Appalachian State Mountaineers

FSU Football's Most Memorable Bowl Wins: No. 6

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:41 a.m. ET

Fansided, Jason Parker/FanSided via Chop Chat

FSU football is heading back to another bowl game – here’s a look at the one of the more memorable postseason games in program history.

On January 2nd, 1950, the Florida State Seminoles made program history in just their third season of play. FSU football traveled from Tallahassee to Tampa to take on the Wofford Terriers in the Cigar Bowl – the first time the ‘Noles had been selected to play in a postseason bowl game since the program started.

This season, the Seminoles will take part in their 46th all-time bowl game when they play in the (bowl game) against the (opponent). It will be another in the list of memorable postseason contests for FSU football – a list that has taken the team everywhere from Miami to San Francisco and Atlanta to Dallas and points all over the place.

But, which bowl games have truly been the best ever for the Seminoles? Here’s a look at another memorable moment in the postseason for Florida State.

No. 6 – 2010 Gator Bowl (Florida State 33 West Virginia 21)

If there was ever a bittersweet bowl win in the history of the FSU football program, it would be the one in Jacksonville on a cold and rainy New Years Day. After a season of where the ‘Noles had to win late just to be bowl eligible, Bobby Bowden decided he was going to step down following this bowl game – something that didn’t sit well with many fans who felt he was pushed out the door by some.

The bowl committee worked all their back channels to get the Seminoles in town to face the team Bowden coached before heading to Tallahassee. After a pregame ceremony that was emotional and the start of the long goodbye, the Mountaineers decided they wanted to ruin the party by jumping out to a 14-3 lead after the first quarter – leaving the ‘Noles staring down the barrel of their first losing season since Bowden’s first year in 1976.

In the second quarter, Jermaine Thomas got his first touchdown of the game and Dustin Hopkins nailed a momentum swinging field goal before the half to cut the deficit to one. In the second half, the ‘Noles outscored WVU 20-7, including another score from Thomas and one from E.J. Manuel, to send Bowden and defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews out with wins in their final games with the program.

It may be one of the only times in history that a coach is carried off the field following a 7-6 season, but it was the end of an era that we may never see again in all of sports. Bowden gave over three decades to FSU football and truly made it into what it hopefully always will be – one of the top national powers out there.