There was only one storyline that was going to come out of the 2010 Gator Bowl. Florida State head coach Bowden, who came into the game as the second winningest head coach in college football history with 388 victories, was retiring after 34 seasons at Florida State. In that time, Bowden won a pair of national championships and turned Florida State from a college football also-ran into a national power. It was a storybook career that ended on a bit of a down note with a 6-6 regular season. Ironically, Bowden faced West Virginia in his final game. Bowden coached the Mountaineers for six seasons before moving to Florida State.

His final game was a memorable one though, as the Seminoles overcame an early deficit to post a 33-21 victory.

This particular game did not seem, even the very least, promising for Seminoles at the beginning. West Virginia gave them a 14-3 lead by the time the first quarter was concluded. Jarret Brown was the first to give West Virginia its virtual victory through a 31 yard touchdown. Florida State negotiated a field goal which was answered with a second touchdown by West Virginia. Noel Devine concluded the scores of West Virginia by a 70 yard rush to the Seminoles yard line and gave a yard plunge, settling at 14-3. It was a great score, after sixteen attempts of a touchdown and rushing 168 yards. No one would have denied that the game offered the thrill of its delightful suspense.

Would they have lost, it would have been Bowden’s first disgrace since 1976, which would have been more than a little disappointing to his fans.  And it sure looked so by the time the first quarter came to an end. However, The Seminoles could not allow such a thing to happen. A field goal coupled with 12 yards touchdown from Jermaine Thomas filled the gap to close the score at 14-13 by the end of halftime. This psyched up the Seminoles to dominate the third quarter with additional 10 points through defensive pitching. The additional 20 points gave Florida state great control over the game. Seminoles got a second touchdown through Thomas with 3.50 left to finish the third quarter. It was stylishly accomplished through a 19 yard rush, a brief play and a 55 yard drive which put a 23-14 lead for the Seminoles by the end of the three periods. That win gave the fans the assurance they needed from those stars.

West Virginia still had a little left with which to challenge in the final quarter. The Mountaineers engineered a nice drive late in the third quarter that allowed them to score on the first play of the final period. Ryan Clarke scored on a five yard run to cap an 80 yard run and cut the lead to 23-21, but that is as close as West Virginia would get. Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel answered with a 12 play, 81 yard drive of his own to put Florida State back in front comfortably. Manuel finished the drive with a two yard drive and Florida State added an insurance field goal in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

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