GATOR BOWL Bowden recalls the bad old days

He was once hung in effigy when he was the coach at West Virginia.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Bobby Bowden's career can be summed up in art.
A 9-foot bronze statue outside Florida State's football stadium honors the winningest coach in Division I football.
But 30 years ago, while coaching at West Virginia, he was hung in effigy and disparaged on handwritten signs by fans who sought his ouster during his first losing season.
On Saturday, Bowden will coach against the school where he learned to handle adversity, as No. 17 Florida State (8-3) plays West Virginia (8-3) in the Gator Bowl.
"It does bring back a different feeling, but not one of animosity towards them. Not one bit," Bowden said. "It brings back a sentiment of playing my old school. I was there 10 years. I had four children graduate from there. I love the people there."
Mountaineer career
Bowden was West Virginia's offensive coordinator for four seasons, then became head coach in 1970.
He went 42-26 in six seasons and took the Mountaineers to two bowl games, a feat no previous coach at the school had accomplished.
But there were games that Bowden would rather forget.
On homecoming weekend in 1970, West Virginia lost to Duke in a game in which Bowden decided to punt from the Blue Devils' 30. The ball was kicked clear out of the Mountaineers' tiny, hillside stadium.
The following week, West Virginia led Pittsburgh 35-8 at halftime but ended up losing 36-35.
Despite finishing 8-3, Bowden's decisions were being questioned.
His resolve was tested by a 4-7 season in 1974.
"There was a boy's dorm right across the street from my office. And some kid hung a big sheet out there -- 'Bye Bye Bobby.' I can't forget that," Bowden said. "I saw how quick people will turn on you. I saw how quickly friends would turn on you, how quickly people who used to invite me to parties quit inviting me."
When that happened, Bowden told his wife, Ann, that if they had the chance to leave, they had every right to do so, "because people are fickle, and this is a fickle profession," he said.
On to Tallahassee
By 1976, he took over a Florida State program that had three straight losing seasons.
The Seminoles have had only one since, winning two national championships. He's won more games than the seven previous Florida State coaches combined and has taken his teams to 23 straight bowls, including 14 straight on New Year's Day or later.
Bowden, who turned 75 in November, will meet West Virginia for the second time. In 1982, the Seminoles beat the Mountaineers 31-12 in a driving rain in the Gator Bowl.
"They made so many mistakes and allowed us to do it," Bowden recalled.
Rich Rodriguez was a defensive back on that West Virginia team and now is in his fourth season as the Mountaineers' coach. He served as an assistant at Salem College shortly after Jeff Bowden was an assistant there and Terry Bowden was the coach. He also was offensive coordinator at Tulane and Clemson under Tommy Bowden.
Rodriguez can sympathize with Bowden's plight in West Virginia.
"He had one little bump in the road there, and as fans do sometimes, they want to remember the bad more than the good," Rodriguez said Thursday. "He did a lot more good than bad, I promise you that."