TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State is hoping to become bowl eligible for the 28th straight season against Maryland on Saturday in a game that will be mostly about new quarterbacks and old coaches.
A win might help Florida State’s embattled 80-year-old coach Bobby Bowden keep his job for one more year, while Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen is hoping to end his young team’s five-game losing streak.
The Seminoles (5-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) finish up a disappointing regular season Nov. 28 at top-ranked Florida, where the chances of an upset would seem remote in what has been one of Bowden’s roughest seasons in a coaching career that began during the Eisenhower administration.
“It’s been disappointing, the fact that we lost so many close games,” said Bowden, who nears the end of his 34th season at Florida State and 55th on a college sideline. Four of the Seminoles losses have been by eight or fewer points.
There are no conference titles or BCS games awaiting Bowden’s once perennial national contenders.
But the venerable Florida State coach can still salvage a disappointing season by qualifying for another bowl appearance when freshman quarterback EJ Manuel makes his home debut Saturday’s game. It is also the final time defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will be on the sidelines for the Seminoles. The 68-year-old Andrews is retiring after 26 seasons running Florida State defenses.
And while the Seminoles would also keep alive hopes of a 33rd straight winning season, Maryland just wants a win.
“Somewhere along the line we have to turn this thing around,” Friedgen said. “I have a young team. I can’t get down on them.”
The Terps haven’t won since defeating Clemson 24-21 Oct. 3.
And despite Maryland’s woeful record, it’s that victory over Clemson that has had Bowden’s attention all week as he prepares for a senior day send-off.
“We know what they’re capable of doing,” Bowden said. “They beat Clemson and, of course, Clemson beat us.”
And it was in Florida State’s 40-24 loss two weeks ago at Clemson that Manuel took over late in the game after Christian Ponder suffered a season-ending shoulder separation.
In his first start last week, Manuel hit 15 of 20 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, throwing one interception just before the half to kill a scoring opportunity in a 41-28 win at Wake Forest.
“We tried to recruit him and we know what a good athlete he is and what a good quarterback he is,” Friedgen said. “He played with a lot of poise.”
Friedgen and his coaches also have the advantage of seeing game film on the Seminoles’ 19-year-old quarterback, something Wake Forest didn’t have.
“Maryland will have a pretty good idea of what our kid’s strengths and weaknesses are if they spotted any,” Bowden said. “I think the second and third game (No. 1 Florida) might be a little tougher.”
And like Florida State, the Terrapins will have to do it with a new quarterback.
Jamarr Robinson, like Manuel, made his first start last week. Robinson, a sophomore, ran for 129 yards, but wasn’t as effective throwing the ball.
Florida State holds a 17-2 advantage in the series, including last year’s 37-3 win at College Park, Md.
The two schools allow more yards than any others in the ACC and both allow over 30 points a game, setting the stage for a high-scoring contest at the very least.
“Eventually we’ll punch through this thing,” Friedgen said.
Bowden and the Seminoles just hope it’s not Saturday.
Basketball
Seminoles hope to earn bowl eligibility Saturday
- Basketball
-
-
Philadelphia forces Game 7
Jrue Holiday scored 20 points, and Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the tough-and-determined Philadelphia 76ers past the Celtics, 82-75 on Wednesday night to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7.
-
NBA suspends Haslem for one game, Pittman for three
Udonis Haslem insists he meant no harm. The NBA deemed otherwise, and the Miami Heat will be without one of their co-captains when they try to close out the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
-
Boston takes series lead behind Bass’ 27-point outburst
Brandon Bass scored 18 of his postseason career-high 27 points in the third quarter on Monday night as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
-
76ers rally, knot series
Andre Iguodala snapped a tie game with five straight points in the final 90 seconds to help the Philadelphia 76ers storm back from 15 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 92-83 on Friday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
-
Celtics top 76ers 107-91 in Game 3
Kevin Garnett scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
-
76ers even series with Celtics, 82-81
Evan Turner made the go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Philadelphia held off Boston the rest of the way with six straight free throws as the 76ers evened the second-round Eastern Conference series with an 82-81 victory Monday night.
-
James wins 3rd NBA MVP award
Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA’s MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game’s all-time greats.
-
Knicks’ postseason slide hits 12
Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Chris Bosh added 21 and Miami beat New York 104-94 on Monday night, sending the Knicks to an NBA-record-tying 12th straight postseason loss.
-
Ritchie voted player of year
D.J. Ritchie, who did just about everything the last three seasons for Southern Garrett and capped his high school career with likely his finest performance, was voted the Cumberland Times-News Boys Basketball Player of the Year by area head coaches.
-
Wizards streak into offseason
Playing without their Big Three, the Miami Heat suffered their worst defeat of the season with a 104-70 loss to the Washington Wizards in the regular-season finale Thursday night.
- More Basketball Headlines
-
