Bobby Bowden

Bear Bryant...28 consecutive winning seasons (1955-82) Bobby Bowden...26 (1977-present) Tom Osborne...25 (1973-97) Joe Paterno...21 (1967-87) LaVell Edwards...19 (1974-92) Woody Hayes...19 (1947-65) Darrell Royal...19 (1957-75) * Source: World Features Syndicate

Terry Bowden, head football coach at Salem College in Salem, W. Va., has resigned to take an assistant coaching job at the University of Akron under Gerry Faust. Bowden, 29 and the son of Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, had a 19-13 record in three years at Salem, an NAIA school.

Bobby Bowden of Florida State has signed a lifetime contract, making him one of the highest-paid football coaches in the nation. Three months after reaching a tentative agreement, Bowden signed the contract Thursday, that will pay him up to $708,692 this year and $690,000 in subsequent years. "It was obviously my objective and the university's to keep Bobby Bowden, and this contract shows that," Athletic Director Bob Goin said.

They call it tough love, and Bobby Bowden doled out a bundle to his son Tommy on Saturday night. Chris Weinke threw for 521 yards and No. 4 Florida State rolled to a 54-7 victory, turning Bowden Bowl II into a complete embarrassment for No. 10 Clemson and Coach Tommy Bowden. "I felt bad, I really felt bad," Bobby Bowden said after improving to 2-0 in the father-son coaching matchup. "But the only thing I could tell him is that I've been through it. I said, 'You're young.

Sophomore Wyatt Sexton will make his first start at quarterback for Florida State, replacing injured Chris Rix for Saturday's home game against North Carolina. Rix sprained his right ankle Saturday, and Coach Bobby Bowden said Monday he would be out at least two weeks. * Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell will start at quarterback when Washington visits Stanford this weekend, Coach Keith Gilbertson said. Casey Paus, a junior, started the first three games....

Bobby Bowden passed Joe Paterno as the winningest coach in Division I-A history, picking up career victory No. 339 after No. 6 Florida State defeated Wake Forest, 48-24, and clinched at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title. As has been his custom, Bowden was sheepish about passing his good friend Paterno. It's certainly possible they could go on trading places until one of them retires, although neither appears ready to call it quits. "It's something that happened," Bowden said.

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, who was considered to be one of the leading candidates to succeed Ray Perkins as Alabama football coach, said he is withdrawing his name from consideration for the job. A spokesman for Florida State, which beat Indiana, 27-13, in the All-American Bowl on New Year's Eve to complete a 7-4-1 season, said that Bowden plans to meet with university President Bernard F. Sliger today to inform him of his decision to stay at the school.