Possible game with FSU or Miami next year

[Guest HowieP1]

IF we make it to the Gator Bowl!  ;D

Nov 29, 8:22 PM

Gator Bowl grabs FSU

Matchup comes as a consolation to West Virginia

BY BILL VILONA

FLORIDA TODAY

TALLAHASSEE -- Their football seasons have mirrored in disappointment.

Fitting, perhaps, that Florida State and West Virginia should battle for a consolation prize on New Year's Day in the Gator Bowl. The Toyota Gator Bowl

What: 59th Gator Bowl

Who: Florida State (8-3) vs. West Virginia (8-3).

When: Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m.

Where: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville TV: NBC (nationally televised)

Tickets: Priced between $38.75-$58.75, available online at www.gatorbowl.com, Ticketron, or through FSU official web site (www.seminoles.com).

Common opponents: West Virginia defeated Maryland 19-16 and defeated Syracuse 27-6. Florida State lost to Maryland 20-17, defeated Syracuse 17-13.

The expected matchup became reality Monday when Gator Bowl officials announced their decision to select the Mountaineers (8-3) as the Big East Conference representative for the Jan. 1 game in Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on NBC.

The Seminoles (8-3) will accept the Gator Bowl invite today, once they are officially released from the Bowl Championship Series pool of teams. Officials of the BCS meet this afternoon to release teams which can't qualify for the four major bowls.

"This year, our focus was to try and win the Big East outright and get a BCS bowl, and we just didn't get it done," said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, whose team lost at Pittsburgh (16-13) on Thanksgiving night, ruining the Mountaineers' quest to win the Big East title.

Instead, the Mountaineers fell into a four-way tie atop the Big East standings, but will lose all tiebreakers for the BCS bowl, no matter how Pitt fares in its final game Saturday at South Florida.

"Now, we must get past that, and realize we're not settling for a Gator Bowl bid," Rodriguez said. "We got awarded a Gator Bowl based on performance of the entire year and we need to go down there with a great attitude."

Florida State can relate. Like West Virginia, the Seminoles were once among the national-title contenders until their Oct. 30 loss at Maryland, followed by the season-ending loss to rival Florida.

Even though the Seminoles could finish in a three-way tie for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, if Miami beats Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Seminoles lose the tiebreaker as the lowest ranked team in the BCS standings.

"We have to wait for the BCS to release Florida State," said Gator Bowl executive director Rick Catlett, explaining why the Seminoles weren't formally announced Monday. "With their (Seminoles) opportunity to be co-champions, they (BCS officials) have been a little cautious in doing that."

But there is no more suspense. The Seminoles are No. 18 in the latest BCS standings. Virginia Tech is 12th; Miami is No. 10. Florida State cannot pass either team and qualify for the BCS bid.

That means the winner of Saturday's Miami-Virginia Tech matchup in the Orange Bowl becomes the ACC representative and likely will play in the Sugar Bowl against either Auburn or Tennessee.

The Virginia Tech-Miami loser will play in the Peach Bowl against Florida or Alabama.

While Seminoles' coach Bobby Bowden was unavailable for comment, athletic director Dave Hart acknowledged the Gator Bowl formality in a statement. It's the Seminoles' second Gator Bowl trip in four seasons. They defeated Virginia Tech 30-17 following the 2001 season -- their last bowl victory.

Florida State immediately began selling tickets, priced at $40.00 apiece. Tickets can be purchased through the school's web site (www.seminoles.com) or by phone at 1-888-FSU-NOLE.

"The large number of Seminole fans in the Jacksonville area and the close proximity to Tallahassee make it a great game for our fans to attend," Hart said.

That is also the hope of Gator Bowl organizers. But having Florida State increased the Gator Bowl's need to get West Virginia, which traditionally travels with thousands of fans. Along with selling tickets, all bowl games need to fill hotel rooms and create economic impact.

"West Virginia is one of those unique teams that has an unbelievable fans base that supports their university stronger than 90-percent of the other ones (college teams' fans)," said Catlett, speaking to The Dominion Post in Morgantown, W.Va.

The Gator Bowl matchup presents a couple storylines for the game's organizers to market.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden spent six seasons (1970-75) as West Virginia head coach. He was nearly fired in 1974, following a 4-7 season, which remains his worst in 39 years as a head coach.

The only time Bowden faced his former team was in the 1982 Gator Bowl, played in a rainstorm in Jacksonville, and Florida State won 31-12. West Virginia is 0-4 in the Gator Bowl, losing to Maryland (41-7) last year in a rematch of the Mountaineers' regular-season loss.

Vilona, a staff writer at the Pensacola News-Journal, covers Florida State sports for FLORIDA TODAY.

[E.T.]

Go WVU !

They've had a disappointing year ... as did f$u ... beat the 'noles.

Go BULLS !!!

[smazza]

i will believe it when i see it

[BullDoug]

Just bought my Dad tickets to the Gator Bowl.  $98 for two and that's the cheap seats!  He's from Oceana, WV and a FSU fan too.  He's really a Bobbie fan but he is a Bull fan too so he's not all bad.