Saturday’s Week 2 contest against Samford probably isn’t one that Florida State fans had circled on their calendar, but the two schools have some significant history.
As many may know, Samford — formerly known as Howard College — is the alma mater of the man credited with bringing Florida State football to national acclaim, Bobby Bowden. Bowden spent four years in the Bulldog backfield from 1949-52 and it would be then Howard College that gave the legend his first opportunity as a coach in 1954 when Bowden joined the staff as an assistant.
Bowden would spend two years as an assistant at the Birmingham school before getting his first head coaching job at South Georgia State College. After a 3-year stint in Douglas, Georgia, Bowden returned home to take over the now Samford program as head coach. In four years as the head man of the Bulldogs from 1959-62, Bowden went 31-6.
Success in his native Birmingham ultimately led Bowden to Tallahassee for the first time. Bowden served as an assistant at FSU from 1963-65 under head coach Bill Peterson, coaching wide receivers, which included legend Fred Biletnikoff. Bowden was a member of the 1964 staff that watched the program defeat Florida and finish ranked for the first time.
For the next 10 years, Bowden made his home in Morgantown as a coach at West Virginia. After four years as offensive coordinator, Bowden would spend the next six as head coach, compiling a 42-26 record. In 1976, Bowden would return to Tallahassee as head coach, where he would spend the next 34 years and lead the program to two national championships, a number of firsts and many unprecedented streaks that remain intact to this day.
In 2010, Bowden was succeeded by another Samford alum, Jimbo Fisher. Fisher’s debut and first win would ultimately come against Samford. Despite being a record-setting quarterback at Samford, Fisher showed little mercy on his alma mater as the Seminoles opened the season with a 59-6 victory.
Florida State head coach Willie Taggart also hopes a match-up with Samford results in his first win with the Seminoles. Taggart has embraced FSU’s program history since being hired and has been enthusiastic about bringing the legendary Bowden back into the fray.
Saturday’s contest will be just the third meeting between the schools on the football field. The first came in 1950 as the Seminoles defeated then Howard, 20-6. The Bulldogs’ early 6-0 lead in the second quarter would be the largest of one of only two deficits that FSU faced all year during a perfect 8-0 season — the first undefeated season in school history.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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