DANIA BEACH, Fla. — When No. 4 Florida State (13-0, No. 5 College Football Playoff rankings) faces No. 6 Georgia in Saturday's Orange Bowl, the Seminoles will be led by third-string quarterback Brock Glenn.
Although the true freshman is 1-0 as a starter after helping the Seminoles defeat Louisville 16-6 to win their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 2014, it was the defense that bailed Glenn out in that game. He finished just 8-of-21 for 55 yards.
But this isn't the first time Florida State has prepared to play Georgia without its starting quarterback. Or its backup.
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The last time the Seminoles faced the Bulldogs was in a bowl game. It was the 2003 Sugar Bowl, and it was their third-string quarterback who started the game.
Talk about déjà vu.
Georgia native Fabian Walker, who had thrown only eight passes in his career entering the game, was thrust into the starting lineup for the Seminoles.
Why?
Adrian McPherson was kicked off the team in late November amid a police investigation involving the theft and forgery of a blank check. He was arrested soon thereafter.
Chris Rix, who began the season as the starter but was later benched in favor of McPherson, only to reclaim the job in time for a 31-14 thrashing of Florida in the regular-season finale, was suspended from the bowl game after he overslept and missed his final exam.
Walker had a forgettable performance. He finished 7-of-12 for 69 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Seminoles led 7-3 in the second quarter when Georgia cornerback Bruce Thornton intercepted a Walker pass and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown.
Four plays later, after a 26-yard punt return by Damien Gary, Georgia had the ball back at the FSU 37-yard line. Georgia backup quarterback D.J. Shockley entered the game and found wide receiver Terrence Edwards in the end zone.
Walker struggled thereafter and was replaced by star wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who caught Walker's lone touchdown throw that gave Florida State the early lead. The former Pahokee High School quarterback finished 6-of-14 for 78 yards and a touchdown, but it was too little too late.
Georgia kicker Billy Bennett booted three of his four field goals in the second half and the Bulldogs defense held Florida State's offense in check for most of the night.
The 26-13 victory for Georgia was its first 13-win season in school history.
Current Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was on the opposite sideline for that game as a graduate assistant under the late Bobby Bowden at the time. Smart, of course, was a star defensive back for the Bulldogs in the 1990s.
WATCH: Kirby Smart reflects on time at FSU
"To be in a room with Mickey Andrews, Odell Haggins, Joe Kines, Jody Allen, Kevin Steele, a lot of really good minds in college football, it helped shape me," Smart said Friday. "To be sitting in the staff room with coach Bowden for two years, getting to see how he ran the team and how he commanded the respect of the team, was really instrumental in my upbringing as a coach."
Smart is now leading his alma mater against the Seminoles for the first time since, with Florida State once again in a precarious position at quarterback.
