TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -Jimbo Fisher says he has a lot of wonderful memories from his playing and coaching days at Samford. Now he'd like to add another, but at the expense of the school that gave him his start.

Fisher also doesn't plan to show any mercy in his head coaching debut Saturday, when 20th-ranked Florida State hosts the much smaller, lower-division Southern Conference school.

After all, he's taking over for Bobby Bowden.

``I hope they have a great experience, but I don't want them to have that great an experience,'' said Fisher, who spent one year as a player and five as an assistant coach at Samford. ``It's time to play a game, that's for sure.''

With Oklahoma up next, Fisher is eager to see what he's got without looking ahead. He's reminded Florida State players all week of the struggle they had last year, when they defeated another lower-division school from Alabama, Jacksonville State, 19-9 to start the season.

``We have talent,'' said Fisher, adding that he would have no hesitation opening the playbook despite next weekend's date in Norman, Okla. ``We want to set a tone for how we want to play the season by the way we play the game, the way we execute.''

The Bulldogs won't come away from the game empty handed either way. They're getting $400,000 from Florida State for their trip to Tallahassee.

``We're ready for a dogfight,'' Fisher said straight-faced during his weekly sitdown with the media. ``You've got to expect a great game. They've had all summer to prepare.''

The only other time Samford played at Florida State was in 1950, when Bowden was the quarterback and the school was known as Howard College. The Seminoles prevailed 20-6.

``The guys here are ready for the challenge,'' said running back Chris Evans, Samford's career rushing leader. ``We can't afford to give them anything.''

The Seminoles are coming off a 7-6 season that resulted in the 80-year-old Bowden retiring a year earlier than he wanted, but Fisher is taking over with a team predicted to win the Atlantic Division in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Bowden, who is keeping his distance from the program in deference to Fisher, doesn't plan to attend Saturday's game.

Senior quarterback Christian Ponder, dubbed CP7 by Florida State officials promoting him for the Heisman Trophy, completed 68.8 percent of is passes for 2,717 yards and 14 touchdowns last year before an ill-advised tackle after an interception ended his season in the ninth game.

``We know he's going to come out and perform well,'' Samford linebacker Bryce Smith said. ``He likes to get ball out pretty fast and can read the defense well.''

Ponder has also made a big impression on Samford coach Pat Sullivan, who knows something about playing quarterback.

``He's the prototype,'' said Sullivan, who won the Heisman in 1971 as Auburn's QB. ``He's 6-3, 225 to 230 pounds. He can run as well as throw. With their offensive line and its protection, it makes for a good combination if you're Florida State.''

Ponder, however, has adopted Fisher's mantra in looking at a team that supposedly doesn't have a chance against the Seminoles.

``We know they're going to come in with a chip on their shoulder,'' Ponder said. ``They're the underdogs.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.