearranged because of Katrina, and LSU's campus became a recovery unit for the storm's victims who needed food and shelter.
* The Roundtable: Tackling the bizarre start to FSU's season and much more
Ranked No. 5 in the nation, the Tigers gave up their home game and traveled to face the Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., and walked away with a 35-31 win. LSU's following game against then-No. 10 Tennessee in Baton Rouge was moved from Saturday, Sept. 24 to Monday, Sept. 26, because of Hurricane Rita.
The Tigers lost 30-27 in overtime.
"Not many people get to coach through two [hurricanes] like that," Fisher said. "We had a game postponed there and we were supposed to play Arizona State at home and moved it away and played out at Arizona State and had a heck of a game.
"Turnaround, two weeks or a week later, with Rita. We had to move the Tennessee game, which was very troubling. It was a lot more damaging there. We had 20, 30 players lose everything they had."
With the North Texas game moved to Oct. 29, LSU played in 11 straight games. They would reach the Southeastern Conference title game, where they took a 34-14 loss against Georgia.
LSU then reached the Peach Bowl and unleashed a 40-3 throttling of Miami to finish the season with an 11-2 record.
"Sometimes, it can bond you and pull you together like it did at LSU with that year with us with those two hurricanes," Fisher said. "I think it brought our team very much tighter together.
"They understood we have to face a lot of adversity, and sometimes that's also really good."
-----------------------------
For a full recap of the ACC Teleconference, please visit the Tribal Council
