Florida State coach Bobby Bowden sure likes the way his quarterback, Christian Ponder, is performing and he was asked directly about Ponder's absence from the list of 15 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.

Here's what he said: "I think he’s probably playing as good or better, I know he’s playing as good or better as any quarterback I’ve seen this year. I haven’t seen all of them, but it would be hard for somebody to play better. Now if we were having a great year, his name would pop right up there. We’re not having that; right now we’re still on the losing side, 3-4, and to me, you’ve got to have success with it (the stats).''