Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden will close out his legendary career in the 2010 Gator Bowl when the Seminoles take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Seminoles (6-6) had a roller coaster season but did enough to earn their 28th consecutive trip to the college post season while the Mountaineers (9-3) earned the trip to the Gator Bowl by knocking off the Pittsburgh Panthers in the regular season finale.
Bowden and his Seminoles own a 4-0 record in the Gator Bowl including two wins over West Virginia in 1982 and 2005. Their fate will largely be determined by how well freshman EJ Manuel plays.
While Manuel has compiled a 2-1 record since taking over for the injured Chris Ponder, his performance has been lacking. In three games, he has completed 63.4% of his passes for 612 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Seminoles will try to make Manuel comfortable with short passes and hope the receivers can make the big play against the Mountaineers defense. If they slip up, West Virginia will make Florida State pay. They were tied for the lead in the Big East with 17 interceptions.
The Mountaineers enter the game winning their last four bowl appearances and will be relying upon their star running back Noel Devine to help power them to a win.
Devine, who ran for 1,372 yards and scored 12 touchdowns during the regular season, should be able to find some holes against a porous Seminoles run defense that allowed an uncharacteristic 203.9 yards per game.
Look for Florida State to end their Jekyll and Hyde routine and show the promise many thought the team would have at the beginning of the season.
The Seminoles will earn a narrow victory for the departing Bowden and defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, sending them out as winners.
