Associated PressTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State opens its season today with a new quarterback and a bunch of backups filling in for suspended starters.

After successive 7-6 seasons, Seminoles coaches are eager to see what they've got against Western Carolina.

The Seminoles will go without more than a half dozen of their best players for the first three games because of suspensions for academic reasons or misconduct.

That prompted school officials to schedule the Catamounts and Chattanooga, another Football Championship Subdivision team, before the Seminoles' Atlantic Coast Conference opener Sept. 20 against No. 20 Wake Forest.

"We're going to have to rely more on new faces than in the past," Bowden said.

Going into the game, Bowden is tied with Penn State's Joe Paterno at 373 victories, the most in major college football history.

Bowden, though, has turned over many of the big decisions, including the selection of a starting quarterback, to offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, Florida State's head coach in waiting.

Fisher is going with Christian Ponder, a sophomore from Colleyville, Texas.

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