In a game that they weren’t expected to win, Florida State beat West Virginia 33-21 in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day and won in head coach Bobby Bowden’s final game for the Seminoles.

Florida State definitely had an advantage when West Virginia starting quarterback Jarrett Brown left the game late in the first half because of an ankle injury. But even with that advantage, the Mountaineers couldn’t stop the run at that was the difference in the end. The Seminoles racked up 225 yards on the ground, which included 121 yards by sophomore Jermaine Thomas, who also had two touchdowns.

Quarterback E.J. Manuel also grew today as a player. He completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts for 189 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed 14 times for 69 yards and a touchdown and didn’t make any big mistakes to cost his team.

With Manuel and Thomas in the backfield, the Seminoles have a bright future ahead of them. But while their future was on full display today, it was also nice to see their immediate past go out on a high note. Bowden is a college football coaching legend and whether FSU fans wanted to see him gone or not, they have to admit that he’s done more good for the Seminoles over the years than bad.

Way to go out on top, Bobby.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Simply put, Bobby Bowden is a legend and will go down as one of the greatest head coaches in college football history. He has the fourth most wins (388) of any college coach, has won 12 ACC Championships and two national titles. He also has the second best all-time record in bowl games at 21-10-1 and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Now that he has decided to retire, we felt it would be appropriate to honor one of college football’s best coaches by compiling a list of the 10 best NFL players that played under Bowden at Florida State. Enjoy.

1. Deion Sanders, CB (Year Drafted: 1989)
Whether you liked his brash attitude or not, nobody can deny how good “Neon Deion” was as a player. He brought true meaning to the phrase “shutdown corner” while instilling excitement and thrill into the pro game. Nobody has ever blanketed one side of the field like Sanders could and perhaps nobody ever will. He was so good that quarterbacks avoided throwing to his side of the field not only in fear of being picked off by Sanders, but also in concern that he would return the gift for six points. And not only was he one of the greatest cover corners to ever don a pair of cleats, but he was also a phenomenal punt returner as well. When his career finally wrapped up, Deion had accumulated 53 interceptions, eight Pro Bowl appearances, two Super Bowl victories, a 1994 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He was also an incredibly rare two-sport athlete and to this day, young corners still try to emulate the way he played the game. (Uh, outside of his shoddy tackling that is.)

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