By DAVE MORRISON, The Register-Herald
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For Florida State, it got exactly what it wanted in sending legendary coach Bobby Bowden out a winner in his last game.
The Seminoles accomplished that with a 33-21 Gator Bowl win over West Virginia in front of a Gator Bowl-record 84,127 mostly Florida State fans Friday at Municipal Stadium.
For West Virginia, perhaps sophomore safety Robert Sands said it best.
“I wish we could go back and start the game all over,” he said. “But we can’t.”
Certainly, the pregame pomp and circumstance, right up until kickoff, was all about the 80-year old Bowden, who was repeatedly cascaded with “Bobby” cheers from fans He received a car and got to throw the mascots ceremonial spear torch into the ground at midfield.
“It is amazing, but coming out of here with a win is kind of a bonus,” Bowden said. “I was very concerned all week about getting too much attention. I like attention but everything was Bobby this, Bobby that, Bobby this, Bobby that. I have never been treated so royally.”
The highlight for Mountaineer fans in the pregame lovefest happened when the Mountaineer fired his mascot, causing the Seminoles mascots horse to jump.
After that, it was Florida State, behind a surprising rushing attack, that did the firing.
West Virginia did hold a 14-13 half-time lead, but by that point the game was turning.
The Mountaineers (9-4) led 14-3, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions, a 32-yard Jarrett Brown run and a 1-yard plunge by Noel Devine, set up by his own 70-yard run.
But the tide turned quickly.
Brown didn’t finish the game, rolling an ankle late in the first half.
And Devine had just five carries in the second half.
Meanwhile, Florida State (7-6) was carving up the Mountaineer defense behind quarterback E.J. Manuel and running back Jermaine Thomas, a Jacksonville native.
Thomas rushed for 121 yards and two scores and Manuel, who had 126 yards rushing coming into the game, had 70 and a touchdown for FSU which rushed for 226 yards in the game.
“They didn’t do anything that we hadn’t seen on tape,” defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel said. “We just didn’t do a very good job, especially on the perimeter. If your looking for a key, that was it. They ran the ball well on the perimeter.”
Indeed, both of Thomas’ touchdown runs, 12 and 19 yards, were runs where he bounced outside.
“We didn’t do a real good job holding contain,” senior linebacker Reed Williams said. “And that was disappointing.”
Still, the Mountaineers overcame the pregame Bowden hype, driving 72 and 71 yards on their first two possessions, sandwiched around a Florida State field goal.
“We came out swinging,” Brown said. “We had the momentum. Then, we lost it.”
An 11-point lead with possession at the Mountaineer 42, ended when Brown underthrew Tavon Austin and the pass was intercepted by Jamie Robinson.
WVU coach Bill Stewart saw that as the key to the game.
“You can’t do that,” Stewart said. “You have to put it where we catch it or nobody does. It certainly didn’t lose the game for us, but it was a big play.”
“We were in cover three; it’s something that we weren’t running all year but we put back in for this game,” Robinson said. “The coaches did a good job showing us the plays they would run. When I saw the quarterback throwing the ball, I was just reacting.”
“It was just an underthrow,” Brown said. “You aren’t supposed to underthrow a corner route like that.”
The Seminoles, as they did from that point, ate up big chunks of yardage, only facing a second down twice, one of which was on Thomas’ 12-yard run.
“We never could get them in third-and-long situations,” Casteel said.
Dustin Hopkins, who had four field goals, had a 42-yarder with eight seconds left in the first half to make it 14-13 at the break.
Greg Reid returned the opening kickoff 68 yards to set up a 22-yard Hopkins field goal at the outset of the second half to give FSU a lead it never lost.
WVU had a chance to take the lead behind backup QB Geno Smith, but kicker Tyler Bitancurt, the hero of the Pitt game, missed on a 33-yard field goal attempt after WVU had driven to the FSU 16 with the help of two personal fouls on the Seminoles on one play. It was just Bitancurt’s second missed field goal of the season.
From there, Florida State took control with a three-play drive. The first featured an outstanding catch by Jarmon Fortson, who made a one-handed grab good for 29 yards. Thomas followed a seven-yard run with a 19-yard scoring burst to put the Seminoles up 23-14.
WVU fought back to within two, 23-21, when Ryan Clarke scored from five yards out.
That drive was highlighted by Devine, who had a 34-yard run.
He would carry just two more times, none in the fourth quarter.
Devine had 168 yards rushing in the game and he caught two passes for 28 yards.
“I’m not disappointed that I didn’t carry the ball more, I’m disappointed that we lost to another Florida State,” Devine said.
Stewart said the offense shifted its focus, trying to get the ball to Jock Sanders, and “spread the wealth.”
Still the Mountaineers were in the game, down 23-21.
The Seminoles took over at their 19 and out together a game-clinching 12-play, 81-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard Manuel run.
The big play came when he broke contain and picked up a first down with a pass to Taiwan Easterling.
“It’s disappointing when you know they’re going read option and you still don’t stop it,” Williams said.
WVU couldn’t get over the hump after that.
“Everything they did we game-planned for it,” Smith said. “We saw it on tape, we just didn’t come out and execute. We were ready for it.”
Devine said he would weigh his options on whether to turn pro or return for his senior season. He has until Jan. 15 to make his intentions known.
“I’m not sure yet,” Devine said. “I have to sit down and talk to my family about it.”
Williams obviously will give the NFL a shot, as he closed out his career with a senior class that won 40 games.
“It was a bad bump in what was a great story,” he said, summing up his career.
The loss ended a four-game bowl streak. The last loss? To Florida State in the 2005 Gator Bowl. WVU is 1-6 in Gator Bowl appearances.
*****
Statistics distributed by The Associated Press
At Jacksonville, Fla.
West Virginia............14 0 0 7 — 21
Florida State..............3 10 10 10 — 33
First Quarter
WVU—Brown 32 run (Bitancurt kick), 11:45.
FSU—FG Hopkins 26, 7:02.
WVU—Devine 1 run (Bitancurt kick), 5:13.
Second Quarter
FSU—Thomas 12 run (Hopkins kick), 10:57.
FSU—FG Hopkins 42, :08.
Third Quarter
FSU—FG Hopkins 22, 12:15.
FSU—Thomas 19 run (Hopkins kick), 3:50.
Fourth Quarter
WVU—R.Clarke 5 run (Bitancurt kick), 14:56.
FSU—Manuel 2 run (Hopkins kick), 8:54.
FSU—FG Hopkins 37, 2:02.
A—84,129.
———
WVU FSU
First downs 18 24
Rushes-yards 37-221 46-226
Passing 107 189
Comp-Att-Int 9-19-1 17-24-0
Return Yards 0 37
Punts-Avg. 3-37.0 2-37.5
Fumbles-Lost 3-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-29 7-69
Time of Possession 22:53 37:07
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—West Virginia, Devine 16-168, Brown 6-43, R.Clarke 3-12, Sanders 1-7, Team 1-(minus 1), G.Smith 10-(minus 8). Florida St., Thomas 25-121, Manuel 14-70, C.Thompson 2-20, Reed 3-9, Givens 1-4, Pryor 1-2.
PASSING—West Virginia, G.Smith 8-15-0-92, Brown 1-4-1-15. Florida St., Manuel 17-24-0-189.
RECEIVING—West Virginia, Starks 3-30, Devine 2-28, Sanders 2-14, Austin 1-19, Arnett 1-16. Florida St., Fortson 4-73, Owens 3-37, Easterling 3-33, Pryor 2-22, Reed 2-0, Thomas 1-9, C.Thompson 1-9, Reliford 1-6.
