Sports

Dabgummit! Bowden wants to raze ‘Canes

TALLAHASSEE — Bobby Bowden has just about everything he ever wanted, with nearly 400 wins, two national titles and more Atlantic Coast Conference rings than fingers.

And still, one opponent makes him wonder about the ones that got away.

“Woulda’ gotten more, too,” the Florida State coach said, “if not for Miami.”

Indeed, no team has vexed Bowden more than the Hurricanes — whom he’ll see tonight in Tallahassee for perhaps the final time.

Florida State vs. Miami. Maybe it’s not THE game any more, but to the Sunshine State rivals, not much looms larger. They’ll cap college football’s opening weekend in the first ACC game of 2009, the 18th-ranked ‘Noles looking for their fourth win in five meetings, the ‘Canes seeking the big victory that’s been sorely lacking in recent seasons.

“You want to be put in these situations,” Miami quarterback Jacory Harris said. “Who doesn’t want to be playing against the Florida State Seminoles up there in Tallahassee on Labor Day, first game of the season? It’s something that a lot of kids want to do and I’m just one of the kids who was blessed to be here in this situation.”

Harris is 19. Bowden is 79.

There’s no generation gap when these teams tussle, however.

Miami visits Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium every other year, so the next trip isn’t until 2011. By then, it seems likely that Bowden will have stepped down. His expected successor, FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, has a deal that says he’ll be due $5 million if he isn’t the coach after the 2010 season.

So when Bowden trots onto the field tonight, it could very well be the last time he sees the “U” on the other sideline. That might not exactly break the coach’s heart: He’s 14-20 against Miami, and perhaps unbelievably, a mere 7-9 when the Hurricanes visit the stadium that now bears his name.

It’s the fourth time Miami and Florida State have opened a season against each other in the last six years. Florida State won two of the previous three, with no team scoring more than 16 points in any of those matchups.