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Bowden wants to make good use of final games

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said he hopes his team views the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech on Dec.1 and a trip to a second-tier bowl as a start and not an ending.

"What you'd like to do now is get some dadgum momentum going into next year," he said Sunday. At this point, there are no other goals for him to use as motivation. The Seminoles' streak of nine consecutive ACC titles is history.

Ditto for their 14 consecutive 10-win seasons and top 5 finishes in the Associated Press poll. Heck, they must win their last two just for a chance to get into the final poll.

"The things you were trying to protect have been taken away," Bowden said, a fact that wasn't lost on the Florida fans who chanted derisively about the 6-4 Seminoles in the waning moments of Saturday's 37-13 loss in Gainesville.

"The kids have to go out and play on their own personal love of playing the game now. You'd like to win the next game and the next game. It would give you good momentum going into spring training. It would give you a good springboard. It doesn't have to happen for next year, but that sure would be nice."

Bowden also said he might use the last two games to give younger players more experience. Don't get him wrong. He wants to win, but he wants to see more of freshman receivers Craphonso Thorpe and P.K. Sam. Sam caught his first touchdown pass Saturday.

Defensively, FSU has used sophomore cornerback Leroy Smith and freshman safety Claudius Osei more lately. OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN: Before Saturday, Bowden said the last time he tried a throwback pass to the quarterback was 1995 against Virginia. It didn't work then and it didn't work Saturday against the Gators.

Even coach Steve Spurrier yelled for the defense to be ready on the fourth and 1 play.

"How did they know?" said Bowden, who overruled offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden's suggestion to try a field goal. "We hadn't done it in years. We're getting into some kind of pattern. There's something we do that they saw. ... I would call him and ask, but I don't think he'd tell me."

BOWL PROSPECTS: Bowden said he hasn't thought about what bowl he'd prefer, the Jan.1 Gator against a Big East team or the Dec.31 Peach against an SEC team. It might be impossible for Jacksonville to pass on FSU if it beats Georgia Tech. But the Seminoles might not be the best fit. The Peach could set up a more intriguing matchup of Bowden and FSU against Lou Holtz and South Carolina.

THE LAST WORD: "The fun part for our team is to try to start it again. 'Let's revive it. Let's get it going again.' I don't want to dwell too much on what we've done in the past. When I retire, I will." -- Bowden on falling out of the AP poll for the first time since 1989.

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