CLEMSON, S.C. — Had Tommy Bowden gone into dentistry, as his parents had hoped, he might be doing bridge work on his dad instead of, in all likelihood, providing the bridge to his dad's 300th victory.
As fate would have it, the only cavity in need of filling tonight is cavernous 81,474-seat Clemson Memorial Stadium, otherwise known as "Death Valley," for the meeting of Florida State (7-0) and Clemson (3-3) in a historic battle of Bowdens.
In the first father-son coaching matchup in Division I football history, Bobby Bowden seeks his 300th win against son Tommy, who is looking for victory No. 22.
"I could have never put this together as it has turned out," Bobby Bowden said this week. "It's amazing how it turned out. I can't believe it. Just the fact the 300th win came up. How could it all match up?"
The senior Bowden took a significant step toward the milestone Friday, when star wide receiver Peter Warrick was cleared to play after pleading guilty to misdemeanor petty theft charges for his role in a September department store scam in which he and a teammate received more than $400 worth of clothes for $21.40.
The school's president, Sandy D'Alemberte, would not have allowed Warrick to play if jail time were part of the plea agreement.
Warrick missed the last two games because school rules prohibited him from playing while facing felony charges.
Under the agreement, Warrick will serve one year probation, donate the clothes to the Children's Home Society, pay $579 restitution, $295 in court costs, have no contact with the store and spend 30 days on a work program where he will probably clean trash from city streets.
As for Tommy Bowden's career in dentistry, well, forget about it. Of Ann and Bobby's four sons, Tommy was the most likely to follow his father into coaching.
In a sixth-grade essay, Tommy made clear his intention to one day be a coach.
Yet, despite having one of the most famous last names in the business, Tommy languished for 19 seasons as an assistant before finally landing the Tulane job in 1997, at 43.
In 1993, Tommy was an assistant at Auburn when Coach Pat Dye resigned under pressure. Instead of promoting Tommy, Auburn went outside and hired his younger brother, Terry, who was 26.
When Tulane hired Tommy four years later, he pounced on the opportunity, literally turning the program upside down. Tulane was 4-18 in the two seasons before Bowden and 18-4 in his two-year run.
Tommy says he does not plan on becoming a footnote in history at the expense of his father.
"I don't want the asterisk by me," he said. "I don't want to be the guy that pitched McGwire No. 70."
Tommy jokes that he didn't see much of his father as a kid.
"Never took me fishing, never took me hunting," he said. "He did vacation with us. He'd drop us off on a beach and go play golf. It's never been a big deal. I see him on TV all the time. I get to see him every Saturday."
Tommy will see plenty of his dad tonight.
"I'll be honest with you," Bobby said. "This game has nearly got the magnitude of when we play Florida and when we play Miami. I have a something-special feeling."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
