Cumberland Times-News

Basketball

November 21, 2009

Seminoles hope to earn bowl eligibility Saturday

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