Bobby Bowden's Bowl

This hasn’t been the best decade for Florida State football fans. Amid player scandals and preposterous performances, the mainstay of the Seminoles in the ‘00s was the head coach. Bobby Bowden will coach his final game New Year’s Day against his former team, West Virginia. The legendary Bowden transports a 21-9 record in bowl games as FSU’s head coach. The 6-6 Seminoles barely belong in this game but it will be Bowden’s farewell to football. The Mountaineers finished 9-3 in the somewhat firmly established Big East conference. WVU is favored to upend Bowden in his last appearance in Tallahassee. A sellout crowd is expected at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium to cheer Bowden for 34 memorable years with the Seminole headset. Hopefully the ‘Noles will have enough to warrant a win in the new year.
I became a fan of Florida State following their 1999 National Championship. The Seminoles knocked off Michael Vick’s Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl to wrap up a 12-0 season. The ‘Noles ended the 90’s with 109 victories, highest among any college team. It marked Bowden’s second title at FSU. His coaching greatness can be summed up in one sentence: Bowden is second all-time in wins by a Division I coach. Bowden is a winner, and has always been one of the easiest coaches to root for because of his engaging personality. He elevated FSU into the national spotlight after inheriting a four win team in 1976. Since Bowden took over, the Seminoles have only had one losing season (1976). FSU went from the Independent Conference to the elite ACC in 1992. They were undefeated in conference play the first three years in the ACC and finished in first place nine consecutive seasons. The Seminoles snagged the Orange Bowl over stoic Nebraska, by escaping on a Cornhuskers missed field goal. The Bowden-led Seminoles began the 00’s with another first place finish, but lost in the Orange Bowl. Losses started to compound each of the next two years, and in 2006, the Seminoles were fifth in the conference at year’s end. The 2008 season signaled a return to the top, although FSU was tied for the spot after a 9-4 overall record. Last year, Bowden’s team squeezed out a two point victory in the Champs Sports Bowl.
This season has been a roller coaster for the up-and-down Seminoles. They were the preseason pick to win the ACC. The 2009 ‘Noles dropped their home opener in a shootout to Miami, 38-34. They cruised to a back-to-back wins before losing three straight to ranked opponents. Florida State ended October with a pair of three point wins, only to fall to Clemson 40-24 in early November. The loss likely didn’t conjure memories of the 1988 Puntrooskie call that lifted FSU over Clemson late in the game. Two conference wins put FSU back in the ACC title hunt, but a season final crushing by Florida pitted them against the Mountaineers today. No one would be happier than FSU fans to see Bowden’s final season culminate in a Gator Bowl basking. The number 18 Mountaineers will be a challenge for the mediocre ‘Noles. Bowden is hoping to avoid the program’s first losing season since 1976. The alluring matchup features to comparable quarterbacks in FSU’s E.J. Manuel and WVU’s Jarrett Brown. Jermaine Thomas is the Seminole’s leading rusher, but pales in comparison to the fleet-footed Noel Devine for WVU. Florida State should not be overlooked and their .500 record is slightly deceiving. The Seminoles are better than advertised. The Mountaineers were 6-1 at one point during the season and have half as many losses as FSU. West Virginia has won three of their past four games, including a momentum boosting Backyard Brawl defeat of Pittsburgh. But, the Seminoles narrowly lost some hardly fought battles and won some in difficult places to play. The Seminoles have scored more points and picked up more first downs than the Mountaineers. Bowden’s offense has more than 1,000 more yards. For Bowden’s bittersweet sake, let’s hope the inconsistent Seminoles don’t conclude his career with a collapse.
The 80 year old coach seeks his 389th win. To use an antanaclasis, today is the last of the Bowden ara. If you know anything about constellations, you’ll understand this sad attempt at a pun.

Parting points: Will today be the day Ohio State rewrites the script that has plagued them in past bowls?