20-Year Nole Anniversary: FSU Rallies Past Clemson in Bowden Bowl I

The 1999 season featured a lot of firsts for Bobby Bowden and the Florida State football program.

That season saw Bowden complete his only perfect season as FSU became the first team in college football history to go wire-to-wire as No. 1. This day 20 years ago saw a college football first as father and son squared off as head coaches.

On Oct. 23, 1999, the top-ranked Seminoles arrived at the place known as Death Valley as the legendary Bowden faced son Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers would give FSU all it wanted, but when all was said and done, the Seminoles managed to escape with a 17-14 victory.

“It was important for us to be part of the father-son game,” said Tarlos Thomas, a starting tackle for FSU in 1999. “It was more of a motivator for Clemson. It was cold and we were rusty. We wanted to win that game and we wanted to win badly.”

The contest was star receiver Peter Warrick’s first game back from a 2-game suspension, but the Clemson defense had stifled the FSU offense for most of the night. The Tigers took a 14-3 lead into the locker room behind a touchdown pass from Woodrow Dantzler to Rod Gardner and a touchdown run by running back Travis Zachery.

FSU kicker’s Sebastian Janikowski’s second field goal of the night cut the lead to eight early in the third quarter. The Seminoles would not find the end zone until the final seconds of the period as running back Travis Minor scored from a yard out. FSU drew even when quarterback Chris Weinke found fullback Dan Kendra for the 2-point conversion.

Defenses continued to dominate into the fourth quarter, but the combination of Weinke and senior wide receiver Ron Dugans connected three times on a critical drive to move the Seminoles inside the Clemson 25-yard-line. With 5:26 to go, Janikowski’s third field goal of the night — this one from 39 yards out — put FSU ahead for good.

“That guy was phenomenal,” Thomas said of Janikowski. “He looked like an offensive lineman, but he was incredible.”

Dantzler and the Tigers would work their way inside the FSU 25-yard-line where Tommy Bowden had a decision to make. On 4th-and-short, Clemson elected to try to tie the game with kicker Tony Lazzara, but his kick sailed to the left. Minor needed two carries to pick up a first down and cement the contest.

Minor finished with 100 yards rushing in the contest. Warrick and Dugans combined for 18 catches and more than 200 yards receiving. Defensive tackle Corey Simon tallied 10 tackles, three for loss and a sack. Reggie Durden recorded an interception for the Seminoles.

The victory for Bowden was not only the first over his son, but the 300th of his career. Daddy knew best for the first four years of the “Bowden Bowl” before Clemson finally broke through with an upset in 2003. As for the 1999 season, that would serve as the closest contest for the eventual national champions and it happened on this day 20 years ago.

“No matter how good your team is, you always have that game where you find out what you’re made of,” Thomas said. “For us, it was that night in Clemson.”

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.