 Orange Bowl could be termed the Old Timer’s Bowl
Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno lead Florida State and Penn State respectively into the Orange Bowl in a battle between the two all-time leaders in college coaching victories. Bowden has 359, while Paterno has 353.
Neither team was supposed to be in the Orange Bowl at the end of this season. It was even questionable whether either coach would still have his job. The two coaches have become friends, partly due to their ages. "As we've grown older, there ain't nobody else left," Bowden said. "Everybody has been fired or is gone or retired. So we naturally gravitate to each other." Said Paterno: "We're the only two guys who go to bed at 8 o'clock."
Bowden is 76, while Paterno turns 79 this month. Paterno wasn’t even expected to be back for this season, but Penn State bounced back with a 10-1 season and is ranked #3. Florida State had lost three straight before a huge upset of Virginia Tech landed them in the Orange Bowl against Penn State.
"We should have been in Boise, and we're going to Miami," Bowden said. "Who would have imagined it? I don't feel guilty, but it would probably be the next thing to it."
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Tom Wilkinson
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