Samuels suspended by FSU

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A turbulent week for Florida State continued Friday when Coach Bobby Bowden announced the suspension of defensive back Sanford Samuels.

Bowden did not indicate the specific reason for the suspension, which apparently will only include this week's game at Wake Forest.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the discipline is not performance-related, but it certainly did not help.

The paper reported that Samuels gave up a 65-yard touchdown pass on a stop-and-go by Notre Dame receiver Arnaz Battle on the first series by the Fighting Irish last Saturday in FSU's 34-24 loss, and was sent to the bench. Later, when he returned, he was penalized for holding.

Meanwhile, the paper also reported that senior cornerback Malcolm Tatum, normally a key backup, did not report to practices Wednesday and Thursday. His status on the team could not be confirmed, but if he does not play, the Seminoles will have only four experienced players against the Demon Deacons.

Earlier this week, Bowden announced that sophomore Adrian McPherson would start at quarterback Saturday over Chris Rix.

Bowden has attempted to down play the changes.

"There's no problem whatsoever on our football team right now," Bowden said. "Yeah, we had some guys speak out, and some finger-pointing going (on), probably just like they had at Tennessee last week, probably just like they had at LSU last week. That's standard. I met with my kids. We got it all squared away. Nobody is mad at nobody. We must get our people to stop these rumors about the team's in turmoil and all of that. We are simply a team that has lost two ballgames in a row and we don't like it."

The Seminoles, 5-3 overall, are out of the national championship picture, and the loss to Notre Dame dropped them to No. 20 in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll.