A smarter way to bet

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) --  No more half orange-half maroon
sweatshirts, divided loyalties or hurt feelings. College
football's most famous family no longer has to sweat the Bowden
Bowl.

Since father Bobby and son Tommy first faced off in 1999, the
yearly Florida State-Clemson matchup turned from a celebration
of the family legacy into a game no Bowden looked forward to.
These days with son Tommy retired, father Bobby is glad the
focus is back on football when the teams play at Death Valley on
Saturday night.

"It does take that part away," the Seminoles longtime coach
said.

It's the first trip to Clemson since 1997 where Bobby hasn't had
to out-scheme his second-oldest son. And it was not always the
happiest of family reunions, Bobby acknowledged. No matter the
stakes for Florida State, "still, your boy's on the other side
coaching," Bobby Bowden said.

Few saw potential problems in 1999 when Bobby led No. 1 Florida
State, the eventual national champions, to play his son's new
Clemson program in Division I's first father-son battle. TV
cameras tracked the Bowdens from the high-school game of Tommy's
son the night before to a prayer meeting on Saturday morning.
Tommy's mother, Ann, donned a half Florida State-half Clemson
sweatshirt in the stands. By the time the Seminoles capped the
Bowden-palooza with Bobby's 300th career victory, most all
Bowdens, even Tommy, left with smiles on their faces.

The good feelings didn't last.

Florida State won the next three in blowout fashion, increasing
the heat on Tommy's tenure. When Clemson turned things around in
2003 with a 26-10 win over the third-ranked Seminoles, it was
the Florida State coach who dealt with critics, a few who
concocted the crazy notion Bobby threw the game on purpose to
save his son's job.

The back-and-forth got so bad, Ann didn't attend the last Bowden
Bowl at Clemson in 2007. "I just didn't have the heart to sit
out there and see one of them lose," she said last fall.

Despite winning four of his last five against Florida State,
Tommy couldn't keep his job, leaving at midseason in 2008 with
the Tigers all but out of the Atlantic Coast Conference race.
The school says the change was Tommy's suggestion. Tommy said
this summer he was forced out.

So with emotions raw last November, Clemson interim coach Dabo
Swinney thought he might get a cold shoulder from his old boss's
dad in Tallahassee. Instead, Bobby was supportive and gracious
about the change.

"You can imagine the awkwardness with it being his son that's no
longer here," Swinney said. But "he has just been tremendous,
just very encouraging and complimentary."

"You know, I'm getting pretty good at that," joked Bobby, who's
watched three sons leave high-profile coaching jobs. Besides
Tommy, Terry Bowden had a successful run at Auburn that ended in
turmoil 11 years ago. Youngest son Jeff was Florida State's
offensive coordinator until he resigned in 2006 after several
years of declining production.

Tommy, 55, says he'd like to get back into the profession and
will wait to see what develops in the next few weeks. He's proud
of the Clemson players he molded his last few years there and,
as an analyst for BusterSports.com, thinks the Tigers have the
edge over his father's team this week.

Tommy is receiving a $3.5 million contract buyout from Clemson
in twice yearly installments through 2014. He, too, acknowledged
the difficulty in facing family and was glad he could win a few
games - 4-5 against Florida State - against the man he considers
the best in college football.

Tommy's children, Ryan and Lauren, are both Clemson grads and
may attend the game this week. Tommy will stay in Florida and
watch on TV, long after the sun sets on his 5-mile run on the
beach and the daily walk he takes with wife, Linda. "It's a fun
way to spend a Saturday," Bowden said.

Tommy has no hard feelings toward Clemson, his father said.
"That's the way you ought to leave a job," Bobby said. "No sense
burning bridges."

Even without Bowden vs. Bowden, there are plenty of compelling
storylines in this latest matchup.

Bobby Bowden plays this one a day before his 80th birthday,
needing victory to keep his 4-4 team in ACC contention. Earlier
this week, Bowden's longtime defensive leader, Mickey Andrews,
announced he'd retire after the season with some Florida State
backers asking Bobby to join him.

A win by the Tigers would move them a step closer to where Tommy
could never get them in nine-plus seasons - the ACC championship
game.

Should that happen, Swinney won't be surprised if he gets a
congratulatory call from Bobby. "He's just as nice a guy as you
ever want to meet," Swinney said. "I wish him nothing but the
best and hope he coaches 10 more years if that's what he wants
to do."