Final
Bowden avoids first losing campaign at Florida State
Dec 28, 2006 - 6:38 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- A dramatic second half by Florida State made things pleasant for two members of the Bowden family.Drew Weatherford completed 21-of-43 passes for 325 yards and Lorenzo Booker had five receptions for 117 yards for the Seminoles, who finished the season on an upbeat note with a 44-27 win over UCLA in the Emerald Bowl.
The Seminoles (7-6), who dropped four of their final six regular-season contests, came up big in the final two quarters, preventing coach Bobby Bowden from suffering his first losing campaign in 30 seasons at Florida State.
"I think this game will mean a whole lot because we lost the bowl game last year," Bowden said. "We think that UCLA was a very good football game. They beat the No. 2 team in the nation (Southern California) and I think this will give us some momentum heading into next year."
Bowden recorded his 20th bowl triumph and a Division I-A record 366th win in his son Jeff's finale as offensive coordinator.
"I'm glad that Jeff's last game at FSU turned out well for us," Bobby Bowden said. "And he is us. I'm not worried about Jeffrey. I didn't want him to resign, but I think he thought he was hurting me. You have to know that part of the game."
After Chane Moline gave UCLA a 27-23 lead with a nine-yard touchdown run with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter, Florida State broke open the contest in explosive fashion in the fourth.
Weatherford capped an 11-play, 90-yard drive by hitting Greg Carr for his 12th touchdown reception of the year and a 30-27 advantage with 9:32 left.
The Seminoles then forced UCLA to punt and scored six plays later on Booker's two-yard TD for a 37-27 bulge.
Bruins quarterback Patrick Cowan attempted to rally his team before sophomore cornerback Tony Carter returned an interception 87 yards to the end zone with 5:04 left.
"I just took a chance out there and it paid off," said Carter, who was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player. "I was reading the quarterback's eyes the whole way. It came right to me and then I just had to take off."
"Once we got the 10-point lead, our defense played a lot more loose and was able to make a big play," Weatherford said. "Finally, we just clicked. I felt much more comfortable in the second half. This was a big win for us, a great springboard."
In addition to his receiving totals, Booker also rushed for 91 yards on 22 carries and was selected as the Offensive MVP.
"This was our last chance to show everyone what we were capable of," Booker said. "It was our last chance to play together. That's what pushed us more than anything else. I think that's what got us over the hump."
Florida State linebacker Buster Davis recovered Chris Markey's fumble with five minutes remaining in the first quarter, leading to the Seminoles' first touchdown one play later, a 25-yard run by Booker.
UCLA wasted little time bouncing back on its next play from scrimmage, when Cowan found Brandon Breazell on a post pattern for a career-long 78-yard TD reception to tie the contest at 7-7.
The teams traded field goals before Cowan capped a nine-play, 72-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Junior Taylor for a 17-10 advantage with 8:40 left in the second quarter.
"We felt fine the whole game," Cowan said. "We just weren't able to finish. They put up 21 points in the fourth quarter and we weren't able to get any points. That was the difference."
Florida State scored 13 straight points bridging the second and third quarters, highlighted by Lawrence Timmons' return of Aaron Perez's blocked punt that gave the Seminoles a 23-20 lead.
Cowan was 15-of-36 for 240 yards and two interceptions and Markey rushed for 144 yards on 19 carries for UCLA (7-6).
"I played a good game but we wanted to win," Markey said. "We wanted this game for our seniors, but we lost. We gave it away. That's what I feel."
"A lot of effort went into (trying to) win this game," UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "You look at the score the next day and people will go, 'What happened?' But it was closer than it looked. I'm still encouraged with the effort of this team."
- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
FLORIDA ST 7 6 10 21 44
UCLA 10 10 7 0 27 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: FLORIDA ST - TD, LORENZO BOOKER 25 YD RUN (GARY
CISMESIA KICK), 10:10. FLORIDA
ST 7-0
UCLA - TD, BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS
FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN
M
Dec 27 11:46 PM
TD FLORIDA ST TONY CARTER 86 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:31 PM
TD FLORIDA ST TONY CARTER 86 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:31 PM- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD FLORIDA ST
TONY CARTER 86 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN
(GARY CISMESIA KICK)
FLORIDA ST 44
UCLA 27 5:04 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:31 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD FLORIDA ST
LORENZO BOOKER 3 YD RUN
(GARY CISMESIA KICK)
FLORIDA ST 37
UCLA 27 6:17 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:25 PM
TD FLORIDA ST GREG CARR 30 YD PASS FROM DREW WEATHERFORD (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:10 PM
TD FLORIDA ST GREG CARR 30 YD PASS FROM DREW WEATHERFORD (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:10 PM
TD FLORIDA ST GREG CARR 30 YD PASS FROM DREW WEATHERFORD (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:10 PM- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD FLORIDA ST
GREG CARR 30 YD PASS FROM DREW WEATHERFORD
(GARY CISMESIA KICK)
FLORIDA ST 30
UCLA 27 9:46 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 11:10 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
FLORIDA ST 7 6 10 23
UCLA 10 10 7 27 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: FLORIDA ST - TD, LORENZO BOOKER 25 YD RUN (GARY
CISMESIA KICK), 10:10. FLORIDA
ST 7-0
UCLA - TD, BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS
FROM PATRICK COWAN (
Dec 27 10:49 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD UCLA
CHAD MOLINE 7 YD RUN
(JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
FLORIDA ST 23
UCLA 27 5:49 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 10:28 PM
TD FLORIDA ST LAWRENCE TIMMONS 25 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 10:18 PM
TD FLORIDA ST LAWRENCE TIMMONS 25 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT (GARY CISMESIA KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 10:18 PM- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD FLORIDA ST
LAWRENCE TIMMONS 25 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT
(GARY CISMESIA KICK)
FLORIDA ST 23
UCLA 20 8:58 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 10:18 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
FG FLORIDA ST
GARY CISMESIA 36 YD
FLORIDA ST 16
UCLA 20 11:29 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 10:09 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
FLORIDA ST 7 6 13
UCLA 10 10 20 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: FLORIDA ST - TD, LORENZO BOOKER 25 YD RUN (GARY
CISMESIA KICK), 10:10. FLORIDA
ST 7-0
UCLA - TD, BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS
FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUST
Dec 27 9:40 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
FG FLORIDA ST
GARY CISMESIA 21 YD
FLORIDA ST 13
UCLA 20 0:25 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:38 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
FG UCLA
JUSTIN MEDLOCK 19 YD
FLORIDA ST 10
UCLA 20 2:34 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:26 PM
TD UCLA JUNIOR TAYLOR 7 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:12 PM
TD UCLA JUNIOR TAYLOR 7 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:12 PM
TD UCLA JUNIOR TAYLOR 7 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:12 PM- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD UCLA
JUNIOR TAYLOR 7 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN
(JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
FLORIDA ST 10
UCLA 17 8:40 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 9:12 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
FG FLORIDA ST
GARY CISMESIA 39 YD
FLORIDA ST 10
UCLA 10 12:20 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:59 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
FLORIDA ST 7 7
UCLA 10 10 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: FLORIDA ST - TD, LORENZO BOOKER 25 YD RUN (GARY
CISMESIA KICK), 10:10. FLORIDA
ST 7-0
UCLA - TD, BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS
FROM PATRICK COWAN (
Dec 27 8:48 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
FG UCLA
JUSTIN MEDLOCK 47 YD
FLORIDA ST 7
UCLA 10 0:20 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:45 PM
TD UCLA BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:34 PM
TD UCLA BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:34 PM
TD UCLA BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN (JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:34 PM- EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD UCLA
BRANDON BREAZELL 78 YD PASS FROM PATRICK COWAN
(JUSTIN MEDLOCK KICK)
FLORIDA ST 7
UCLA 7 4:16 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:34 PM - EMERALD BOWL
AT SAN FRANCISCO CA
NCAAF EMERALD BOWL
TD FLORIDA ST
LORENZO BOOKER 25 YD RUN
(GARY CISMESIA KICK)
FLORIDA ST 7
UCLA 0 4:50 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Florida State vs. UCLADec 27 8:28 PM
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