He is the forgotten man in this chase for Bear Bryant, but he has not forgotten what Bryant meant to him..
While Joe Paterno may receive the lion's share of publicity as he enters the season just one win away from Bryant's all-time wins record of 323, FSU's Bobby Bowden is just eight away from tying the record of the man who taught him how to be a college football coach.
|  | | Bobby Bowden has 315 career victories, including 242 at FSU. |
"It's no secret that Bear Bryant has always been my idol," Bowden said. "I was at Samford when he was at Alabama and I used to watch everything he was doing. It was a special time."
Bowden was a star QB at Howard (now Samford) University and returned to coach the Bulldogs in 1959. The 29-year-old Bowden would watch Alabama's practices and take notes on the drills. He would talk with Bryant. Heck, he would even get some of Bryant's players.
Bryant would want to free up space for new players by getting rid of some old ones. That's where Bowden came in.
"He'd let me watch the spring game and I'd make a list of 16 or 17 guys. He'd go through the list and the ones he didn't want, he'd recommend they transfer," Bowden said. "I was like a kid in a candy store."
But Bowden took more from Bryant than just players. So much more.
"I watched him coach, the way he handled himself and his team, his work ethic and his humility," Bowden said. "He realized the value of the media and he used it them just like I try to do. There are too many things to mention."
But while the press may rally around Paterno's and Bowden's chase for Bear, it's not something Bowden is bringing up himself.
"We never talk about it," said FSU lineman Brett Williams. "If we happen to get the record, I'd be proud to part of the team that broke the record for him, but he never talks about it."
If the Seminoles were to go undefeated, Bowden would tie Bryant's mark at home against Maryland on Oct. 27. He would break the record at Clemson against son Tommy on Nov. 3. That's a big if, though, considering the Seminoles play a much-improved Georgia Tech team on Sept. 15 as well as No. 2 Miami on Oct. 13.
If the Seminoles slip up during the first nine games, they play N.C. State at home on Nov. 10 and finish the regular season in Gainesville against No. 1 Florida Nov. 17.
"I think that it's in the back of his mind to break it because Bear is his idol," said N.C. State coach and former FSU assistant Chuck Amato. "He won't make a big deal of it, but it would be something special."
Joe Wojciechowski is the college football editor at ESPN.com. He can be reached at joseph.j.wojciechowski@espn.com.
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