There is little love between Florida and Florida State, and while it is not an “ancient” rivalry like Georgia/ Auburn or Michigan/Ohio State, there are still some historical storylines that put UF/FSU into the upper echelon of college football rivalries. The Gators lead the series with a 33-21-2 record through 57 games, but at one point the Gators led the series 15-2-1 in what was considered a one sided rivalry much like Georgia’s dominance over Florida at that time (but that has changed drastically much to the chagrin of Bulldog fans).


That all changed in 1976.


Larry Jones had coached the Seminole program straight into the black hole of the college football cellar. While FSU had never been considered an elite National power, Jones had turned FSU into homecoming fodder for the rest of the country. In 1973, Jones and the Seminoles bumbled their way to an embarrassing 0-11 finish. The Board of Regents was considering cutting the football program as it seemed that the Seminoles just could not compete in the South. Their boosters did not have the deep pockets like an Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, or even their rival to the East in Gainesville. Their facilities were dated even back then, and it was hard to catch the attention of recruits on a small budget that the State provided them. The Board decided to give it a few more years, and after jettisoning Jones from the program, they replaced him with Darrell Mudra.


Mudra promptly went 1-10 in 1974, and tripled his win total in 1975 with a 3-8 record. It was not enough to keep his job nor did the 1975 season convince the Board of Regents that football still had a chance of prospering in Tallahassee. They decided to give it one more try and they hired a little known coach from West Virginia.


Bobby Bowden had taken the Independent Mountaineers to two bowl games and posted a 46-26 record from 1970-1975, including the 1975 season in which WVU posted a 9-3 record and a Peach Bowl victory. WVU finished the season ranked 17th in the AP and 20th in the Coaches Poll. The Seminole fan base was excited for the first time in decades.


Bowden’s first season was nothing to write home about. He posted a 5-6 season, including FSU’s 9th straight loss to their Orange and Blue nemesis. But there was something different about the Seminoles. In the previous 4 games against the Gators, the Seminoles were outscored 153-35. Bowden’s inaugural contest against Florida ended up with a 33-26 loss at home, which was a far cry from the beatings that had been handed out the previous 8 contests.


1977 can be pinpointed as the beginning of the Seminole dynasty that Bobby Bowden ushered in. It would also be the catalyst for Florida’s disdain for all things “Bowden”. The Seminoles went 10-2 and recorded probably one of the sweetest wins in their brief history. Bowden and company rolled into Gainesville and handed the Gators a 37-9 loss, their worst of the series and FSU’s 2nd win at Florida Field. That victory propelled the Seminoles to a 4 game win streak against Florida.


Bowden would end his coaching career with a 17-18-1 record against the Gators, and while the losses outnumbered the wins, Bowden changed the rivalry, and the face of college football for that matter, forever. While Bowden was at the helm of the Seminoles, the hatred from Gator Nation grew. There were several instances during his tenure that drew the ire of Florida fans, and yet, now that he has stepped away from the Seminoles, some of the accusations seem exaggerated.


As a diehard Gator fan, I claimed Bowden had zero ethics when it came to recruiting and even lower expectations when it came to properly disciplining some of the more “unruly” stars that seemed to flock to his program.


The Peter Warrick/Laveranues Coles Scandal


A few months before the annual clash between UF and Florida State, all world receivers Peter Warrick and marginally talented Laveranues Coles were charged with felony grand theft for what amounts to “stealing” clothes from Dillard’s department store. Under the NCAA by-laws, they were also guilty of receiving improper benefits. They were caught on video surveillance “purchasing” $412.38 in clothing and paying $21.40 for them.  It seemed that an employee gave Warrick and Coles the super secret employee discount. Both Warrick and Coles (as well as the employee, a nineteen year-old student) were charged with felonies.  That would automatically disqualify both players from participating against Florida later in the year. There was a sigh of relief from Gainesville, as Warrick was a cold blooded killer on the field, whether it was returning kicks or catching touchdown passes, Gator fans rejoiced that the biggest concern would be on the bench and not on the field.


Bowden had other plans. He held a press conference and I feel basically used his position and the media to influence the DA to drop the charges down to a misdemeanor, which would allow Warrick and Coles to participate. Now, no one can complain about a coach going to bat for his players, but for Gator fans, this was “dirty pool”. How dare Bowden try to defend his players and get them out of trouble? What was glaring about this instance was the fact that Bowden promptly kicked Coles off the team (which Coles did have previous transgressions) and only suspended Warrick for two games. After a plea agreement, Warrick was given probation, had to provide restitution, court costs and community service and was then allowed to play. That ended up being the difference in the game as Warrick and the Seminoles beat the Gators once again.


Gator Nation was outraged and the accusations of cheating gained steam.


