The 2009 Florida State Seminoles football team represented the Florida State University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Bobby Bowden in his 34th and final season as head coach, the Seminoles compiled an overall record of 7–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing third in the ACC's Atlantic Division. Florida State was invited to the Gator Bowl, where the Seminoles defeated West Virginia. The team played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

Bowden retired at the end the year after leading Florida State to 33 consecutive winning seasons. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher was named his successor.

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries Miami (FL) Miami's defense stops Florida St. to back up Harris' final TD drive

Jacksonville State Florida State steals win from lower-division Jacksonville State

BYU

Ponder drives Seminoles to decisive win over No. 7 Cougars

South Florida

Boston College

Georgia Tech

North Carolina

NC State

Florida St. edges NC State late in barnburner

Clemson

FSU starting quarterback Christian Ponder was injured in the 4th quarter and had to leave the game. His injury required surgery and he did not return to participation until the teams non-contact drills in the spring of 2010. Redshirt Freshman E.J. Manuel took over for the injured Ponder, getting his first start the following week against Wake Forest.

Wake Forest

Maryland

Florida State edges Maryland on last-minute TD to become bowl eligible

Florida

West Virginia—Gator Bowl

The final game for Bobby Bowden, Mickey Andrews and Chuck Amato.

Personnel Recruits

Statistics Team Team Opp Scoring 338 332 Points per game 30.73 30.18 First downs     Rushing     Passing     Penalty     Total offense     Avg per play     Avg per game     Fumbles-lost     Penalties-yards     Avg per game     Team Opp Punts-yards     Avg per punt     Time of possession/game     3rd down conversions     4th down conversions     Touchdowns scored     Field goals-attempts-long     PAT-attempts     Attendance     Games/avg per game    

Scores by quarter Updated after the Maryland game on November 21.

Offense Passing Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng YPA Christian Ponder 9–9 147.70 330–227–7 68.8% 2717 14 98 8.23 E.J. Manuel 7–4 124.7 106–69–6 65.1% 817 2 43 8.11 Total 13–13 141.8 437–296–13 67.7% 3147 16 98 8.22 Opponents

Rushing Name Games Played Carries Yards Fumbles Lost YPC TD Long Avg/Game Jermaine Thomas 11 163 832 0 5.1 9 54 62.73 Ty Jones 6 51 251 0 4.9 5 47 41.83 E.J. Manuel 7 44 195 0 4.4 2 24 19.8 Christian Ponder 9 72 179 0 2.5 2 30 19.89 Lonnie Pryor 9 27 156 0 5.8 4 50 15.11 Chris Thompson 8 23 120 0 5.2 2 49 12.5 Bert Reed 11 18 94 0 5.2 2 42 6.82 Louis Givens 6 8 58 0 7.3 1 15 9 Tavares Pressley 3 9 40 0 4.4 0 12 13.33 Rodney Hudson 11 1 9 0 9 0 9 0.82 Taiwan Easterling 10 2 8 0 4 0 7 0.10 Jarmon Fortson 11 1 4 0 4 0 4 0.36 Rod Owens 11 1 3 0 3 0 3 0.27 Total 11 352 1635 0 4.6 24 54 148.64 Opponents                

Receiving Name GP-GS Rec Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GRod Owens              Bert Reed              Jarmon Fortson              Taiwan Easterling              Richard Goodman              Caz Piurowski              Lonnie Pryor              Jermaine Thomas              Beau Reliford              Louis Givens              Ty Jones              Chris Thompson              Willie Haulstead              Rodney Smith              Ja'Baris Little              Total              Opponents              

Defense Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass defense Interceptions Fumbles BlkdKick Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF Total

Special teams Name Punting Kickoffs No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB Dustin Hopkins Name Total

Name Punt returns Kick returns No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long Name Total

References