Florida State Bows Out

#42 Texas A&M – 17
#23 Florida State – 7

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Tuesday saw #23 Florida State's exit from the tournament, as well as the end of Bobby Bowden's 56 year coaching career. Bowden's Seminoles were defeated by #42 Texas A&M, 17-7. The 'Noles lost despite outgaining A&M and getting a good performance from QB Christian Ponder. FSU's potent ground attack struggled, as they were held to eleven yards rushing. Senior DE Paul Freeney led the way for the Aggies with five tackles and three sacks.

Bobby Bowden retires as the second winningest coach in D-1A history with a career record of 377-129-4, after vacating twelve wins due to academic violations. As the clock expired, several Seminoles lifted the coach up on their shoulders, but he quickly demanded that they put him down. "I'm dadgum 80!" he explained following the game. The loss ends a streak of 32 consecutive winning seasons for Florida State. Their last losing season was 1976-77, Coach Bowden's first year at the helm. As the crowd exited, the PA played "It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" by Boyz II Men, Bowden's favorite all-male R&B a capella quartet.

Texas A&M notched its first ever victory over Florida State in five tries dating back to 1967. They will face the winner of #10 Oregon and #55 UConn in the second round.

Stats: 
Texas A&M
DE Paul Freeney – 5 tackles, 3 sacks
MLB Matt Featherston – FF, sack
DE Matt Moss – FR, sack