Sebastian Janikowski and the rules.


Janikowski was known for many off-field transgressions including attempted bribery of a police officer.  The issue that irked me was his inability to abide by curfew.  Even though the Gators were not the Seminoles’ opponents for the Sugar Bowl game, we became incensed when Bowden allowed kicker Sebastian Janikowski to participate after he was caught breaking curfew, AGAIN!  A crucial part of the Seminoles attack was potentially being compromised and in danger of missing the contest and once again, Bowden pulled strings which allowed Janikowski to play where in reality, he should have been suspended. Bowden was quickly earning the reputation as a “win at all cost” coach to the Gator faithful.


November 24th, 1998: The Brawl


This incident really made Bowden look bad in the eyes of Florida players, coaches, administration, and fans. The cocky Seminoles were finished with their pregame warm-ups and the two teams met on the field and continued on a brawl began the previous year in the Swamp. A few bench warmers escalated the violence by attacking Florida starters. Logically, what was the worst that could happen? The Seminole undressed walk-ons would be ejected (no great loss) while the retaliator, (starting senior safety, Tony George) a crucial part of the Gator defense, was ejected as well.  FSU won the contest 23-12, exploiting the void left by the George ejection. Many Gator fans wished that Doug Johnson had hit Bowden in the face with the football instead of assistant coach Eric Johnson.


I could list many, many other incidents that further fueled the hatred for all things FSU and Bobby Bowden (the apparent video evidence of Darnell Dockett intentionally injuring Gator RB Earnest Graham (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edDTmix6vWs), Free Shoes University, and the school wide on-line cheating by athletes being the last transgression of the Bowden era at FSU). It is quite easy to do. Now that he has been retired for two years, my Gator perspective has changed.


I’ll go ahead and say it: Bobby Bowden is the greatest coach of all time. Heck, if he’d have coached anywhere else instead of FSU, I would have been singing his praises a long time ago. It’s a bitter pill for this Gator to swallow, but when I sit back and think of what Bowden meant to college football; it’s like taking that pill with a spoonful of sugar.


Bobby Bowden IS Florida State football. His “play anyone anywhere” philosophy helped turn FSU from a laughing stock to an elite program that was feared. Bowden would take his team on the road, no matter the venue. There was no return trip to Tallahassee promised nor BCS voters or computers to impress. Bowden knew what it would take to build the program and he did it without batting an eye. Sure, they lost a few of those games, and a couple of them prevented FSU from being mentioned in the National Title picture. But the rewards were much greater.


Florida State had arrived on the National scene.


Pretty soon, Bowden had his Seminoles finishing in the top 5 almost every year. He began to attract recruits that the Seminoles and their dated facilities had a hard time landing before Bobby Bowden donned the garnet and gold. Players like the aforementioned Peter Warrick, Warrick Dunn, Ron Simmons, Deion Sanders, LeRoy Butler (who did the first Lambeau Leap), and one of the greatest college football players of all time: one Mr. Charlie Ward. Bowden was putting kids in the NFL almost as fast as he was piling up wins.


Bowden was also an innovator. With the score tied at 21 against the Clemson Tigers, the Seminoles were faced with a 4th and 4 from their own 21 yard line. There was less than a minute and a half left in the game when Bowden pulled off one of the most famous plays in college football history. The “puntrooskie” was called, and LeRoy Butler took the ball and scampered 70 plus yards to set up the game winning score. Shortly after that, the NCAA revised the rulebook making “rooskie” type plays illegal. Bobby recalls “I felt like it had a 66% chance of working. If they rushed him, it would work. If they tried to hold us up, we felt it would work. If they played really cautious, it would have backfired on us. Well, we called it anyway.”


Bowden was the first “riverboat gambler”. Whether it was play calling, scheduling, or recruiting, Bowden had the stones to take chances most other coaches would shiver at. His biggest gamble of all paid off in spades. Constantly petitioning the SEC to allow FSU to join and constantly being spurned had grown thin on Bobby; when the ACC came courting, Bowden took a chance on a conference not known for football, but rather a basketball powerhouse conference along the lines of the Big East. Before joining the ACC, Bowden and his Seminoles had come so close to winning a National Title but always seemed to come up short. Just two years after joining the ACC, Bowden finally captured the illusive National Title by beating Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl.


He claimed his second and last National Title (this time during the infancy of the current BCS) by thumping Virginia Tech 46-29. That was just another notch in his belt as far as bowl game victories went. Bowden led FSU to 31 bowl appearances and 21 wins including a 13-0-1 record from 1982 to 1996. Bowden dominated the ACC winning 12 conference titles, including 9 in a row. Bowden also orchestrated one of, if not the, most impressive streaks in all of college football. From 1987 through the 2000 season, the Seminoles finished in the top 5 of the AP Poll’s top 25. With the landscape of college football the way it is now and the last few years in flux, that 14 year streak may never be equaled (especially considering the parity at the FBS level).


