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BRIAN LANDMANThe Seminoles need only to be released from the BCS pool, which is likely to happen today.
Gator Bowl officials can't deliver an invitation to Florida State for its New Year's Day game yet, but they've printed one, addressed the envelope, sealed it and affixed the proper postage.
The holdup? The Bowl Championship Series hasn't released the Seminoles from its pool of possible participants. They can still win a share of the ACC title if Miami beats Virginia Tech on Saturday. Even if that were to occur, the Seminoles can't win the league tiebreaker that determines the berth to the BCS. A three-way tie among Miami, FSU and Virginia Tech would be broken by the BCS standings, and Miami is already well ahead of FSU.
"We believe Florida State will be released (today)," Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett said Monday morning, "and if they are, we will immediately invite Florida State to play West Virginia."
The bowl has a news conference tentatively scheduled for this afternoon.
"I fully anticipate that we will receive a formal invitation soon from the Toyota Gator Bowl, and we would enthusiastically welcome the chance to play in Jacksonville on New Year's Day," FSU athletic director Dave Hart said in a statement. "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."
The Seminoles, No. 16 in the Associated Press poll, are 4-0-1 in the Gator Bowl, most recently beating Virginia Tech 30-17 in the 2002 game. West Virginia (8-3), unranked in the AP poll after losing its last two Big East games to Boston College and Pittsburgh, accepted its bid for a fifth Gator Bowl on Monday afternoon.
"Our focus we thought was to try to win the Big East outright and get a BCS (bid)," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We just didn't get it done. Now we've got to get past that and realize, "Hey, we're not settling for the Gator Bowl; we got awarded the Gator Bowl based on the performance of the entire year.' "
If he's looking to motivate his players, all he has to do is mention a 41-7 loss to Maryland in the 2003 Gator Bowl. On a personal note, he sure wouldn't mind getting a W against Bobby Bowden, someone he has known well for almost two decades.
His relationship with the Bowdens began when he volunteered at the Bowden Academy, a summer camp for quarterbacks and receivers. Rodriguez also served as an assistant to Tommy Bowden for two years at Tulane and two at Clemson before he returned to his alma mater four years ago.
"A lot of personal philosophies and ideas that I've developed through my young coaching career came from the Bowden family. I'm proud to say that," he said. "He's a true legend of the game. I've never coached against him as a head coach, I have as an assistant at Clemson, but it would be a thrill do to that. But at the same time, it would be quite challenging because I know how good their coaching staff is and how talented their players are."
But why would the Gator Bowl jump at FSU when it could have waited until Saturday night and chosen between Virginia Tech or Miami?
Well, the Hokies played, and beat, West Virginia 19-13 on Oct. 2, and Gator Bowl officials weren't enamored of a regular-season rematch. Been there, done that last year.
As for the Hurricanes, a loss to Tech this weekend would be their third conference loss, one more than FSU. That would give the Seminoles sole possession of second, despite their season-opening overtime loss at Miami. The more compelling number has to do with 350 wins: Bowden's Division I-A record.
"When you're in this state, it's hard to pass on the winningest coach in college football," Catlett said. "He turns a lot of TV sets on around the nation."
The Gator Bowl on NBC at 12:30 p.m. competes with the Outback on ESPN and the Cotton on Fox, both of which kick off at 11 a.m., as well as the Capital One Bowl on ABC, which begins at 1. The drawback with FSU is that its fans might drive in on game day, which doesn't help the hotel business. Still, that's why the Gator chose West Virginia over Boston College. The Mountaineers have a history of traveling to Jacksonville.
Before renovation and reconfiguration at Alltel Stadium in 1995, the largest crowd in the bowl's history came in 1989 between West Virginia and Clemson, which drew 82,911. Last season's game drew 78,892, a record since 1995.
"We expect our fifth sellout in six years," Catlett said. "It just made sense to our selection committee."
GATOR BOWLWHEN/WHERE: 12:30 p.m. Jan.1; Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville.
TICKETS: $38.75 and $58.75 plus service charges available at Ticketmaster. Call (727) 898-2100 or (813) 287-8844 or go online at www.ticketmaster.com Fans also can go to www.seminoles.com once FSU is officially invited.