Aaugh!: Florida State and Bobby Bowden Tomahawk Flop Again vs. Miami

Bobby Bowden must feel like Charlie Brown lying on his back after Lucy’s just enticed him into trying another kick before pulling the ball away at the last second to make him look foolish.

Once again, Bowden was enticed into believing his Florida State Seminoles would come away with a win against his dreaded nemesis, the Miami Hurricanes. They were the more experienced team and more highly ranked team. Bowden is a better coach than Randy Shannon, everyone said. The 'Canes stood no chance this time.

Thankfully, for Bowden, this was not a repeat of the "Far Right" and "Far Left" fiascos he suffered through in earlier matches between his 'Noles and the 'Canes. Sadly, for him, it was a loss nonetheless, as Florida State’s Jarmon Fortson failed to get his hands under the ball thrown low by quarterback Christian Ponder in the end zone that would have given his team the lead and Florida State dropped another one to Miami, 38-34.

The Labor Day showdown was a matchup to behold. As with many contests between these two teams, there was no dearth of drama and amazing plays. This was a back-and-forth affair that featured some of the best college football has to offer, and America got its money’s worth on a night that saw Miami quarterback Jacory Harris come into his own.

Even with an ailing arm late in the game, Harris threw for 386 yards, including a 40-yard pass to Travis Benjamin that led to a Miami rushing touchdown with 1:53 left in the game and gave Miami the lead for good. All in all, Harris was 21-of-34 for two touchdowns and two interceptions, but it was his poise in a game that saw numerous lead changes that was most important.

"This kid," said Miami running back Javarris James, "he's real poised."

Florida State's signal-caller, Ponder, didn’t have a bad night himself, going 24-of-41 for a career-best 294 yards and two touchdowns. However, his efforts weren’t enough to overcome the amazing play of Harris and his teammates.

In the end, Harris had to rely heavily on those teammates, as he watched from the sidelines as his defense tried to hold the lead he’d given them just minutes before.

As Ponder and the Seminoles marched down the field to try and win the game, all Harris could do was stand and watch, holding his banged-up arm, hoping he’d done enough and that his teammates wouldn’t let him down.

Of course, they wouldn’t, as they held their ground and forced Bowden to endure another tough loss to his most hated rivals. Bowden himself took it like the gentleman he is, saying, “It was a great game, though. I guess it sounds funny to hear a losing coach say that.”

His counterpart, Shannon, who has been vilified of late by some in the local media and on various Hurricanes sports blogs, had this to say:

“Another typical Miami-Florida State game. It’s what you look forward to when you play Florida State. It seems the last couple of years it comes down to the last play.”

Yes, Randy, it always seems to come down to that when the 'Noles take on the 'Canes. And sadly, for Bowden, it seems he’ll forever have someone snatching that ball away from him right before he can kick it, landing him smack on his back. It’s been other coaches throughout the years, from Jimmy Johnson to Butch Davis and others. Now it’s Shannon’s turn.

Sorry about that, Bobby. Wanna try again? We’ll hold the ball for ya, bud...

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All quotes are courtesy of the Associated Press’ coverage of the game.