Even with all the accolades, there were a few smudges on Bowden’s otherwise spotless career. I knew my feelings towards Bobby were changing when I found it laughable that he had to vacate 12 victories due to the on-line cheating scandal. Bowden legitimately knew nothing about it, so you could have thrown knowingly playing an ineligible player out the window. In spite of the buffoonery of the vacated wins, Bowden still managed 304-97-3 record. Enough said.


There is much more to the legend that is Bobby Bowden than just wins and trophies. In this modern day of college football one thing has been lost among the majority of coaches: Loyalty. College football has turned into a big business with millions of dollars up for grabs. Coaches today are making 7 digit salaries per season. That’s a far cry from the salary offered Bowden when he took the FSU job. Today’s college coach seems to be looking for a bigger payday and they jump at the chance to increase their net worth. They tend to forget about the student athletes that not only committed to their respective university but committed to the coach as well. Coaches are able to jump from school to school without a second thought or penalty. If a kid wants to transfer, he loses a year of eligibility.


Bobby Bowden was different.


Bowden’s dream job was to coach at Alabama; the place where he played his college football. After the 1982 season, the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant stepped down as coach of the Crimson Tide. Of course Alabama wanted Bowden. He was a proven winner and a native son. They asked that Bowden interview for the position. Gator fans cringed over this. It was bad enough that we had to play him once a year already; we could not imagine having to face him in our own conference. Thankfully, Bowden was a bit put off by having to interview for the job (as he and Bear were very close. As a matter of fact, when Bowden was head coach at Samford (previously Howard College), Bear would send him players that just weren’t good enough to play at Alabama. He thought that they could play anywhere but Alabama, and so, to help his good buddy Bobby Bowden out, he’d call Bowden and send the boys over to Samford). Bowden declined to interview and a year or two later, Alabama saw the writing on the wall that Bowden was the cream of the crop, they offered him the position outright.


Bobby Bowden turned them down straight away.


“I said ‘No. It’s too late. I feel like I should stay at Florida State’. I never regretted the decision and I am very thankful that I stayed.”


Alabama wasn’t the only one to try to rest Bowden from FSU. LSU came calling along with Auburn. Bowden turned the down before the Athletic Directors’ planes touched down on the tarmac. It was rumored that Texas, Oklahoma, and USC had offered Bowden small fortunes to leave Tallahassee. Bowden never flinched. There were numerous NFL teams that courted Bowden for his coaching services, among them were Tampa Bay, Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, and New Orleans just to name a few. He turned them down as quickly as they offered. To Bobby Bowden, Tallahassee was his home and his obligation to the young men under his care and guidance grossly outweighed the lure of a lucrative NFL contract.


It was his loyalty and dedication, to not only FSU, but to the kids under his guidance, that became Bobby Bowden’s most endearing quality. He would tell you himself that wins did not mean a thing compared to watching his players graduate, knowing that he had helped prepare each one for their future endeavors in life. While the heartwarming stories of a kid turning himself around and graduate are fond for Bowden, it’s the ones he could not reach, the ones he could not salvage, that eat at him to this day. There was never a doubt about how much Bowden cared for each and every one of his players. He wore it on his sleeve, almost to a fault. His actions, such as the Peter Warrick/Dillard’s fiasco, that infuriated his rivals, those same rivals would cut off their left arm to have a coach like Bowden today; one that would go to bat just as quick for a 3rd stringer as he would for a superstar player.


A lot of those things were lost or overlooked due to the way Bobby Bowden was “forced” out at Florida State. I feel he was portrayed as an old codger in denial; one that refused to admit that his faculties had dulled and that he was out of touch with the kids and the game he loved so much. For this Gator fan, I was angered about the disrespect that I felt not only was perpetrated by the FSU Administration, but for the rantings of quite a few out of touch Seminole fans. They would not have a program if it weren’t for Bowden. More than likely, the program would have been disbanded if not relegated back to what is now called the FCS. The reason Doak Campbell seats over 80,000: Bobby Bowden. The reason FSU has the wonderful facilities they enjoy now: Bobby Bowden. The reason FSU is able to attract top recruits and that Jimbo Fisher is able to land a top 5 or top 10 recruiting class every year: Bobby Bowden.


So, it doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar (FSU’s first football recipient was a Bowden recruit) to figure out not just what Bobby Bowden meant to Florida State, but what he meant to College Football during and after his tenure on the sidelines.


In four words: “Daggummitt Bowden was GREAT!”